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> The giant touch screen panel in a Tesla is the main reason I would never get one. For me, the interesting part about owing a Tesla is the realization of just

> The giant touch screen panel in a Tesla is the main reason I would never get one. For me, the interesting part about owing a Tesla is the realization of just how badly designed traditional cars are. Dedicated tactile controls are better in an automotive context for fiddling while driving, and the Model 3 implements almost everything necessary while driving as physical controls. The two things that I fiddle with while driving that don't have physical controls are the stereo and windshield wipers. The stereo has a physical volume and tracking controls, I don't think a physical interface for any other part of the stereo would be much better than the touch screen. Windshield wipers should have a physical interface, in the Model 3's auto mode is great 99% of the time but when it isn't it's too hard to manually adjust and when you need to adjust wipers is precisely the wrong time to be fiddling.

fermienrico 6y ago
I actually want every single thing as a button, knob, slider or a toggle. All 80 of them. I understand that I am in the minority, just stating my personal opinion.
- fermienrico 6y ago
  I don't think people realize how amazing it would be to flip off a clunking toggle switch to turn on Bluetooth. It is fricking glorious. IMO, hardware controls > software controls. Big time and $$$. All monitors today have no dedicated buttons for switching input sources. Instead we have a d-pad nipple that takes 20 seconds to pop up a menu, then dig into the menu shortcuts (thank god!) and then having to select input source. Humans have regressed hard in last 30 years in terms of UX/UI.
  - adamweld 6y ago
    The BENQ monitor I bought a few years ago had capacitive buttons. It started flickering and the warranty replacement was a newer model. I was happy to see that they had switched back to physical buttons. That said, the OSD interface has nothing on the decade-old Dell that sits next to it, which even has the option to flip the interface for ease of use in portrait mode which is how I have it set up.
adamweld 6y ago
I don't know, I think the controls [0] on my car (VW Golf 2017, <20k new) are pretty close to perfection. Physical buttons or dials for everything except for infotainment settings, but minimal with no clutter. Steering wheel input for cruise control/audio/wipers and the heads up display, while the climate controls are dead simple and easy to work without looking down. Infotainment has both touch and a context sensitive dial. Everything is grouped contextually and I never have to look away from the road. I was especially impressed that a single dial (left, next to the lights) dims _every_ light in the entire cabin to the same brightness, across many different subsystems. Great design shields the driver from the complexity of the system. [0]: https://i.imgur.com/wiqfh1w.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wiqfh1w.jpg
- fermienrico 6y ago
  That's a beautiful UI for a car, I also love BMWs (E90-F30) models before the latest 2019 redesign. 2012-2019 BMW 3 series is a perfection in UI design IMO.
- andrepd 6y ago
  The car I drive has the same problem as that image: undifferentiated buttons to control the AC. I want to turn on the windscreen defogger (or whatever it's called). Now which button is it, oops, now I have to look down cause I can't remember nor can I locate it by touch if I did.
  - adamweld 6y ago
    On the golf it's not a button but a dial (furthest right). I leave it on Defog most of the time (straight up) and change from there without needing to look. If I'm unsure a quick glance tells me the angle and I can make the adjustment without having my eyes on it.
microtherion 6y ago
Over the last couple of years, I found the combination of physical controls for driving-essential functions and voice control (e.g. CarPlay; I don't like the manufacturer solutions as much) for convenience functions quite effective.

fermienrico 6y ago

I actually want every single thing as a button, knob, slider or a toggle. All 80 of them. I understand that I am in the minority, just stating my personal opinion.

fermienrico 6y ago
I don't think people realize how amazing it would be to flip off a clunking toggle switch to turn on Bluetooth. It is fricking glorious. IMO, hardware controls > software controls. Big time and $$$. All monitors today have no dedicated buttons for switching input sources. Instead we have a d-pad nipple that takes 20 seconds to pop up a menu, then dig into the menu shortcuts (thank god!) and then having to select input source. Humans have regressed hard in last 30 years in terms of UX/UI.
- adamweld 6y ago
  The BENQ monitor I bought a few years ago had capacitive buttons. It started flickering and the warranty replacement was a newer model. I was happy to see that they had switched back to physical buttons. That said, the OSD interface has nothing on the decade-old Dell that sits next to it, which even has the option to flip the interface for ease of use in portrait mode which is how I have it set up.

adamweld 6y ago

I don't know, I think the controls [0] on my car (VW Golf 2017, <20k new) are pretty close to perfection. Physical buttons or dials for everything except for infotainment settings, but minimal with no clutter. Steering wheel input for cruise control/audio/wipers and the heads up display, while the climate controls are dead simple and easy to work without looking down. Infotainment has both touch and a context sensitive dial. Everything is grouped contextually and I never have to look away from the road. I was especially impressed that a single dial (left, next to the lights) dims _every_ light in the entire cabin to the same brightness, across many different subsystems. Great design shields the driver from the complexity of the system. [0]: https://i.imgur.com/wiqfh1w.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wiqfh1w.jpg

fermienrico 6y ago
That's a beautiful UI for a car, I also love BMWs (E90-F30) models before the latest 2019 redesign. 2012-2019 BMW 3 series is a perfection in UI design IMO.
andrepd 6y ago
The car I drive has the same problem as that image: undifferentiated buttons to control the AC. I want to turn on the windscreen defogger (or whatever it's called). Now which button is it, oops, now I have to look down cause I can't remember nor can I locate it by touch if I did.
- adamweld 6y ago
  On the golf it's not a button but a dial (furthest right). I leave it on Defog most of the time (straight up) and change from there without needing to look. If I'm unsure a quick glance tells me the angle and I can make the adjustment without having my eyes on it.

microtherion 6y ago

Over the last couple of years, I found the combination of physical controls for driving-essential functions and voice control (e.g. CarPlay; I don't like the manufacturer solutions as much) for convenience functions quite effective.