People ‘Need Buttons and Dials’

Automakers will never admit it, but cost-cutting has reared its ugly head in modern car interiors. Access to most functions has shifted from physical buttons to a touchscreen, which in some cases has absorbed nearly all conventional switchgear. Some automakers, like Volkswagen, have pledged to reverse course following customer criticism about the overreliance on infotainment systems. Sister brand Skoda hasn’t gone all-in on screens, but today’s cars do have fewer buttons than those of the past.

With the Superb and Combi, Skoda believes it has found the right balance (or compromise?) between putting everything into the screen and retaining separate controls for frequently used functions. The company’s CEO told The Independent that the so-called Smart Dials are the way forward: “This is where we need to go. We need toggles. We need dials. We need something that you feel and something that does not distract.”

If you’re unfamiliar with these clever dials, the video above shows them in action. The outer ones control interior temperature, seat heating, and seat ventilation. The driver and passenger can select the setting they want to change by pressing the dial, at which point the 32-mm screen embedded in the rotary push-button switches between functions.

As for the center dial, it’s even more versatile by toggling between fan speed, air direction, air conditioning, volume, driving modes, and map zoom. However, users are limited to only four of the six functions, which they select via the touchscreen above.

Skoda uses this setup only in two models for now, but its upcoming three-row electric SUV will likely adopt it as well, since the Vision 7S concept featured the triple dials. The company’s boss admits the VW Group had software issues with some of its current-gen models, but says those problems have largely been resolved:

“I think we’ve come a long way with our software. We were struggling initially. The good thing about software is most of the time you can update it. This is what we’ve been doing. We have a stable system with hardly any glitches.”

What’s next? Working to make in-car tech less frustrating by streamlining its usability:

“This is one of our main tasks: to simplify, not to make it more complicated. To make it intuitive. When we are in our development discussions, one of my questions is always: ‘How can we take out visual noise? What is there that people do not really need? It’s distracting, it has to be clear-cut.’”

We have to come to grips with the reality that the heyday of buttons and switches is over. But seeing the glass half full, at least some automakers are making an effort to preserve a degree of analog control, even if it means cramming a tiny screen inside a dial.

The full interview is attached below.