Buttons are back: The car makers ditching touchscreens in favour of analogue controls

‘It’s not a phone: it’s a car.’

These are the wise words of Volkswagen design boss Andreas Mindt when discussing reintroducing physical buttons in VW cars from 2026.

Volkswagen is making the sensible decision to bring physical buttons back to all its vehicle after years spent rolling out new models with touchscreen-operated controls.

This is Money revealed last year that nine in 10 drivers have urged car makers to ditch confusing and distracting touchscreens in new cars, calling for them to wind the clock back and return to old-school buttons and switches.

And VW has not only admitted it is listening to customer feedback but is being a grown up and holding its hands up to the mistake of forcing drivers to rely on touchscreen systems.

So, after VW’s announcement, we take a look at the brands using common sense and bringing buttons back – and the concerning safety reasons why we need less digital and more analogue controls in cars.

VW’s new concept cheap EV has a iPad-like screen mounted above a small selection of buttons, which control the temperature settings, audio volume and heated seats

Volkswagen 

The most offensive touchscreen-heavy car was perhaps the ID.4.

The words ‘haptic–feedback touch sensitive buttons and sliders’ have never filled anyone with anything but dread, and the ID.4’s overzealous use of them was enough to drive any motorists round the bend.

Volkswagen design boss Andreas Mindt has confirmed that touchscreens in cars have gone to far and buttons are needed

Touchscreen controls dominated this car, with even the media volume to the cabin temperature using haptic sliders below the screen.

VW’s infotainment screens are not the most intuitive to use, with endless menus and sub-sections, but the ID.4’s haptic panels on the steering wheels only made it more frustrating and distracting trying to make your selections.

Now though you can expect physical buttons for the key controls within the car with Mindt telling Autocar: ‘From the ID 2all onwards, we will have physical buttons for the five most important functions – the volume, the heating on each side of the car, the fans and the hazard light – below the screen.

‘They will be in every car that we make from now on. We understood this.’

There will also be physical buttons on the steering wheel.

And better yet VW has made a promise ‘it will never, ever make this mistake anymore’ after listening to ‘feedback’ from customers.

The VW ID.2all concept features a 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen that can also be controlled by a thumb wheel in the central panel

MG

MG’s move back to buttons is somewhat different as the now Chinese-owned brand didn’t truly go all-in on touchscreens.

While other manufacturers ditched switches entirely, MG kept a host alongside its touchscreen updates.

Sure, there’s the cost-cutting side, but MG previously told This is Money that it’s aware of the ‘negative media around new tech and the campaign against new tech vehicles’.

Indeed, MG has always continued to champion simple controls, choosing to keep ‘physical buttons’ in all its new models and making a point of embracing that when new models launch.

The new MG ZS for instance allows you to configure what menu you wany on the steering wheel and has wheel shortcut buttons.

Not only are there buttons on the steering wheel but the touchscreen has a line of shortcut buttons below for heating and volume – it’s really that simple to keep people happy.

The MG ZS’ cabin is typical MG in that it has a touchscreen and digital dials but crucially it has buttons for menu shortcuts and key functions 

Hyundai

Hyundai is another manufacturer that has committed to ditching touchscreens.

Reaching peak touchscreen mania with the Ioniq 5 and 6 and the use of two 12.3-inch displays and touch climate controls, Hyundai has since added more buttons back into newer cars like the Santa Fe.

Hyundai design director Ha Hak-soo told Korean JoonAng Daily towards the end of last year that they found customers didn’t like touchscreen–focused infotainment systems: ‘As we were adding integrated [infotainment] screens in our vehicles, we also tried out putting touchscreen-based controls, and people didn’t prefer that.

‘When we tested with our focus group, we realized that people get stressed, annoyed and steamed when they want to control something in a pinch but are unable to do so,’ Ha added.

The Ford Explorer’s 14.6-inch touchscreen has been designed to avoid glare and reflection but it doesn’t come with any physical buttons

Ford

Ford was one of the first manufacturers to bring buttons back, stating in 2012 that traditional controls were on the way back.

Ahead of the 2014 F-150 pick-up truck launch, Ford announced plans to restore buttons and knobs to touchscreen-centric dashboards.

Ford said: ‘The F-150 blends touchscreen capability with traditional buttons and knobs – a similar balance planned for future Ford vehicles.’

The Americana brand kept it on a good level for the Mustang Mach-e, with the huge portrait touchscreen accompanied by some physical buttons and steering wheel controls.

However, the brand appeared to go to the dark side with the Explorer EV that only has the main touchscreen and haptic buttons.

The Puma Gen-E comes with a 12.8-inch driver’s display and a 12-inch central touchscreen with Ford’s SYNC 4 system for ‘seamless connectivity’ but crucially 

But the new Puma Gen-e will have both a smaller touchscreen and physical buttons as well as analogue buttons on the steering wheel, so there’s hope for the future of the new electric version of one of Britain’s best-selling cars.

However, in recent times the Americana brand has gone back to the dark side, with both the Mustang Mach-e and the Explorer EVs featuring a huge portrait screen without accompanying buttons.

Drivers want buttons back in cars   

Last year, What Car? found that an overwhelming majority of Britain’s drivers want to be less reliant on these touchscreens.

In a survey of 1,428 drivers, 89 per cent prefer having physical buttons, knobs and dials in their cars over touchscreen systems – especially when on the move and trying to concentrate on the road ahead.

The poll found that manufacturer’s fixation with iPad-style gadgets a major turn-off for car buyers: Three in five said they would be put off purchasing a model that didn’t have traditional buttons and switches on the dashboard and relied heavily on touchscreen controls.

On the other hand just 8 per cent said they would be more attracted to a motor with a completely uncluttered cockpit with almost all functions accessed via a touchscreen system.

How dangerous are car touchscreens? 

Worryingly, the same study found that 60 per cent of motorists said they have been distracted from safe driving while operating in-car controls (although this is not limited solely to touchscreen interfaces, which are used by more than one-in-seven drivers).

This came after independent car safety body, Euro NCAP announced plans to update safety ratings to take into account the dangers of touchscreens in modern cars.

From 1 January 2026, vehicles without physical hard buttons or switches for the indicators, hazard lights, horn, windscreen wipers and SOS function will receive lower marks in crash tests. 

For years road safety experts have warned that touchscreens are proving increasingly and dangerously distracting, leading the matter to be raised by leading motoring figures with the AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety.  

From 1 January 2026, vehicles without physical hard buttons or switches for the indicators, hazard lights, horn, windscreen wipers and SOS function will receive lower marks in crash tests 

There are growing concerns that touchscreens are linked to the recent 10 per cent spike road deaths in Britain.

In 2022, 1,711 people lost their lives in road crashes, up from 1,558 fatalities the year before, the Department for Transport confirmed in its latest update. 

It said that the rise was down to the return of normal traffic levels after the Covid pandemic.

But experts said that the rise is partly blamed on drivers being impaired or distracted by touchscreens. 

There’s also a growing argument that removing buttons and moving controls across to touchscreens is ‘undermining’ the ban on using a phone behind the wheel – a serious offence that results in six penalty points on your licence and a £200. It will cost new drivers their licence and can get other drivers banned.