Touch screens, here to stay?

I'm about to fit one :) Just a double din head unit, all the other controls in my mk3 mx5 are analogue and I can operate most things without taking eyes off the road.

It's being fitted to run google maps and torque pro.
 
I'm happy with a bit of both. The basic every day controls should have tactile buttons. My car's interface is absolutely ancient now so I guess it isn't a worthy comparison but I have real buttons for things like audio source selection, volume, track skip, all the HVAC, and a touch screen for the more 'advanced' inputs like typing in a postcode or address for example. Many things can be done from the steering wheel as well which is even more ergonomic.

The French are the absolute worst for this, putting all the HVAC controls and audio / volume controls etc on the same touch screen panel as the display. You shouldn't have to actively take concentration away from the road in order to adjust these basics. A real button means you can give it the quickest of split-second glances and your hands do the rest. It's shocking UX design and I can't believe it was ever approved.
 
Most cars should have some form of voice control now surely? Even my 16 year old Mondeo has basic voice to control the climate, navigation, phone & audio.
 
Iamzod said:
Most cars should have some form of voice control now surely? Even my 16 year old Mondeo has basic voice to control the climate, navigation, phone & audio.
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The Ford Firefox??

Do you have to Think Speak in American English to make it work or does it have a British English option select?

;) :D
 
Car interior ergonomics has quite simply lost the plot with the current situation being a keep up with the Jones between the manufacturers and I’m quite surprised that the powers that govern haven’t intervened but I suppose B comes before C :D

As pointed out by a previous poster, car buttons used to have a tactile feel with the odd dimple here and there to tell you where you roughly are without having to take your eyes off the road. Now, you just have to take a look, even in my current car the buttons all feel the same which means you have to glance down/across to know exactly what you are selecting and it doesn’t even have a touch screen.

I went in a friends Volvo and even the temperature controls on that are on the touchscreen and I thought that safety was their main motto.
 
Howard said:
I'm happy with a bit of both. The basic every day controls should have tactile buttons. My car's interface is absolutely ancient now so I guess it isn't a worthy comparison but I have real buttons for things like audio source selection, volume, track skip, all the HVAC, and a touch screen for the more 'advanced' inputs like typing in a postcode or address for example. Many things can be done from the steering wheel as well which is even more ergonomic.

The French are the absolute worst for this, putting all the HVAC controls and audio / volume controls etc on the same touch screen panel as the display. You shouldn't have to actively take concentration away from the road in order to adjust these basics. A real button means you can give it the quickest of split-second glances and your hands do the rest. It's shocking UX design and I can't believe it was ever approved.
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Essentially how I feel. They're okay for advanced character input, but common functions should be physical controls.

I understand that manufacturers probably want to declutter their interiors, but honestly, I'd rather more buttons, switches and dials if they are ergonomically considered, rather than just relegating functions to touchscreen sub menus.
 
Nasher said:
Just look at the level of stupid Porsche took it to with the Taycan:

https://youtu.be/0vq6KEOIiMg?t=648

Just want to adjust the vents? Nope. Go through 3 sub-menus on this ipad we glued to the dash and use the completely unnecessary interface, because reasons :p
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That...is utterly ridiculous. What has that achieved? All they've done is make the vents harder and less intuitive to adjust :/

For a moment I thought that perhaps they'd saved a minuscule amount of weight or manufacturing complication by having fixed vents, but presumably the vents must still be movable, and now require some servo motor in order to do it, so it can't be that. Seems to be a prime example of technology for technology's sake there.
 
I imagine it's not just about making the dash look decluttered and modern. Manufacturers can build two identical cars and upsell some features at quite a profit by just enabling a cost option in software.
 
Like most, I like physical controls. I get sat nav etc, but really don't want climate control etc to go to the touch screen
 
echo the majority here - pure touchscreen infotainment systems are awful.

Moving from iDrive in my M135i to a touchscreen in a Octavia VRS, i desperately miss a jogwheel/joystick/input-system. With the iDrive I could jog the character on a bit, check the road, then keep moving my selection, check the road, etc. with minimal time away from the road. But, with a touchscreen, I need to concentrate more on where my finger is in relation to the screen, adapt its movement with the bumps, etc. and it all takes time away from the road. Scrolling through mp3s/radio-stations, easy in stages with a jog wheel, but dragging through lists with a touchscreen is just more distracting.

We all agree and understand that typing a message on a smartphone is distracting and it's good to be illegal, so how is a similar touchscreen any safer, just because it's built into the car? In that light, I honestly think they should be banned (or at least be deactivated when moving, and have an input device when on the move)
 
[TW]Fox said:
Just because it has it doesn't mean people like using it. I'd rather just turn the dial.
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The solution is there though & is arguably better than even using a dial. Why even bother taking your hands off the wheel to then have to glance at the display to see what it's set to when you can just ask?
 
Orionaut said:
The Ford Firefox??

Do you have to Think Speak in American English to make it work or does it have a British English option select?

;) :D
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Not sure what the "Ford Firefox" is? The voice that responds sounds a bit like a slightly relaxed Margaret Thatcher but she does understand a bit of Yorkshire. I don't think I could do without some form of voice control in my future vehicles & certainly do not want to have to be messing about with touch screens, that's no better than putting your phone in your lap & messing with it.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Can't stand touch screens in cars.
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Can’t stand touch screens full stop tbh, dirty horrible things.

I carry a sachet of antibacterial wipes for whenever I’m using a touch screen (mainly in reference to some of thus equipped trucks at work) and always wince at people using them in fast food places.

I’ve read somewhere that they are far worse than keyboards for harbouring germs etc.

The irony of this post is it’s typed on a touch screen :o :p, bloody things are almost unavoidable these days.
 
Scania said:
I carry a sachet of antibacterial wipes for whenever I’m using a touch screen (mainly in reference to some of thus equipped trucks at work)...
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This seems a bit of an overreaction. Surely they are no worse than physical controls which also get touched by others. Do you also wipe down the steering wheel?
 
Conscript said:
This seems a bit of an overreaction. Surely they are no worse than physical controls which also get touched by others. Do you also wipe down the steering wheel?
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Yup, every morning at the start of my shift ,a habit formed when I was in a different truck every shift which I’ve just carried on.
 
Iamzod said:
Not sure what the "Ford Firefox" is? The voice that responds sounds a bit like a slightly relaxed Margaret Thatcher but she does understand a bit of Yorkshire. I don't think I could do without some form of voice control in my future vehicles & certainly do not want to have to be messing about with touch screens, that's no better than putting your phone in your lap & messing with it.
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Sorry, showing my age https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083943/

The punch line is that the aircraft is partially thought controlled, but the pilot has to think in Russian to make it work.

:D
 
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