| So many HN folks suggest touchscreens are inferior to physical controls in cars (safety or UX wise) and I can't agree. Bad interface design is the culprit not the device. I did not need to read manuals for my iPhone, Polar watches (touch), more complicated machines in the garden, washing machine, fridge, coffee machine nor my Tesla Model S. On the other hand using my ventilation unit controls at home was impossible without manual (non-descriptive menu items, non-circular menu starting in the middle so up/down matters and remembering where is the entry you need when there are many of those you almost never need is painful). I love my Model S and I am satisfied with its UI design with some remarks like "Quick Controls" content I never use. There is no bullshit, no attempts to look too fancy and hinder the experience. Complete game changer of this car is the possibility of improving UI with software updates. I am yet to encounter the car without touchscreen that has intuitive controls.
My current list of the cars and quirks I remember the most: 2007 Kia Ceed
I do not know remember to change C to F degrees or setup clock after owning the car for the 12 years and driving it daily for almost 5 years. IIRC holding the Trip button (one of four in the main row of computer controls) changes something depending on the current context. Kids like to touch and hold buttons and I am doomed afterwards. 2011 Ford Mondeo
Alerts present somewhere in the Settings. Paring the phone requires you to push the Phone button and the Menu button. Arrows are only for cycling, Enter is useless. 2017 Peugeot 5008
Rented it for a week on holiday, physical controls. Interface design was complete mess - confusing icons, excessive layers combined with "innovative"/unique naming of menu entries etc. I quit trying to comprehend it after a while. This was one of the worst interfaces ever encountered, on par with the Ford SYNC in the latest models I had the opportunity to use as loaners. 2017 Mercedes GLA
Same holds for Audis I've driven. Graphic design is consistent and quite polished which might confuse you that the interface will be intuitive and carefully designed. Animations and images accompanying any task are definitely made for marketing purposes and sales people showing off and to hide the difficulty of achieving the tasks you are up to. Visual clues are often missing and using the control wheel was like spinning the roulette and waiting for the outcome. I believe people who drive Mercedes whole live like it and are used to it.
Btw numerical keyboard in the car, really?! 2018 Volvo XC 60
Had it only for a day as a test drive, quite good, no major issues, definitely one of the best interfaces. However the graphic design was inconsistent and this car has touch screen. 2018 Hyundai Ioniq
One weekend, no major issues for me, bad graphics design. Do not recall if it is touch based or not, but some buttons were present. |