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Comment by adhesive_wombat | Hacker News Reader

Ugh, the thing I like least about my new (to me) car is the power steering is so light and the wheel itself so small that it feels fake, even on the highest steering force setting. I love my old big steering wheel that feels like it's part of a car, not an Xbox. It's still power steering but you have to actually mean to turn the wheel to do so. You can even see the chunky steel steering column linkage disappear into the bulkhead.

It's been years and I still hate nearly everything about the newer car (but my wife loves it, which I guess was the actual design intent - mostly the only thing we agree on is that the touchscreen is dangerous dogshit, and the speed limit recognition is a deathtrap when it downshifts in flowing traffic at 50 because it saw a 30 sign on a sideroad).

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Look into a Mazda for your next car. I find that they tune their steering more on the heavy/connected side. I’m not sure if that’s still the case but they’re definitely still a brand with attention to detail to the driver experience.

They even disable the touch screen while the car is moving. They seem to “get it” if you ask me. They’re not blindly following trends like throwing climate controls into the screen.

Thanks!

> throwing climate controls into the screen.

Urgh, yes! I wouldn't mind so much if you could do it from the steering wheel controls. It already does a limited subset of phone, media and navigation that way, adding climate, which is only a few actions anyway, seems like it would fit right in to the UI there.

I think the only consolation is that most cars that have these controls moved to the screen can just use voice controls or driver profiles to “set it and forget it.”

I feel like a lot of people who have the basic “fan and blue/red” climate controls assume that people in Teslas are swiping all over the place while they drive to change climate settings, but in reality you step in and your driver profile loads your settings and you probably never have to touch the climate control.

Then again I swear that everyone I know who owns fancier cars than me refuses to hit the “auto” button and use the feature they paid for.

That should work but I have never had the voice control correctly understand a command. Ever. I have tried repeatedly. I don't think I sound that wierd, but maybe I do. More likely I think it's just yet more terrible Volvo software LARPing as a car. All the software is completely pointless anyway because the UI is such shit that I just use a phone in a nice solid cradle anyway. Just like I do in the old car.

I do change the climate controls quite a bit, but this is the UK where you're only ever 34 seconds from the windows steaming up and the temperature changing all the time. Maybe somewhere with a consistent climate it's easier.

According to any speech recognition software that has ever existed, I should be unable to interact with other people in person, because my speech is completely indistinguishable from random noise, it seems.

Why does a control have to be on a screen to support voice commands? Most buttons and knobs are just digital inputs into the same infotainment system in current cars. If the knob or slider is stateful, there are still mechanized versions that can be controlled by software. I had a Kenwood receiver in the 90s that would mechanically turn the knob when I adjusted the volume from the remote and I know Yamaha had a similar feature around the same time. Studio mixing boards (for sound and light) have had software controlled sliders for decades as well. If a $200 stereo can include a servo coupled volume knob, a $30k+ car should have no issue.

My Kia has awful rear control where you push a physical button to bring up an ok screen interface that doesn’t react to any physical buttons. Other models have the same physical interface (same buttons, same screen), but allow adjusting the on screen settings with physical buttons. I usually have a lot of kids in the back, and find having to muck with an awful on screen interface (not because it’s on screen, but because they require multiple steps to do things I should just be able to tap on) to be a safety issue.

> never have to touch the climate control.

Because you're always dressed the same?

Like in winter if you go for a short trip you have winter jacket and you cook if the heating is too strong, but if you're going for a longer trip then you want your jacket off for comfort and you need an higher temperature :)

That’s where on most modern cars with these touchscreen systems you can just hit the voice control button on the steering wheel and say something like “set the temperature to XYZ.”

I would still prefer some climate control buttons but I’m not sure their absence would be a dealbreaker for me depending on the car.

I'm less comfortable with buttons on steering wheel. I'm left handed and I drive with that hand, leaving my right hand free to change gears or handle controls, which I do by feel, by knowing where each one is. Knobs that you can turn and push, and provide feedback are great for that.

I'm also left handed, but in the UK, that means that's the hand you have to take off the wheel to faff about in the centre console.

I'd still rather everything was a physical control, but if they have to remove every traditional control, the least they can do is provide access to that function though the dashboard interface, which they already do for several functions. Just not that one.

My ideal climate control system: a nob for hot/cold (no thermostat) a button for the defrost, and a button to inhibit air conditioning. Everything else is fluff.

I’m not sure why that’s ideal when we can imagine things like “the car knows if you feel too hot or not” or “the car knows if the windows are frosted up.”

To me, the ideal “Jetsons” climate control system never needs to be interacted with.

> They even disable the touch screen while the car is moving.

That is a JDM "feature" that can be defeated with a $5 part in case you want do something dangerous like ask your passenger to adjust the GPS navigation while on the move.

> They’re not blindly following trends like throwing climate controls into the screen.

I agree, buttons and dials are so much easier to use safely, especially with muscle memory.

Hah, I really like how light the steering feels on my car, but I only started to drive recently. It is certainly more pleasurable to drive than the car from the driving school.

As for touchscreen, although the car has one, I can control music and volume through physical buttons on the wheel, and there is a panel with physical buttons for AC/heating.

I always feel a bit confused when people complain about new cars, my experience has been great.

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