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Having driven a Model Y and a Model 3 I can say that until Tesla removes that huge ass distraction magnet touchscreen from their vehicles I won't buy one. In o

Having driven a Model Y and a Model 3 I can say that until Tesla removes that huge ass distraction magnet touchscreen from their vehicles I won't buy one. In order to determine anything about the status of the vehicle or change a setting you have to train all of your attention off of the road and onto an overly complicated cellphone interface. Autopliot is an optional feature, that damn tablet is not. Adding a simple HUD that comes standard on most Mazda's would be a huge improvement in safety.

airhead969 6y ago
There's something to be said for manual switches and gauges. Another case in point: F-35. Please swipe up and to the left to apply the brakes or draw a peace symbol if you'd like to eject instead of dying. - megacorp UX of the future
BluSyn 6y ago
Never going to happen. Some of us are the opposite, I can't stand cars with a thousand nobs and dials that take a 100 page manual to understand. I find the clutter 100x more distracting.
- jonathankoren 6y ago
  Can you explain how buttons are a distraction? Also, by “distracting”, do you mean that the present of physical knobs prevent you from paying attention to the road?
  - jsight 6y ago
    He can't explain that any more than the OP can explain why having the speedometer slightly to the right is more distracting than hidden behind the steering wheel.
    - ipsocannibal 6y ago
      Sure, looking to right the forces my view away from the direction the vehicle's traveling to see information about that movement. A HUD does not.
      - jonathankoren 6y ago
        We’re talking about giant touch screens, not HUDs.
  - ctdonath 6y ago
    If you reach for a button and it's not exactly where your finger lands, you're now distracted by figuring out where it is and/or why something unexpected happened. Doesn't help that some buttons physically stick and reluctantly disengage. Half the buttons allegedly do something, but they're useless or pointless. Some have indicator lights one must have reason to look at before noticing (oh, the "dual heat mode" got enabled? is that why the HVAC has been fighting itself and can't decide whether to heat or cool? defrost is stuck on, and wife is freaking out that it's too hot/cold/something in here and doesn't understand how to stop it?) My car's "infotainment" system is so bad I've given up on it. When working with a phone, the sound is good - but rattling thru menus via buttons on multiple surfaces, never quite knowing what some of the terms mean (because I'm focused on the road, not on sorting out "MEDIA SOURCE" vs "INPUT SOURCE" in context of connecting Bluetooth or whatever), and having to literally alternate between sound unit face and the "OK" button on the steering wheel, well just forget it we're using the phone's own speakers (relatively lousy but they work). There's a speech recognition system in there too, but that goes nowhere (first, memorize all the possible commands it recognizes; next, say the phrases just right in a noisy & distracting environment...). Yeah, physical buttons/knobs are distracting too. At least a touchscreen system can better present/organize information, and likely comes with a viable speech recognition system. And can sanely interface to a phone via Bluetooth.
    - jonathankoren 6y ago
      I’m not trying to be a smart ass, but none of this explains how a touchscreen is superior to physical buttons. If you hand misses a physical button, you easily orient yourself by recognizing the shape of the and relative location of the button by touch, whereas a mistouch on screen might have activated some functionality, or at the very least is harder to orient without looking because there are no physical features. While OEM infotainment systems universally suck, it’s a non sequitur to say that a touchscreen fixes any of these issues, in particular your Bluetooth and voice problems. My Acura has a touchscreen and voice and it sucks. The voice is slow to respond with constant boilerplate announcements, and the typing addresses into the gps is painful, even when using autocomplete (it animates the typing, and then forces you to reconfirm the completed text.)
- prepend 6y ago
  The choice isn’t between a touchscreen and a thousand knobs. My current car, a random 5 year old sedan has about 4-5 knobs on the console I use- volume, heated seats, ac mode, temperature, and nav knob that rotates, pushes in, and pushed in 4 directions. I can do all this without taking my eyes off the road. I also have an 8 inch touchscreen that I never use because it’s too hard while driving.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  I realize most people don't actually do this, but imo it's pretty irresponsible to drive around in a 1.5+ ton vehicle without taking the time to RTFM, regardless of how complicated it is.
- ipsocannibal 6y ago
  My comment was specifically about forcing a drivers eyes off the road. A touchscreen does this and buttons do not. However, I agree voice controls and a HUD does solve this problem better than button.
  - brokenmachine 6y ago
    HUD does not serve the same function as touchscreen or buttons. Or do you mean HUD combined with a stalk with buttons? Voice controls are terrible and I won't be convinced otherwise.
jonathankoren 6y ago
I took a test drive in an S a few years ago, and also found the interior ugly and the infotainment system lacking. The sales guy was pushing the car hard with misdirection and deceptions[0][1], even calling me days later. Eventually I had just tell them to stop calling and told them exactly why I’d never buy the car. [0] “It has a streaming service like Pandora!” “Is it Pandora?” “It’s Sketcher. It’s like Pandora!” “So it’s not Pandora.” “No.” [1] “This car has full self driving.” “So is it going to turn here?” “No. It has FSD capability, but it’s not on because of regulatory approval. It should be here in a year to two.” (That was four years ago.)
moduspol 6y ago
Does this need to be in literally every thread about Tesla? Is there any evidence at all that this is the impairment of safety opponents claim? Model 3s have been sold in large numbers since 2018. Are drivers crashing into other cars at higher rates? Or are we just going to keep beating this dead horse?
- TheDong 6y ago
  They might have slightly higher fatality rates than other "luxury sedans", but seem to be safer than the average car (which includes older models on the road that don't have active collision avoidance features or such). https://www.tesladeaths.com/#FAQ https://www.tesladeaths.com/#FAQ Note that I say "they might" because tesladeaths.com is probably overcounting slightly. It's created by a group of short sellers, and the IIHS may count fewer incidents for other cars. Until the IIHS releases properly comparable numbers themselves, it's hard to say for sure.
  - moduspol 6y ago
    > Note that I say "they might" because tesladeaths.com is probably overcounting slightly. More than slightly, and that includes far more than just the ones where the touchscreen replaced nearly all controls not on the steering pedestal (Model 3, Y). I don't know how many years have to go by without supporting evidence before we can move on from these claims. More than three, apparently, and despite other manufacturers making the same shift toward touchscreens.
- fiddlerwoaroof 6y ago
  Yeah, my experience with the Model 3’s touch screen is that it’s really good at displaying the information you need at a glance and that, while driving, very little interaction with it is necessary: the sticks and steering wheel controls do nearly everything you need while driving.
  - moduspol 6y ago
    Perhaps, but every thread needs the comments from someone who rode in one / test drove it once and just can’t wrap their head around how it can be driven without staring at the screen. Even to those of us who have driven them every day for years. It was tired when the car first came out, but at least it was a valid concern. Now it just feels like an unwillingness to accept reality.
sanp 6y ago
And their shitty build quality. Even a model x has the fit and finish of a cheap Korean car from 10 years ago

airhead969 6y ago

There's something to be said for manual switches and gauges. Another case in point: F-35. Please swipe up and to the left to apply the brakes or draw a peace symbol if you'd like to eject instead of dying. - megacorp UX of the future

BluSyn 6y ago

Never going to happen. Some of us are the opposite, I can't stand cars with a thousand nobs and dials that take a 100 page manual to understand. I find the clutter 100x more distracting.

jonathankoren 6y ago
Can you explain how buttons are a distraction? Also, by “distracting”, do you mean that the present of physical knobs prevent you from paying attention to the road?
- jsight 6y ago
  He can't explain that any more than the OP can explain why having the speedometer slightly to the right is more distracting than hidden behind the steering wheel.
  - ipsocannibal 6y ago
    Sure, looking to right the forces my view away from the direction the vehicle's traveling to see information about that movement. A HUD does not.
    - jonathankoren 6y ago
      We’re talking about giant touch screens, not HUDs.
- ctdonath 6y ago
  If you reach for a button and it's not exactly where your finger lands, you're now distracted by figuring out where it is and/or why something unexpected happened. Doesn't help that some buttons physically stick and reluctantly disengage. Half the buttons allegedly do something, but they're useless or pointless. Some have indicator lights one must have reason to look at before noticing (oh, the "dual heat mode" got enabled? is that why the HVAC has been fighting itself and can't decide whether to heat or cool? defrost is stuck on, and wife is freaking out that it's too hot/cold/something in here and doesn't understand how to stop it?) My car's "infotainment" system is so bad I've given up on it. When working with a phone, the sound is good - but rattling thru menus via buttons on multiple surfaces, never quite knowing what some of the terms mean (because I'm focused on the road, not on sorting out "MEDIA SOURCE" vs "INPUT SOURCE" in context of connecting Bluetooth or whatever), and having to literally alternate between sound unit face and the "OK" button on the steering wheel, well just forget it we're using the phone's own speakers (relatively lousy but they work). There's a speech recognition system in there too, but that goes nowhere (first, memorize all the possible commands it recognizes; next, say the phrases just right in a noisy & distracting environment...). Yeah, physical buttons/knobs are distracting too. At least a touchscreen system can better present/organize information, and likely comes with a viable speech recognition system. And can sanely interface to a phone via Bluetooth.
  - jonathankoren 6y ago
    I’m not trying to be a smart ass, but none of this explains how a touchscreen is superior to physical buttons. If you hand misses a physical button, you easily orient yourself by recognizing the shape of the and relative location of the button by touch, whereas a mistouch on screen might have activated some functionality, or at the very least is harder to orient without looking because there are no physical features. While OEM infotainment systems universally suck, it’s a non sequitur to say that a touchscreen fixes any of these issues, in particular your Bluetooth and voice problems. My Acura has a touchscreen and voice and it sucks. The voice is slow to respond with constant boilerplate announcements, and the typing addresses into the gps is painful, even when using autocomplete (it animates the typing, and then forces you to reconfirm the completed text.)
prepend 6y ago
The choice isn’t between a touchscreen and a thousand knobs. My current car, a random 5 year old sedan has about 4-5 knobs on the console I use- volume, heated seats, ac mode, temperature, and nav knob that rotates, pushes in, and pushed in 4 directions. I can do all this without taking my eyes off the road. I also have an 8 inch touchscreen that I never use because it’s too hard while driving.
leetcrew 6y ago
I realize most people don't actually do this, but imo it's pretty irresponsible to drive around in a 1.5+ ton vehicle without taking the time to RTFM, regardless of how complicated it is.
ipsocannibal 6y ago
My comment was specifically about forcing a drivers eyes off the road. A touchscreen does this and buttons do not. However, I agree voice controls and a HUD does solve this problem better than button.
- brokenmachine 6y ago
  HUD does not serve the same function as touchscreen or buttons. Or do you mean HUD combined with a stalk with buttons? Voice controls are terrible and I won't be convinced otherwise.

jonathankoren 6y ago

I took a test drive in an S a few years ago, and also found the interior ugly and the infotainment system lacking. The sales guy was pushing the car hard with misdirection and deceptions[0][1], even calling me days later. Eventually I had just tell them to stop calling and told them exactly why I’d never buy the car. [0] “It has a streaming service like Pandora!” “Is it Pandora?” “It’s Sketcher. It’s like Pandora!” “So it’s not Pandora.” “No.” [1] “This car has full self driving.” “So is it going to turn here?” “No. It has FSD capability, but it’s not on because of regulatory approval. It should be here in a year to two.” (That was four years ago.)

moduspol 6y ago

Does this need to be in literally every thread about Tesla? Is there any evidence at all that this is the impairment of safety opponents claim? Model 3s have been sold in large numbers since 2018. Are drivers crashing into other cars at higher rates? Or are we just going to keep beating this dead horse?

TheDong 6y ago
They might have slightly higher fatality rates than other "luxury sedans", but seem to be safer than the average car (which includes older models on the road that don't have active collision avoidance features or such). https://www.tesladeaths.com/#FAQ https://www.tesladeaths.com/#FAQ Note that I say "they might" because tesladeaths.com is probably overcounting slightly. It's created by a group of short sellers, and the IIHS may count fewer incidents for other cars. Until the IIHS releases properly comparable numbers themselves, it's hard to say for sure.
- moduspol 6y ago
  > Note that I say "they might" because tesladeaths.com is probably overcounting slightly. More than slightly, and that includes far more than just the ones where the touchscreen replaced nearly all controls not on the steering pedestal (Model 3, Y). I don't know how many years have to go by without supporting evidence before we can move on from these claims. More than three, apparently, and despite other manufacturers making the same shift toward touchscreens.
fiddlerwoaroof 6y ago
Yeah, my experience with the Model 3’s touch screen is that it’s really good at displaying the information you need at a glance and that, while driving, very little interaction with it is necessary: the sticks and steering wheel controls do nearly everything you need while driving.
- moduspol 6y ago
  Perhaps, but every thread needs the comments from someone who rode in one / test drove it once and just can’t wrap their head around how it can be driven without staring at the screen. Even to those of us who have driven them every day for years. It was tired when the car first came out, but at least it was a valid concern. Now it just feels like an unwillingness to accept reality.

sanp 6y ago

And their shitty build quality. Even a model x has the fit and finish of a cheap Korean car from 10 years ago