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Comment by LAC-Tech | Hacker News Reader

Seriously. I have zero use for a touch screen in a car.

Maps? When I drive I look at... the road. If I need directions, google maps can tell me to turn left etc by voice commands.

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Eh I'm anti touch screen controls, but as a motorcyclist driving in a foreign country relying on voice directions I need the visual input too. There's a big difference between audio only directions for a spaghetti junction and being able to glance at the visual and combine that with the audio.

You take your eyes off the road all the time doing head checks (blind spot checks), so long as you're not staring at the map I think the benefit of being sure about where you're going is safer

My Ioniq 5 (ironically, a Hyundai...) puts turn by turn directions on the HUD, if you want--eyes stay on the road, but you get full visual feedback. To me that's the best of both worlds. Downside is it only works with the on-board nav and not CarPlay/AA.

Sounds like google maps, am i right? Almost any other navigation product will do a combination of zooming in and displaying actual road signs with clearly marked intersections etc. Maps is useless without also turning on voice.

I don't think I could live without it anymore, but I have a really tight parking situation at home and the parking sensors that are exposed through the head unit are really useful. Not to mention navigation and all that stuff. These features are really considered standard now by most (but definitely not all) people.

I had that in a car from 2008 or so. Camera feed switched on when you were reversing, but no touch screen.

Radar parking sensor are very useful. Not sure if you had that in 2008.

In my car, this all comes in via the head unit. Critical driving stuff isn't allowed to be in the head unit (wisely), parking display doesn't come up as critical although the sensors are technically available even if the head unit is fried, which I found out when my head unit failed (car was still drivable, but many nice things gone).

It wasn't radar, it was just a camera feed that activated when I put it in reverse.

...people actually use voice commands? I've not used them in any GPS for like 10+ years nor do I know anyone who has audible navigation enabled.

what's the alternative - looking at a screen? I want to concentrate on driving.

I personally find that having to pay attention to visual prompts(turn right in 1km) makes me far more focused on the road than listening to the prompts, which can come without any warning and don't allow you to appreciate what is going to happen with enough warning. I usually glance and see that in 10km I'm taking the 3rd exit at the roundabout, then I know for next 10km I can focus entirely at the road, take 3rd exit at the roundabout and then will glance for next instruction again.

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