Finally! Car Makers Are Waking Up to the Touchscreen Madness
Well, well, well. Mercedes-Benz is apparently hitting the brakes on their touchscreen obsession and bringing back physical buttons. About bloody time, I say. This news has got me thinking about just how mental the whole car industry went with these tablet-sized screens controlling everything from your windshield wipers to your seat warmers.
The whole thing has been bonkers from the start, hasn’t it? For decades we’ve been told “don’t use your phone while driving” and “keep your eyes on the road,” then some genius in a boardroom decided to stick a massive computer screen right in the middle of our dashboards and make us navigate through seventeen different menus just to turn on the bloody air conditioning. The irony would be hilarious if it wasn’t so dangerous.
Reading through the discussions online, it’s clear I’m not alone in my frustration. One person mentioned being pulled over for using their phone to get directions because their Subaru’s screen had frozen. The cop apparently chuckled and mentioned how their police department refused to have these monstrosities in their patrol cars. Smart move by the cops, really. When you’re dealing with life-and-death situations, you need controls that work every single time without taking your attention off what’s happening around you.
The muscle memory argument really resonates with me. In my old car (may she rest in peace), I could adjust the temperature, change the radio station, and turn on the wipers without even thinking about it. My fingers knew exactly where everything was. Now, every rental car I get behind the wheel of requires me to take my eyes off the road to find the right virtual button on some glossy screen. It’s madness.
What really gets me fired up is how we got here in the first place. Tesla started this trend, and every other manufacturer felt they had to follow suit to look “modern” and “innovative.” But sometimes the old way of doing things is better precisely because it’s been refined over decades of actual use. Physical buttons aren’t obsolete technology – they’re appropriate technology for a task that requires tactile feedback and instant recognition.
The EU’s involvement through EuroNCAP makes perfect sense too. While some might grumble about regulatory interference, this is exactly the kind of thing where market forces alone weren’t working. Car companies were so focused on looking sleek and high-tech that they forgot the primary function of controls in a vehicle: they need to be operable safely while you’re hurtling down the road at 100 kilometres per hour.
The financial aspect hits home as well. I’ve always been a bargain hunter, and part of getting good value means buying something that’ll actually work reliably. These touchscreen systems are just another expensive thing to break down, and when they do, you can’t even roll down your windows or adjust your mirrors. It’s like buying a house where the light switches are controlled by a tablet that needs regular software updates.
My teenage daughter finds my ranting about this topic amusing, but she gets it too. She’s grown up with touchscreens and smartphones, but even she understands that when you’re driving, your primary attention needs to be on not hitting other people or objects. It’s not rocket science.
The real winners in all this are going to be companies that strike the right balance. Keep the big screen for navigation and entertainment – those functions actually benefit from a large display. But give me proper buttons for climate control, wipers, lights, and other essential functions. It’s not about being anti-technology; it’s about using the right tool for the right job.
This shift by Mercedes could be the beginning of some much-needed common sense returning to automotive design. Maybe other manufacturers will follow suit, and we can finally get back to cars that prioritise function over flashy tech demos. Here’s hoping this trend spreads faster than the touchscreen madness did in the first place.