Out of touch?

The automotive world has embraced the touchscreen. Here’s why that’s a terrible idea

Clamber behind the wheel of a new passenger vehicle and chances are you’ll be greeted by some sort of shiny touchscreen (yes, even in many modern budget-beating hatchbacks).

The automotive industry has wholeheartedly embraced the technology, wowing prospective buyers with widescreen displays, high-de nition graphics and promises to meet every conceivable in-car infotainment need.

In a way, it makes sense. The humble cellphone, for instance, has evolved into a powerful device capable of offering the sort of instant, globe-shrinking connectivity unfathomable just a handful of years ago. So, it might seem natural for integrated automotive arrangements to follow suit, delivering a

ood of up-to-the-second information to the driver. We’re living in an increasingly connected world, after all.

Well, that’s exactly what has happened. Thing is, it’s a terrible idea. The last thing you need while driving is an overload of peripheral information, distracting you from the task at hand and jostling for your valuable attention. There’s a reason it’s illegal (not to mention undeniably foolish) to operate a smartphone while behind the wheel of a car.

Then, of course, there’s the seemingly overlooked fact that touchscreens are awkward to operate on the move; you’re meant to have your eyes xed rmly on the road ahead as well as your mirrors. Instead, you’re in a tangle of pinches and swipes as you stretch across to ddle with the sat-nav while whipping along at the national limit in the outside lane of a busy highway. Doesn’t sound very safe, does it?

Of course, it wasn’t always like that. In pre-touchscreen days – I’m acutely aware I sound like a bitter old man – you’d manipulate a set of xed buttons and form some sort of muscle memory; very quickly all it required was a glance to complete a given task. That level of familiarity is simply not possible with a touchscreen. Selecting a virtual button on a touch-sensitive display requires you to look directly at the screen. This takes longer if you’re waiting for visual con rmation that the command has been accepted.

Try swiftly adjusting the climate control’s fan speed when you have to navigate through a couple of sub-menus. Did you manage with the rst attempt? And how long were your eyes averted from the road?

My loathing of touchscreens was reinforced during the six months I spent with a Mazda3 (read the long-term wrap-up in April 2020). While its closest rivals all make a song and dance about their large-diameter touchscreens, the Japanese midsize hatchback refreshingly employs a modest 8,8-inch display that eschews touch functions. The system is operated via a simple rotary controller on the centre console (just like BMW’S similarly intuitive idrive arrangement), while climate functions are manipulated using traditional buttons and dials. It works a treat and proves a cabin needn’t feel cluttered or outmoded without a touchscreen.

In contrast, virtually all displays and controls in VW’S Golf 8 – without wanting to pick on one particular vehicle – are digital with touch sliders taking care of temperature and volume; a touch panel covering functions such as driving modes and driver assistance features; and even the lights and optional sunroof are operated via touch. Then, of course, there’s the touchscreen itself, crammed with all manner of fancy features.

VW points out the Golf 8 ships with a voice-command system capable of understanding and reacting to natural speech instructions. While by no means foolproof – I recall an expletive-laden “Hey Mercedes” exchange with an A-class – these systems at least allow you to keep your eyes on the road, even if they require you to jump through verbal hoops to accomplish simple tasks.

Gesture control isn’t the answer, either; it’s a gimmicky, hit-or-miss affair. Haptic-feedback tech (the touchscreen offers a mechanical pulsation and audible click to con rm a function has been selected) is interesting but still requires eyes off the road. Physical buttons are still the best solution in terms of safety and functionality.

Ultimately, the smartphone-aping touchscreen is unnecessarily complex. Using even the most intuitive, lag-free example on the move is at best ddly and at worst downright dangerous. Give me physical buttons over a labyrinth of pixels every day of the week.