I have an Alfa Giulia and the knobs are amazing. It is always in reach of my hand since they are located right in front of the gear shifter and flipping through the menus became intuitive after a couple hours. No fingerprints is an added bonus. I don't have the nav option, so inputting addresses or other long things might be cumbersome (but likely unnecessary with Android Auto or the Apple version).
Image of the controls for those curious: https://car-images.bauersecure.com/pagefiles/85459/alfa_rome...
The large round dial is used for most of the menu navigation. The small one to the right is for changing radio station/tracks and volume.
By comparison, my fiances Jetta's touch screen was pretty cool when we first got it. But then noticing how unresponsive it was, misclicking, and dirty it gets I don't think I will go for a touch screen again personally.