For years, car manufacturers raced toward futuristic, screen-heavy interiors. But now, consumer fatigue and practical concerns are forcing a design U-turn. Many brands are reintroducing physical buttons and knobs, finding a middle ground between modern touchscreens and tactile functionality. Here are five carmakers leading the shift back to physical controls.
Volkswagen: Admitting the Touchscreen Mistake
Volkswagen is rethinking its interior strategy. Chief designer Andreas Mindt admitted the brand made a mistake by relying too heavily on touch-sensitive screens and buttons. Future models will restore physical controls for essential functions like volume and climate adjustment.
"There is no point in digging through menus to access basic functions like volume or air conditioning," Mindt told Autocar.
The brand will also ditch touch panels on steering wheels in favor of traditional buttons, noting that people prefer tactile feedback. Mindt emphasized: “At the end of the day, it’s a car, not a smartphone.” While screens will remain for data display, important features will have dedicated mechanical elements.
Mercedes-Benz: Screens Are No Longer Luxury
Mercedes-Benz is scaling back its screen-heavy approach. According to chief designer Gorden Wagener, large displays are no longer a marker of luxury.
"Screens are not luxury," Wagener told ABC News. "Everyone has a big TV at home, and now even budget cars have large screens."
The comment marks a sharp reversal from Mercedes’ earlier push for high-tech interiors like the EQS’s 56-inch MBUX Hyperscreen. New design concepts now focus on hand-crafted materials, aluminum switches, and ergonomic minimalism instead of digital overload.
Hyundai: Drivers Are Fed Up
Even Hyundai, a previous proponent of all-digital dashboards, is rethinking its strategy after driver feedback. According to design executive Kevin Kang, focus groups showed “stress, irritation, and even anger” when users couldn’t access key features quickly.
As a result, new models like the Hyundai Ioniq 6 feature hybrid interfaces: large screens remain, but they’re paired with physical knobs, steering column switches, and dedicated buttons for select climate controls. Though some HVAC settings still rely on touch input, the shift toward tangible controls is clear.
Still, Hyundai suggests this may be a temporary trend. "Autonomous vehicles could bring back fully digital control," Kang noted. For now, the company supports a hybrid approach where safety and comfort are prioritized with tactile feedback.
Subaru: Listening to Loyal Drivers
Subaru has followed suit, reintroducing knobs and buttons in the refreshed 2026 Outback. Fans of the brand welcomed the change, which they saw as a return to intuitive, driver-friendly interiors.
Reddit users widely praised leaked images of the cabin, with one noting that brands had “blindly copied Tesla” by removing all physical controls. Owners of the 2024 Outback, which required touchscreen-only climate adjustments, were especially relieved—and some even expressed interest in upgrading to the 2026 version.
Xiaomi: A Modular Solution
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is taking an innovative middle path with its new electric car, the SU7. The car features a modular touchscreen system where users can magnetically attach physical controllers like knobs and buttons to the display frame.
A docking station with analog volume dials and switches is available as an optional add-on and can be installed without any technical modifications. This allows owners to customize the interface to their preferences—blending digital flexibility with tactile convenience.
As driver feedback grows louder, the era of touchscreen-only dashboards may be fading. For now, the auto industry is listening—and giving drivers their buttons back.
