Part of pilot training in the old days in the Air Force was the pilot was blindfolded, and the instructor would call out a control's name, and the pilot had to put his hands on the control.

Or he wouldn't be rated to fly the airplane.

In an airliner, the critical controls are all uniquely shaped, so the pilot knows by the feel which is which.

I agree, and the voice control implementations I've seen leave a lot to be desired. But they do work without taking your eyes off the road, or hands off the steering wheel.

I think the most common commands can all be mapped to buttons on the steering wheel, which similarly is as close to possible as "negligible reduced driving capacity to use" without the tediousness of voice control.

But I do think the theoretical safety benefits of physical buttons that are not on the steering wheel as compared to touchscreens for features beyond the ones commonly used while driving are probably overstated.

I share your dislike for voice control. But using it for some non-essential controls (like the air conditioning) while driving a car is the one place I've thought of where I would be comfortable using it.