Once upon a time, motoring was about chrome, leather, and soul. Cars had physical buttons, chunky knobs, and dials that gave drivers feedback without a second glance or fumble. Modern driving shouldn’t mean living inside a smartphone, but that’s where we’re headed, with sprawling touchscreens taking over dashboards in everything from city runabouts to flagship EVs.
The shift wasn’t just about “style.” Screens save manufacturers money and let designers chase minimalist fantasies, but the backlash has come thick and fast. Nearly 90% of surveyed drivers say they want physical buttons back. Safety experts now report that reaction times using touchscreens are worse than driving drunk. Euro NCAP, the organization behind Europe’s crash ratings, will drop stars for cars that bury basic tasks like wipers and hazards behind a layer of digital menus.
Then there’s the sharp end of user experience: glare, small fonts, and endless swipe-and-tap distractions. For drivers who rely on reading glasses or bifocals, screens aren’t just annoying—they’re a hazard. Clear sight lines and meaningful feedback can’t be replicated by glowing glass you need a prescription to even decipher. It’s a detail most automakers seem to have missed entirely in the rush to digitize every dashboard.
The tide may finally be turning. Volkswagen’s design boss now swears by a return to real buttons for vital functions. Hyundai, Mazda, even Porsche, are vowing to put plastic and metal controls back where they belong. Industry insiders admit they overplayed the sleek-screen hand, and drivers aren’t interested in menu mazes when all they want is warmth, music, and lights-on with a single touch.
Today, motoring deserves to be tactile, intuitive, and full of character. The backlash is a plea for safety, sanity, and accessibility ... especially for those who struggle with screens. After all, nothing beats the satisfying “click” of a real switch, and nobody ever crashed their classic for not finding the volume knob.
The future isn’t just digital, and it shouldn’t be. Here’s hoping manufacturers finally listen, and bring back some soul, chrome, leather, and switchgear in the place where it truly belongs: the driver’s hands.
