The complexity of the touch screen car

Not all the touchscreen interface are created equal. There certainly are some good ones and some bad ones. Prime is the first and only car I have had hands-on experience so far. Much room for improvement for sure. As for trying out Tesla, having no dealership nearby (closest one is almost 400 miles away), it it not likely test driving will happen anytime soon. Thanks for all your input.

 

the flat buttons all squished together on my pip aren't much better than a touchscreen. too small for gloves, and very easy for my trembling fat fingers to hit the one next door by mistake. i hate it when i hit 'auto' and the hvac explodes.

but trying to find a usb song on the touchscreen, or using gps is even worse.

 

I was not comparing M3 UI with Prime. I stated that my Gen2's UI is on the verge of being uncomfortable, but still very decent because of all the buttons on the steering wheel (buttons on Gen2' sterring wheel all have tactile queues and do not need to be read). Any more "screenafication" than Gen2 would be a serious concern to me personally. I understand that M3 has a very good GUI, but it is still a GUI with inherent lack of tactile queues and soft nature of controls. So eyes need to come off the task at hand for certain operations.

A well laid out and executed knob-button-lever interface in the car does not need to ever be read. Really good ones take one trip around the block to learn and get used to. They do not look fancy and do not have all the glitter of GUI, but they work and they are far superior in this application.

Most European cars have gotten such interface right about 50 years ago (or more). Japanese cars have always had a bit of trouble with wanting to provide glitz, but most of the late 20th century cars have gotten it to the level of being operated without looking. That is key and that will pretty much never happen with the touchscreen.

 

I'll trot this out again, current Honda Fit HVAC knobs-and-sliders style control. The top end (alas), goes to touch screen:

 

This is an example of a well designed and proven UI. Total of 3 knobs, 1 lever and 2 buttons. I fail to see how this can be improved or compromised on. Yet, here we are...

 

Here is what I used from 1998 until I bought my Prius last year. In 19 years of use I have NEVER had to read any of this panel save for the first time I drove the car. It is also a dual zone system. Separate temperature controls for driver and passenger side.

 

Perhaps I misunderstand what you are saying, but I can honestly say that I have not had to call up the Climate screen on the Gen 2 MFD since I became familiar with all of the steering wheel buttons. The "A/C Auto" button on the steering wheel toggles everything on or off and every other type of adjustment is available through the other steering wheel buttons that are standard on the Gen 2. I'm happy that our 2017 Four Touring still has physical controls for HVAC which were eliminated on the 2018 model, but they are still not comparable to the capability of the Gen 2 controls, in my opinion.

 

Maybe I have not learned this in a year of owning the car, so please educate me. I want to do the following fairly often. I hit that A/C Auto button and adjust the temperature. So far so good. Eyes on the road, no issues. Now I feel like opening the windows and enjoying the fresh air because I have gotten off the highway and am driving a beautiful country road. I want to turn A/C off, but still have air coming through the vents. Is there a way to accomplish this without going to the "Climate" screen? I haven't found it if there is. But if there is, I would absolutely LOVE to know. This is my use case often.

 

Hitting the "A/C Auto" switch again should do it.

 

Possibly you would need to hit the "Recirc" button as well, before you hit the "A/C Auto" button. If the vents are open because outside air was being brought in by the HVAC, it may continue to come through the vents as long as the car is in motion, even with the blower turned off.

[Edit] Fixed typo.

 

The Fit recirc/fresh air slider can be switched easily/reliably, easy to find by touch, no need to look down. Slide it left, you're in recirc: slide it right, you've got fresh air:


In comparison, our 2010 Prius' button, is flush with other buttons in a row, and a single button: one depress puts in recirc, another and it's back to fresh. So, first you have to look down to find it, and then push it, and then check which light is on, look at the icon beside the light, to discern if you've switched from fresh to recirc, or vice versa:



Don't get me started about the "mode" button...

 

I agree that having a slider on the dash is better than having a button on the dash, but wouldn't it still be better to have everything on the steering wheel as the Gen 2 does? I'm not sure why Toyota went away from that with both the Gen 3 and Gen 4.

 

and if the suns thing on the gen 3 buttons, you cannot tell if the dim green light is on.

strange that honda would put manual controls on the lower level fits, wouldn't they cost more, or is the perceived value of the touchscreen on the high end?

 

I'm curious about whether the Fit's controls are electronic, even though they have slider type buttons. My Gen 1 Tacoma has sliders, but now that it is getting older, the sliders seem to stick when you try to manipulate them, since you are physically moving metal parts behind the dash that may be in need of lubrication. Of course the parts would become harder to move with age, even the controls were electronic, but you wouldn't have the sensation of having to exert greater effort to move them, they would just stop working.

 

Some say that touchscreen vs physical buttons is a generational thing, but I have also read about studies that show that people (including young people) are not really as good with multitasking (like drive/talk/text/navigate touchscreen) as they think they are. Looking at the screen to find a button and confirm that you selected it is still a distraction. On smartphones/tablets, this issue is dealt with by haptic feedback, which give a sensation of pressing a physical button.

 

No, hitting A/C Auto at that point shuts off everything including air flow fan. I want the fan on, but A/C off. So far have not found a way around pressing the "Climate" button on the MFD and then hitting the A/C soft button on the "Climate" screen. Buttons are big and work fairly well, but It's been over a year and I still need to take my eyes off the road to perform this maneuver.

 

Ok, I had never thought of trying to do that in the car since we pretty much leave the temperature set at 75F which is pretty comfortable in any kind of weather. It is really not important to me whether the A/C or heater is running or not. I guess this car kind of allows you to stop thinking about that kind of thing, but certainly in older vehicles with less advanced HVAC systems that is not the case. I can see your point, but I think that most people probably are content to let the car do its thing and not worry about it. On my truck (1st Gen Tacoma), I can hit the A/C button to turn it off, and if the vents are open (Recirc is not selected), I will get airflow whether the blower is running or not, as long as the vehicle is in motion. I've never tested that with the Prius, but I'm guessing there may not be any airflow or very little, at least.

 

I play with AC to get better economy. If I turn the AC off when I don't need it I save gas. Since this car is all about saving gas I am very surprised there isn't a one button way to toggle AC on and off. The bigger point, however is the unnecessary complexity of a touchscreen interface that is ill suited for automotive application. It is a source of distraction. Three knobs can't possibly cost so much as to cause the automaker cut cost on them.

 

I leave it set on auto pretty much all the time. My economy likely about double what you get
For me, it isn't a distraction. But it sounds like I don't micro manage it as much as you like to. If you are going to be altering the settings that frequently, the touch controls may be the best solution for your case.

As for your claim of unnecessary complexity, that is exactly how I would describe all the buttons and knobs. Luckily, different car makers make cars differently, so we can all pick the ones we prefer. No choice is right or wrong. Unless any of us try to claim our choice is right for everyone, or is categorically 'the right choice'.

 

well , i use voice commands . i dont even need to touch the screen .. you can even turn the AC on/off with voice commands.. warmer/colder -/+ 2 degree or a precise number if you like ... however you can't select front vents or windshield specifically but i leave it on Auto anyway .. so why buttons and knobs ? With voice commands your eyes stays where it should be : on the road.