[closeparen]

How do you feel about the MMI scroll wheel? I don’t feel safe using that either; it still requires eyes on the screen to see what you’re selecting. Even my passengers, who can give it their full attention, are routinely stymied by the process of pairing their phones for Bluetooth audio playback.

At least I can get the volume and temperature knobs by feel.

[basch]

Whats interesting about Honda going with a dial, is that they designed, what I thought, was a pretty brilliant absolutely positioned touchpad for Acura. Have peopled used these, what is there feedback. It seems much more natural, intuitive, and fast compared to a dial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScWOFtlLCyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcKa9apjOX8

[flamtap]

Lexus also has a touchpad, and an interesting "tactile joystick" type of solution. Takes some getting used to but the tactile feedback goes a long way to reducing the need to look at the screen.

[Ambroos]

I think the MMI interface, in one specific generation (the one just before they introduced the touchscreen, where the four-corner buttons were dropped), has one big advantage: you learn the amount of clicks things are away.

It's been over a year since I had an Audi A3 with the system, but I still remember that going from anywhere to Android Auto would be pressing home, then just giving the wheel a big turn clockwise, then back one click counter-clockwise and confirm. You got used to the common operations, and you could do them blindly after a while. In a moving car, a touchscreen is almost always problematic because you need to see if your finger is going the right direction to compensate for car movements.

[close04]

I think there can be a balance between physical controls for actions that need to and will often be used while driving, and touch controls for stuff that you will most likely use when standing still.

Controlling the temperature or music volume will be done while driving so they should be actual buttons that your muscle memory will reach with no mental effort or distraction. Adjusting the suspension settings or typing in a GPS address can be done via a touchscreen since it's unlikely you'll do it on the move and touch offers a better experience for this.

[clairity]

yes, that's the best split--make frequently-used features and/or features used primarily while driving physical controls, while rarely-used features and/or features used while parked can be touch-based.

however, address input should be primarily by voice control rather than touch entry. changing destinations (for whatever reason) mid-drive on a navigation system is dangerous and somewhat common, and voice control is the best option for keeping your eyes on the road (absent a passenger who can do the touchscreen data entry).

[woozyolliew]

I mean, it certainly isn’t perfect at all. It has the down side that you are invited to stare at the screen. But if I’m disciplined, I can get away with a click-glance approach to adjusting things, which is still better than the multi-second hover I had to do with the touchscreen.