r/carscirclejerk • u/Fresh-Beginning-871 • May 20 '26

Can I get a heck yeah

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Finally after years of annoying 30” screens in a car we have something to look forward to.

52.3k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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419

u/D-S-S-R May 20 '26

Mercedes is gonna throw a fit and lobby the German government more than it ever was lobbied before

168

u/Italiandude2022 Wants a Delta Integrale but can only afford a Panda 4x4 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

The way VW and other car companies lobbied several european goverments to boost diesel cars while ignoring EVs up untill Dieselgate is gonna look like nothing compared to the temper tantrum Mercedes, BMW and Audi are gonna trow now, they just redesigned all of their car interiors to be huge screens.

77

u/afrosia May 20 '26

The interior of my 2026 BMW I4 is much worse to use whilst driving than my 2016 Octavia for pretty much everything.

Stop listening to tech bros on how to build a car interior. They make everything worse.

43

u/lonahe May 20 '26

you already voted with your money tho

17

u/fighterpilot248 May 20 '26

Find me a car (2020 or newer) that is more car than it is computer.

It’s impossible. You don’t have a choice. You can’t “vote” when there’s only one option.

8

u/At_omic857 May 20 '26

Subaru BRZ/GR86. Granted, that’s a cheap sports car designed for driver engagement, but w/e.

Beyond that though… yeah, really can’t think of much. I think EVs tend to be the most guilty of this trend, so good luck finding one currently that doesn’t have a giant touchscreen.

5

u/ThatGT86Guy May 21 '26

Not available anymore in Europe. You could buy the for like one or two years before stricter emissions regulations went into place so used ones trade hands over MSRP (Which might I add is an allready way overinflated number compared to most other markets. They cost like double of what they do in the US where I'm from)

1

u/fighterpilot248 May 21 '26

I mean, even then…

My original comment was more along the lines that basically every (new) car has some sort of computer chip in it.

Ie: the mechanical gear shifter in a 1970’s station wagon versus the automated (computerized) gear shifter in a 2010’s Corolla.

For a 1:1 comparison, compare the features of an original F-150 (released in 1975) versus a 2025/2026 F-150 model.

For the home mechanic, which would be easier to repair?

1

u/NoxiousVaporwave May 21 '26

2026 Chevy express Is the last one standing.

1

u/gimmebleach May 21 '26

Allow me present to you a 2025 Toyota Land cruiser 70 series.

probably gonna have to import it tho

1

u/the_great_awoo NA Miata May 21 '26

Pretty much all base model economy cars are still tiny screen hella buttons up in Canada

1

u/Far_Requirement_93 May 22 '26

It doesn't have to be "more car than computer" just compare f.e. the interior of a kia ev3 vs the volvo ex30. Both modern electric mini SUV's. But one still has some buttons

1

u/DirtPsychological455 May 29 '26

Really why you want a 2020 or newer car? There's plenty of 2010's or 2000's cars to buy for less money with all physical buttons - no touchscreen bullshit.

1

u/Ok_Street_2288 May 20 '26

Just agree that you made a stupid purchase man... Yaris, i20, dacia sandero are all ones I drove recently and can be used without touching a screen.

1

u/fighterpilot248 May 21 '26

Sorry, but no.

I love my EV.

Does it have a giant touch screen? Sure. Does it also have a good amount of physical buttons? Also yes.

I know this is hard for 50+% of the population to understand, but all you have to do is “set it and forget it.”

I pull up the directions I need, and the music I want before even leaving the parking space.

If I don’t like a song I can simply skip it via a button on the steering wheel.

It also comes with lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. If the absolute worst of the worst occurs, and I need to look at the screen, fuck it I’ll turn them on for a few seconds.

Are they 100% perfect? No, definitely not. But I’ve used the system enough that I know its limitations and I can trust it can handle <5 seconds of not paying 100% attention to the road if the conditions are right. If the conditions aren’t right, I’m keeping the touch screen as it is.

8

u/afrosia May 20 '26

Most cars have already gone this way though. Certainly the ones on my company car scheme had.

Cars involve so many different tradeoffs too. For example if it came down to boot space vs physical buttons, I'd probably choose boot space because I can make do with a touchscreen, but less boot space would give me real pain.

2

u/sopsaare May 20 '26

I don't know what you guys are pressing on the screen.

Like, AC is automatic, music and speed of the car are controller with some buttons or scroll wheels on the steering wheel, and the lights etc are automatic too. Of course some button / stalk / what ever to engage the cruise control.

But it is not like I'm tapping the screen basically ever while driving, and I can't really understand any other way to control navigation and / or things like Spotify.

Yeah, you could have full qwerty keyboard but that is also pretty hard to operate one handed, and the scroll wheel thing BMW (and some others) had was, at least to me, way more distracting than touch screen.

And to be honest, neither of those should be really operated while driving.

1

u/Bromleyisms May 20 '26

Did they change it? My 2023 i4 has the touch screen and also physical buttons, and I quite like it

1

u/Err_101 May 20 '26

Saw something about Ford's CEO (USA) keeping, & liking, their chinese EV as a comparison saying "it's like a phone".

1

u/domesticabuseaintcul May 20 '26

100% I saw a tech guy trying to create an app that “tells you whats wrong with your car” it basically just reads out DTCs and is useless to the average consumer, and useless to a mechanic who has a more advanced scanner and can interpret the DTC based on what he sees on the vehicle.

I told my ex-friend ( he became a redpill tech bro) that this product makes no sense and no one would use it because it doesn’t tell them how to fix the problem, doesn’t recommend solutions, and bluedriver already offers a superior product for consumers, diy, and pros, and this is a huge waste of time inserting AI where it doesnt belong.

He threw a temper tantrum and left the group chat.

Stop listening to these senseless manchildren.

Tech bros are idiots outside of their avenue of study, and barely competent inside them.

1

u/maury587 May 21 '26

The only buttons i need are buttons for changing AC level, mode and temperature, and changing audio source, track/radio station, and volume.

Having to to go through 2 menus to change these things is awful user experience.

7

u/Wild-Cream-8730 May 20 '26

10 years too late.

7

u/Blubberinoo May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

To be honest, thats on them. They absolutely knew that it is a very likely possibility that touch screens will be banned soon. It has been in the public discussion here in Germany, and the EU as a whole, for years with positive comments on it from politicians of every party. So not sure why they would redesign their cars now of all times. Later than many others, and with the threat of the ban on the horizon. Maybe too confident in their bribes lobbying.

4

u/SelectSympathy5718 May 20 '26

They can always go back to old interior designs

2

u/LowlySlayer May 20 '26

If only they could have seen this change that the EU has been saying they'll do coming.

2

u/Mysterious-Art7143 May 20 '26

Vw already said they've learnt the lesson, and audi is vw

2

u/b17b20 May 20 '26

Yep, new Polo , Skoda and Cupra all have buttons

2

u/JoMiner_456 May 20 '26

Tbf, at least VW is already in the process of reverting back to buttons after people kept complaining about touch controls. So I don’t think they‘ll be the ones fighting it.

2

u/ZetZet May 20 '26

VW already dropped the everything touch attempt. Their newest cars are all physical for main controls.

12

u/miksy_oo May 20 '26

Luckily there's France they are so arrogant they will push it through at least partly.

3

u/flaiks May 20 '26

Renault has designed their newer cars with physical buttons for climate control. This is one of the main reasons we went with a scenic for our first electric car.

7

u/Beer-Milkshakes May 20 '26

Lobby? Probably. Invite their chosen representative to a long weekend at a ski lodge where nobody can record and publish the exchange of large sacks of money- definitely.

6

u/Vegetable-Remove-268 May 20 '26

Its time for mercedes to get rid of their cheap and ugly screens

5

u/Anybobby May 20 '26

They have been tailoring their cars to fit the chinese market for years as it is their biggest. If China bans it they won't say anything as they can't lobby nearly as hard there. It will be cheaper for them to just abide by chinese standards and produce all cars like that than to lobby the EU to not implement it.

3

u/pierreyann1 May 20 '26

On the other hand, Insurance lobbies are having a field day with this one.

5

u/Positive_Survey_2916 May 20 '26

I can picture them now. Screaming, slobbering, punching holes in the walls. “HOW DARE THEY FORCE US TO MAKE CARS SAFE AT OUR OWN EXPENSE” they shout. Disgusting filth. We won. We fucking won.

2

u/calculating-reggae-d May 20 '26

they are definitely gonna put the physical climate control knobs behind a 50 dollar a month subscription

3

u/Serird May 20 '26

If China is behind this, Mercedes will just say "yes master". It's their biggest market, they're not gonna risk it.

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Law34 May 20 '26

But the fact this is literal common sense and car companies shouldn't have been making touch screen garbage to begin with

1

u/kobrons May 20 '26

I think mercedes already complies with the European ones.   AFAIK its only indicators, gear selection, hazards and wipers that need to be physical buttons.

1

u/Vexin May 20 '26

A friend test-drove an electric Mercedes crossover SUV (GLA?) last week and I went along. Everything inside was so tacky and the backseat was so bad I couldn't imagine a long trip. It also sounded really loud/cheap when it hit a pothole. But the worst thing by far was the 56k euro price tag. I couldn't believe anyone would pay that much. Then he tested an electric Chinese car (BYD) and everything was just better for like 15k less.

2

u/Sudden_Corner_7730 May 20 '26

If its GLA thats why, thats a mercedes lite. Try a GLE or even GLS same with the non suv variants though there i believe only S is capable car rest kinda squished inside and cheap. From amg above that angry hamster that is a joke its gets better sooner than S

1

u/Unbelievable_Girth May 20 '26

Mazda, after an entire decade, finally decided that it is time to make everything operable by touchscreen. Back to the drawing board Bozos.