Volkswagen will restore physical buttons to the dashboard in its latest compact car, part of a wider move away from touchscreens.

In a particularly retro touch, the new ID Polo will even have a volume dial.

For a decade or so, automakers rushed to replace knobs and switches with screens, Autoblog noted in October, but users largely disliked them: Controlling the air conditioning, for example, required delving through submenus while driving, which was both difficult and dangerous. Research found that using touchscreens took longer and distracted drivers.

Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and VW have all announced plans to return to more tactile controls, and US and EU regulators announced last year that cars with touchscreen controls could get worse safety ratings.

  • lepinkainen
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    8 days ago

    ID.BUZZ with physical buttons, 4WD and an upgraded heat pump (the current one is designed for ID.4 sized cars) would be the perfect car for me.

      • AngryCommieKender
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        8 days ago

        How much range do you need? My Chevy Bolt has a range of ≈350 miles, and it’s rather mountainous around here.

        • Ostrichgrif
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          8 days ago

          The id buzz has notoriously bad range, even worse than advertised, I think real world testing puts it a bit over 150 miles on a charge