Volkswagen believes that car screens are getting too far

For some car manufacturers, Only the screens matter. After the extreme minimalism of Tesla Model 3 2017 That eliminated buttons to relegate the control of the car to the huge central screen, there were manufacturers that got into the car. Filling the screw dashboard seemed like luxury at the wheel, but it is an idea that has not set Among users, critics and even the most relevant body in Europe to evaluate the safety of vehicles: EURO NCAP.

Now, the brands are realized that they cannotPost everything to the screens And there are such strong statements as that of the Volkswagen design chief, who has recognized that “it is not a phone: it is a car.”

Trend. Tesla is the perfect example when talking about cars screens. It is not the one that has the most, but that, in its last models, has relegated virtually all the functions of the car to that central console. Other brands like Mercedes soon got into the car with splashes in which the screens were protagonists and there are those who have taken this to the extreme, especially when we talk about electric car.

It seems that talking about 100% implies putting aside the buttons. Even brands such as Mazda who have opted for small and touch screens only with the stopped vehicle have given a flying when they have presented the electric model. But perhaps one of the most exaggerated cases is Volkswagen.

“Buttons”. In quotes. In the main image we have the dashboard of the Volkswagen ID. Every1the new 100% electric utility that wants to place itself as the electric car par excellence. The interior is futuristic, science fiction and yes, it has buttons. Real buttons, not like those of the Atlas, the new golf or the ID.4.

In these three models, The buttons are haptic, A kind of digital button that does not offer that pulsation feedback such as when we put pressure on a real button, but a vibration. How to type on a mobile phone, go. On the way, it may not be enough to give information to the driver when there are elements such as the vibration of the vehicle itself when rolling through a land that is not completely smooth.

“It’s not a mobile”. This model has not yet went on sale, but the criticisms and the latest decisions of Euro Ncap seem that they have made the German firm rethink things. And he has done it. As we read in CoachAndreas Mindt, the brand design chief, has been the one who has taken the initiative by commenting that, from ID.2 that will arrive next year, all cars will have “physical buttons for the five most important functions.”

These functions are volume, heating, fans control and emergency light. “They will be in every car that we do from now on, we have understood.” This reverse is curious, but well received because it is evident that they recognize that there is a real problem with this type of tactile interfaces and that do not use everything.

“Never, we’ll never make this mistake again. In the steering wheel, we will have physical buttons. We will not have to guess more and have real feedback. People love that and, honestly, it is a car. Not a phone: it’s a car. ”

Not a luxury. VW has not been the only one that, recently, has realized that touch screens as the only method of control of the car are a engoring for certain things and a potential risk for safety. The German Mercedes has also considered the screens a luxury symbol in its recent vehicles. The more, and bigger, the better.

However, although the ‘Hyperscreen’ will not go anywhere, the design chief of the three -pointed brand admitted in a recent interview that they must devise another way to transfer that luxury to their vehicles, such as better finishes or more handmade pieces … instead of so much screen.

With head. The truth is that, since the fever began by the car “Every screen”, each brand has made the war on its own. Lincoln, for example, It offers huge screensbut not tactile and only serve as a information viewer. Mazda (except in the 6e) continues to bet on buttons next to a screen of food dimensions; Peugeot, Renault or Toyota, among others, also incorporate large screens, but there are elements such as physical buttons in the steering wheel and to control the air conditioning that are maintained.

Mindt rounded his comment on the future of the interfaces in Volkswagen stating that they will continue to offer touch screens “partly due to the new legal requirements that, as in the US, impose that all cars have a backward chamber. There are a lot of other functions that we can offer in certain areas and the screens will be large, but the five main things will always be in the form of physical button. That is very important. ”

Therefore, whether by Euro NCAP warning or because they have realized that delegating all vehicle actions to haptic screens or buttons is not the most sensible, welcome that VW philosophy.

Images | Mazda, Volkswagen

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