Volkswagen are making buttons return to cars because enough people complained
- Groundbreaking interiors of Volkswagen have been labeled ‘frustrating’
- So, the brand has decided to twist
- While infotainment screens will still be present, the decision has been made to bring buttons back
Published on Jul 09, 2024 at 7:21 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jul 09, 2024 at 9:19 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
After its interiors were labeled ‘frustrating’, Volkswagen has backtracked by making the decision to return buttons to its cars.
The German brand had rid the cabin of physical buttons.
However, it turned out that the apparent stride forward was actually a misstep.
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Volkswagen decision to bring buttons back
Everyone seems to have an opinion on the cars’ lack of physical buttons.
And when the complaints reached the ears of Volkswagen CEO, Thomas Schäfer, he was worried.
He described the touchscreen controls they’d been replaced with as ‘frustrating’ and said they ‘definitely did a lot of damage’.
Now the German brand’s interior designer, Darius Watola, has been forced to rethink.
It’s been reported by Autocar that VW will bring back buttons to all of its new cars.
He said that the ID2all concept ‘showed a new approach for all models’ and was in response to ‘recent feedback from customers’.
In a similar way of seemingly eschewing progress, Volkswagen is spending billions earmarked for EV plans on building gas or ICE cars.
Touchscreens aren’t out entirely
While the touchscreen-heavy Mk8 Golf and ID 3 proved unpopular – they aren’t being ousted entirely.
In fact, despite a prominent digital gauge cluster, the infotainment display will still be key
Rather than controls being hidden behind menus on displays, they’re toggled via center-stack switches.
It’s reassuringly simple and reliable and it’s hoped will keep the Volks happy.
It seems Tesla owners feel the same – despite Elon Musk’s approach being to reduce visual clutter in the cabin.
This Tesla Model X owner, for example, decided against minimalism with a brilliant but strange mod.
In an apparent pushback against the central touchscreen to access most vehicle functions he retrofitted some physical buttons beneath.
In a similar way of technology complementing rather than replacing tradition, this old Toyota Land Cruiser can still run Apple CarPlay on its factory touchscreen.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
