My uncle's outback looks like a video slot machine, and everything had to be done through the touchscreen. But to add insult to injury, the Subaru touchscreens are super slow and unresponsive, so they feel like they aren't working.
Yep. And mazda has physical climate button/knobs, with a physical dial to control the infotainment (it's pretty convenient, if a bit of an older design on most of their vehicles).
I consider it space-age. I haven't driven a non-Mazda that seemed as well thought out and functional. I wish I could rip one out and put it on my non-Mazda car. I breath a sigh of relief that my partner didn't buy the Honda with a long finicky touchstrip to control the volume instead of a knob.
I got in right before Subaru went that way and ended up with the best of both worlds: a touchscreen for CarPlay and knobs for...everything else. I still have knobs for the radio if need be.
Plus it's a six speed manual (Crosstrek).
I get a flyer from the dealership every other week asking if I want to "upgrade." Sorry, fellas, nothing you have is an upgrade to me. You can't get a manual gearbox here any more.
Another factor contributing to the discontinuation of manual transmissions is the increasing emphasis on safety features and the integration of advanced driver-assist technologies.
It's frustrating because "the consumer" doesn't want manuals, yet car makers add all these things that keep people from paying attention to the road making it - in my opinion - too easy to get distracted. I like that I can't hold my phone in my hand and drive because I need to shift.
Last summer I was in Ireland, and I was peeking in a few cars on parked on the side of the road just out of curiosity. Almost every one was a manual, it seemed like. It's not that we COULDN'T have fun, manual cars here. But Americans are lazy.
I have now a tucson and I can tell you with all the stupid an superfluous buttons everywhere that I need te press each time I start the car it is definitely not adding tot the security on the road.
Nah, heating, air conditioning, seat venting. I use all of that. But most of the time not. It I like having buttons. I mean, it’s easier if I have to switch menus all the time. You and me both know that touchscreen only is stupid. It sounds nice on paper but then you need to turn on your windshield wipers and chaos unfolds. You love Tesler and that’s okay but boy… why the fuck are we arguing about this. It’s not like we gonna change each other’s opinions and buying a new car. You like touchscreens and I like buttons. Let’s agree on that.
Most VW cars have plenty of buttons and levers on the steering wheel. It's really not that bad. Except for the fuckup with the touch/swipe buttons on the steering wheel in some cars, lol. I personally like a good mixture of well placed and functional buttons and a touchscreen. The former for primary and secondary features that are frequently used while driving, and the latter for scrolling through settings/playlists and navigation.
Many buttons just perform a toggle function that could easily be solved with a setting on the screen. Removes a lot of clutter and distraction. Less buttons leave more room for buttons that might be useful to have as a physical button.
I can give many examples about the stupidity of physical buttons in the Hyundai but limit myself to one example the ‘auto hold’ button… each time when I start the car I need to press it because a toggle on the display ‘default on/off’ doesn’t give me the haptic feedback. That I almost hit someone because the car starts to ‘crawl’ at high speed is of less importance. This is just one of the 70+ buttons in a Hyundai Tucson. Because there are so many I need to take my eyes off the road to verify that I press the correct one.
Hm, never had that problem with the Kona. When I start the car it’s automatically active until I hit the gas pedal and in any other case, recuperation is your friend. Recuperation to max and you don’t even have to break anymore.
Never had the problem in a Tesla as well. Once when I first used it I did the settings and all the years after it behaved the way I set it up. Not one physical buttons needed. I guess for some people the number of buttons in a car gives the a feel of importance. 🤷🏼