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Comment by eanzenberg | Hacker News Reader

Sidenote: I can't stand the ipad in the middle of Tesla cars (and other carmakers who choose this path). I got a BMW because of the sheer usefulness of physical buttons while driving / keeping eyes on the road.

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Guess people like fiddling through an ipad while driving a 2 ton machine at highway speeds? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Looks like Tesla drivers are becoming the "Toyota Camry/Prius" drivers of the past.

I've found that the majority of functions needed when driving are available through the steering column's stalks, left/right buttons, or voice commands. If I ever do need to use the touch screen, I can activate TACC & Autosteer, and glance back and forth between the screen and road while finding the next button to press. And for the common functions, I've developed an awareness of the button locations, so I can press them while maintaining a view of the road. Sort of like how I had a sense for the physical buttons of my last car; only difference is that now the sequence of button pushes must also be learned, not just the physical location.

Maybe I'm not familiar with what the steering wheel buttons do in a Tesla.

Volume, change stations, change tracks, voice command (siri), adaptive cruise control (including mph selection) and auto-steering are available on my steering wheel in my BMW. In the middle of the car, climate zone and drive modes are available as physical buttons and knobs.

The stalks and buttons on the Model 3 can access all of those same features, as well as adjust the follow distance for adaptive cruise control. Climate settings are through the screen, via a fan symbol button in the center. That pops up a temperature selection slider with buttons to increase/decrease the setpoint, and (de)sync the driver/passenger set points. Press the button again, and you get a full screen with more settings (auto-flow vs manual, air stream splitting and direction, etc.)

Sounds like just the thing one should be doing in a moving vehicle! /s

Your hypothesis is that this model (screen instead of knobs) is more dangerous. Do you have any data to back this up?

Are you seriously suggesting that something that does require you to pay attention to a screen entire time you're using it (and touchscreen in a moving vehicle is not the easiest thing to operate even when you're not the one driving) is less distracting that something that is operable entirely by touch?

I'll stick with my experience trying to operate both. ANd I'll stick with cars that have real controls. Not that there were much reliable data yet, what with Tesla being pretty much the only ones who made something like that. Their crash statistics aren't all that impressive, BTW, but it is hard to discern which ones are pure accidents, and which ones are tied to controls, or AutoPilot, or general stupidity.

It will be interesting to see crash statistics of e-Tron vs. regular Q series, though, that would give some apples to apples comparison options.But then that assumes that Audi can actually sell a meaningful number of them...

Is there some historical problem with camry/prius drivers?

I think they're viewed as the antitheses of "driving enthusiasts" (for better or worse).

Someone who appreciates physical buttons in a BMW likely falls closer to that side of the camp than a stereotypical Prius driver.

I personally would consider myself a driving enthusiast but would have no issue with driving a Prius as a commuter. Quiet, reliable, efficient.. and then I can feel less guilty if I want to have an inefficient "fun car" for the odd sunny weekend.

Sidenote: I remember when people said the same thing about idrive and avoiding the brand because of it.

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