But you're comparing this to BMW, which in place of that iPad has iDrive, which is perhaps the single largest UX abomination on the planet.

And personally, I've never been on the highway, with a semi-truck barrelling down on me from behind, needing to get over to make an exit, and thought to myself, "gee, I really wish I had less acceleration right now".

Which model year BMW did you drive? The early iDrive systems were quite crappy and the controllers were prone to breaking, but the current generation ones are actually pretty good.

Acceleration is great, but I don't think in your scenario it matters whether you have a 3 second 0-60 car or a 5 second one. Both of them are probably going to out-accelerate whatever truck that is coming down (unless the truck is trying to rear-end you).

I believe it was a 2014. It was last year, in Germany and Austria. For a rental, it didn't have that many miles on it, which is why I'm assuming it couldn't have been very old.

the funniest thing about tesla is it turned a bunch of non-car people into car people - they're arguing over cars on the internet now, completely unconsciously. let me say that again - arguing over cars on the internet like a bunch of car guys. isn't that hilarious? i think it is.

there isn't much difference between a tesla fanboy/fangirl and ... say, for example, a GT-R fanboy/girl.

Not so surprising. Already do it about iOS and Android; Windows, Linux, or OS X; Ruby, Python, Java, PHP, etc. Why not cars?

"doesn't have a huge iPad in the dashboard"

Why is this a bad thing?

When it comes to in-car controls, you want to be able to use them without taking your eyes off the road. To this end, knobs that you can grasp for and feel the current setting are great. Knobs without a tactile indication of the current setting are OK, as you can find them without looking and only glance down to see that you are selecting the appropriate setting. Buttons are worse because you have to glance down to find them, but once you do you should be able to use them and know that the input was registered through the tactile feedback.

Touchscreens, on the other hand, are just bad for this. You have to look at them the entire time you're operating them, or else your hand might change position and not press what you intended to press. You also need to look at the screen to see that your press registered what you wanted to do. All of this looking at the screen means your eyes aren't on the road where they belong.

I have to say I agree.

We have a car made in 2000, it has knobs and dials for everything, you can configure the AC/heat completely without looking at it after some familiarity with the controls. The radio you can configure the station and volume without looking.

We also own a Prius made in 2014. They've either turned everything into a flat button, or worse it requires the touch screen to configure. And while the Prius does many more things than the 2000 car, the 2000 remains more configurable while driving by a mile.

The Prius largely tries to not have you configure the AC/heat at all while driving by having an automatic mode and you can set the target temp', but this completely ignores other scenarios where people want to be hit with hot/cold and don't care what the actual temp is, or that the temp doesn't measure the sun hitting you on your bare arm constantly making you feel hotter than you actually are.

Ultimately cars were better ergonomically designed pre-touchscreen, when they did less. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to voice control the AC/heat, but until then it is a step backwards.

"this completely ignores other scenarios where people want to be hit with hot/cold and don't care what the actual temp is, or that the temp doesn't measure the sun hitting you on your bare arm constantly making you feel hotter than you actually are."

Exactly! I hate the ubiquity of automatic climate control systems these days. Everyone that has a car equipped with one just uses the "set point" knob like regular manual controls. It's full cold, full hot, or off with "in-between" settings managed via fan speed. They don't work for the reason you've stated even when used "properly".

I've also noticed that most systems refuse to switch off the A/C compressor unless you choose a set point several degrees above ambient. It's a waste of gas, especially when it's 68-70F with low humidity outside.

I definitely prefer knob and large button like those from a 2007, 2008 base model family sedan without a screen. But some times you need touch screen for this or that kind of extra feature. So my personal favorite system so far are iDrive and the new mazda system which let you control functions on a screen with a button/knob and preserve temp and volume control as separate knobs. BTW the worst system I've used are the ones which don't have usable physical button and doesn't let you complete your task fast in the touch screen. Yes I'm talking about you, Ford and Cadillac. And Mercedes, it's 2015 and you still have a dial pad in the center console, what's going on?

Huh? Our 2006 Prius has buttons on the steering wheel for adjusting the target temperature. Does yours not have these?

Tesla has steering wheel (physical) controls that map to Radio, AC, etc.

Which is even better than a physical knob you have to remove your hand from the steering wheel to operate.

When I test-drove a Tesla, I was actually surprised that the touch-screen controls weren't as bad as I expected, compared to physical buttons.

They're worse, for sure, but they've actually tried to minimize the problems, contrast ratio is high, buttons are clear, and feedback is as good as it gets without being tactile. Some buttons are also located on the edges, which allows you to feel out their position.

This is where I always thought HUDs would come into play. And yet, apparently, mostly, no...

One could probably have integrated this into Glass as well, but given the snail's pace of Android Auto (and the raging quality issues of Android in general), no yet again.

I would have loved a HUD manipulated through steering wheel controls. From what I've heard, this was too overwhelming for the previous generation of American drivers. I wonder if the next generation would fare better.

> All of this looking at the screen means your eyes aren't on the road where they belong.

... which is why the HUD (for velocity, navigation) in my 6 years old BMW is my favourite feature. I don't understand why so few manufacturers offer one.

Are there studies that show that a HUD is better than a dashboard display for velocity and navigation?

I can see that a HUD for showing animals detected by infrared is something you can't show on a dashboard.

Augmented reality would be a little tricky as you have to eye tracking too (to detect the correct alignment of objects).

Patents?

There is many reasons, but major for me is that you need to look at the screen when switching AC, performing simple tasks. With regular buttons you can memorize where is what and not look at them when switching options which increases the safety. Also large screen is distracting, BMW 7 focuses on driving and comfort removing from in front of your eyes anything that could tire your eyes.

I've never been inside a Tesla, but I've driven a few thousand miles in a (rented) BMW, and I would really be very surprised if Tesla could beat BMW in the "pure, crystallized-shit of UX" department. iDrive is an abomination.

All screens in cars are abominations and I will never buy one.

iDrive has (had?) a little knob that you had to navigate the UI with.

A year ago I was testing out a bunch of different cars for longer periods of time, and I found that the BMW was the least bad infotainment system. It's ok. Everyone else is just worse.

Cadillac Cue is rage-inducingly bad, I would love to see your reactions to that if you think IDrive is an abomination. :-)

No thanks. I don't need to fly into an rages anytime soon :P

Responding to the several comments about how there aren't tactical buttons and that you have to look at the large center console: that isn't accurate.

There are four buttons and two "scroll wheel buttons" on the steering wheel that control music, the sunroof, climate, etc. The feedback for those buttons is provided on the second digital screen that is behind the steer column, so your eyes just move up/down not towards the center console.

Just saying :)

Source: Just completed my second Portland <-> Yosemite trip in my "legacy" P85 that is 2+ years old now. I love it, but I'm jealous of the goodies in the new cars!

I did not know this, thanks for sharing. I found a video on YouTube where someone went over the buttons and how to use them. My biggest complaint with them would be that in order to adjust the climate you have to press the right scroll wheel, scroll to the setting you want to adjust (temperature, fan speed, roof, etc), press the button again, then use the scroll wheel again to adjust the setting, all while looking at the display in the instrument cluster. Better than the touchscreen, but still less convenient that I'd prefer.

Note that it remembers which setting you used last, so in the common case where you're always adjusting e.g. temperature, you just scroll the wheel up or down.

I won't argue that the setup is less convenient than it could be. On the other hand, I always found reaching over to some center console to fiddle with buttons and knobs to be extremely cumbersome even if I learned to find them all by feel.

> There are four buttons and two "scroll wheel buttons" on the steering wheel that control music, the sunroof, climate, etc.

Yes, but you have to program them to what you want in that moment or have to click a dozen times to reach what you are looking for. You don't have the ONE button at the roof that opens the sunroof every time you press it.

Physical buttons are far, far better than touch buttons when you're driving. Keep your eyes on the road, use tactile sense to figure out the button to press, once you've learned where it is.

I think people who haven't actually driven one (or haven't driven one beyond a test drive, anyway) think that it's too distracting, too hard to control things while driving, or something along those lines.

I had the same concerns initially, but they disappeared after trying it out. It's really well done and not a problem in practice.

If I want to press the fourth button from the left while driving - with a tactile button I can reach, count over the three buttons as my finger slides across them, and press the fourth button. Without removing my eyes from the road.

With touch buttons I need to look at the screen which takes my eyes off the road. Even if it's for 1/2 a second.

1/2 a second is the cause of many accidents. I'd prefer having physical buttons. Ironically, you lose your sense of touch on a touch screen.

I understand the objections. I just don't find them to actually apply in the real world.

First, what functions do you actually need to manipulate while driving? Most of that can be done from the steering wheel.

Second, when positions on a touchscreen are consistent you can learn to touch them without staring at them. I often adjust the interior temperature on the touchscreen even though it can be done on the steering wheel, just because I find it to be easier. It can be done out of the corner of my eye with practice.

Counting buttons is no less distracting than a quick glance away from the road. If you don't have time to glance at a screen, you shouldn't be messing with physical buttons either.

The trouble starts when the UI is designed poorly enough to require more than just a glance.

As someone who lives in Canada, I want to be able to adjust heat, radio, etc with gloves on.

You can adjust heat from the steering wheel. You can adjust radio a little bit, but not nearly as much as you should be able to. Not sure what "etc." refers to, but most of what you need while driving is on the steering wheel.

You can also preheat the car before you go, which helps a lot in the winter. And if you're in Canada you should definitely get the cold weather package, which includes a heated steering wheel, so gloves aren't as necessary.

Disclaimer: I've lived in cold climates (Wisconsin gets pretty brutal) but haven't had my Model S in a bad winter.

You can do that from the steering wheel, but, if you do want to use the touch screen with gloves on, they've been making gloves with special tips for years now. Lots of places sell them, including Tesla's accessories shop. It's the same stuff you need to work your phone with gloves on.

I'm also not a big fan of the giant touchscreen in a dashboard. I like tactile controls (even better if there's haptic feedback) since once I remember a motion, it can become second nature without constantly looking at a touchscreen to see if I touched something correctly. Call me old fashioned, but there's something very satisfying about turning a well made physical dial with a certain amount of resistance and weight.

Have you driven a Tesla for any period of time?

I find basically all glowing screens incredibly obnoxious in a car in the dark... Even little things, like my highbeam indicator which cannot be dimmed with the dash dimmer.

A physical knob, too, can be sufficiently illuminated with just a tiny sliver of light on the knob to indicate its position.

I generally want to keep my eyes on the road when I'm driving, and it's a lot easier to do that with physical controls than a giant touchscreen.

"Having driven both a 7 Series and a Model S, I'll take the BMW any day. More comfortable, better handling, looks better, doesn't have a huge iPad in the dashboard, and allows road trips with far less planning needed. It's nice that the tesla has insane acceleration, but in practice that's not super useful. And gas is a small enough part of my budget that it's not material so that isn't really a factor."

I (the parent) agree with all of this ... that is, except for preferring the 7 series.

I think the 17" screen is a real abomination - it's a stylistic void, in fact - there's a big black hole in the middle of the dash that has no styling since it's just a screen.

I also really don't like the Tesla interior - specifically the surprisingly lack of seat adjustments.