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> The dial and 5 buttons on the center console behind the shifter is wonderful One of my favorite feature on Mazdas... never seen anything like it before

bobbytables1 3y ago
I’m not sure, but what’s being described sounds a lot like BMWs iDrive which I love and has been around for a while(15+ years).
- llamaInSouth 3y ago
  Basically, I can access it without looking while keeping my arm on the arm rest
- pivo 3y ago
  That's funny because as I recall the BMW iDrive was widely derided when it came out. I have one on my old BMW and I like it, never understood the objections.
  - eesmith 3y ago
    Here's an NYT article at the time, from https://web.archive.org/web/20150527202158/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-12-01-02-problem-solver-driven-to-distraction.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150527202158/https://www.nytim... : > Car enthusiasts were not smitten with iDrive; many found that the system had the opposite of its intended effect, requiring more, not less, visual attention. Automobile Week wrote that iDrive ''turned the 'experience' of driving the car into a computerized affair.'' And even experts who sympathize with the impulse behind iDrive note its shortcomings. ''I spent an hour experimenting in a simulator, and I got lost in the menus,'' says Don Norman, the author of ''The Design of Everyday Things.'' BMW countered by including a cheat sheet that can be affixed to the steering wheel for befuddled parking valets. Eventually, some initially skeptical reviewers have conceded that once accustomed to it, they find the iDrive indispensable; however, that acclimation has taken as long as three months. Norman wrote more about it at https://jnd.org/design-as-communication/ https://jnd.org/design-as-communication/ . > By logic, the iDrive was a superior device. Alas, people function through stories, not logic. Moreover, people are spatial, we remember where things are in space, whereas the iDrive destroyed spatiality. And finally, the stories we remember and the conceptual models we prefer have to do with how a particular device functions: heating and cooling the automobile, changing the station of the radio, checking what distance remains for our trip. Each activity requires a separate story, separate control, and a separate location for operation. Alas, the iDrive collapsed everything into one location.
cmrdporcupine 3y ago
Audi cars used to have a system like this (dial based), but don't anymore.
- Arrath 3y ago
  Straight up the best method of interacting with the infotainment system I've ever used. It was a breeze.
  - cmrdporcupine 3y ago
    I rented one with the last year of that system, and they'd integrated it with Android Auto, and I was surprised with how well it worked. Someone at Google was clearly thinking about this modality. However I doubt Google has done the work in the interim to keep the UX in Android Auto working well with dial controls. Esp if only Mazda is doing this.
bdavbdav 3y ago
Most other tier 1 manufacturers have had this - BMW, Merc, Audi, Lexus...
freetonik 3y ago
It’s very similar to BMW’s iDrive system. I believe Mazda’s UX, in several areas, was inspired by several car manufacturers.
woobar 3y ago
Mazda copied BMW's iDrive. iDrive was derided when it was introduced in 2001 [1], but it has turned out to be a good compromise. Unfortunately BMW moved to eliminating a lot of hardware buttons in the latest version of the iDrive with a giant curved screen. They still have dial and buttons on the center console, plus few additional buttons under the main screen. But they have removed one of another great features - eight programmable buttons in the center. These are great and you can assign any function from the touch screen to them. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_iDrive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_iDrive
- sizzle 3y ago
  Thought it was called Commander or was that Mercedes?
  - woobar 3y ago
    Mercedes had COMAND, now MBUX. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_COMAND https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_COMAND

bobbytables1 3y ago

I’m not sure, but what’s being described sounds a lot like BMWs iDrive which I love and has been around for a while(15+ years).

llamaInSouth 3y ago
Basically, I can access it without looking while keeping my arm on the arm rest
pivo 3y ago
That's funny because as I recall the BMW iDrive was widely derided when it came out. I have one on my old BMW and I like it, never understood the objections.
- eesmith 3y ago
  Here's an NYT article at the time, from https://web.archive.org/web/20150527202158/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-12-01-02-problem-solver-driven-to-distraction.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150527202158/https://www.nytim... : > Car enthusiasts were not smitten with iDrive; many found that the system had the opposite of its intended effect, requiring more, not less, visual attention. Automobile Week wrote that iDrive ''turned the 'experience' of driving the car into a computerized affair.'' And even experts who sympathize with the impulse behind iDrive note its shortcomings. ''I spent an hour experimenting in a simulator, and I got lost in the menus,'' says Don Norman, the author of ''The Design of Everyday Things.'' BMW countered by including a cheat sheet that can be affixed to the steering wheel for befuddled parking valets. Eventually, some initially skeptical reviewers have conceded that once accustomed to it, they find the iDrive indispensable; however, that acclimation has taken as long as three months. Norman wrote more about it at https://jnd.org/design-as-communication/ https://jnd.org/design-as-communication/ . > By logic, the iDrive was a superior device. Alas, people function through stories, not logic. Moreover, people are spatial, we remember where things are in space, whereas the iDrive destroyed spatiality. And finally, the stories we remember and the conceptual models we prefer have to do with how a particular device functions: heating and cooling the automobile, changing the station of the radio, checking what distance remains for our trip. Each activity requires a separate story, separate control, and a separate location for operation. Alas, the iDrive collapsed everything into one location.

cmrdporcupine 3y ago

Audi cars used to have a system like this (dial based), but don't anymore.

Arrath 3y ago
Straight up the best method of interacting with the infotainment system I've ever used. It was a breeze.
- cmrdporcupine 3y ago
  I rented one with the last year of that system, and they'd integrated it with Android Auto, and I was surprised with how well it worked. Someone at Google was clearly thinking about this modality. However I doubt Google has done the work in the interim to keep the UX in Android Auto working well with dial controls. Esp if only Mazda is doing this.

bdavbdav 3y ago

Most other tier 1 manufacturers have had this - BMW, Merc, Audi, Lexus...

freetonik 3y ago

It’s very similar to BMW’s iDrive system. I believe Mazda’s UX, in several areas, was inspired by several car manufacturers.

woobar 3y ago

Mazda copied BMW's iDrive. iDrive was derided when it was introduced in 2001 [1], but it has turned out to be a good compromise. Unfortunately BMW moved to eliminating a lot of hardware buttons in the latest version of the iDrive with a giant curved screen. They still have dial and buttons on the center console, plus few additional buttons under the main screen. But they have removed one of another great features - eight programmable buttons in the center. These are great and you can assign any function from the touch screen to them. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_iDrive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_iDrive

sizzle 3y ago
Thought it was called Commander or was that Mercedes?
- woobar 3y ago
  Mercedes had COMAND, now MBUX. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_COMAND https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_COMAND