The latest design trend for vehicle interiors is often to dispense with as many buttons and knobs as possible and to effectively control everything through one touch screen, despite the fact that the majority of drivers do not like the idea. 

Several issues arise from the trend. Firstly, it is more complicated and can take much longer to, say, adjust a door mirror, or turn up the heat. Secondly, a screen failure puts the car off the road, and with availability of some replacement screens very poor, this could be for a long time. However, the main concern is safety, as drivers have to take their eyes off the road to perform simple functions.  

The issue has now been highlighted by vehicle safety organisation Euro NCAP, which says that in future testing it will reward vehicles with physical buttons and knobs. 

Euro NCAP’s Technical Director, Richard Schram, said, “Euro NCAP will indeed incentivise OEMs to have physical, easy-to-use, and tactile controls of the main driving features like wipers, warning lights, and indicators.” 

From 2026 the Euro NCAP rating scheme will include 5 out of 100 points under Safe Driving to push manufacturers to have intuitive, easy-to-use vehicle controls. This will allow time for manufacturers to make design adjustments before the new rating is applied.