Luxury Car Brands and Distracting Touchscreens
Growing concerns over drivers being distracted by complex touchscreen systems in cars have led to a study naming and shaming the auto brands with the most difficult and convoluted systems.
Manufacturers are facing pressure to simplify in-car controls. From next year, safety ratings for vehicles could be downgraded if simple functions in the cabin require drivers to navigate through various screen menus rather than using buttons.
In response to these impending changes, Auto Express evaluated 10 of the latest infotainment systems from leading mainstream brands. The test assessed how distracting these systems are for drivers while in motion.
Skoda Leads the Pack, Genesis Lags Behind
The study revealed that Skoda offers the easiest-to-use system among the tested brands. However, the worst performer was Genesis, the luxury arm of Hyundai.
Testing Methodology
Auto Express enlisted three drivers with varying degrees of experience with touchscreen systems. They were tasked with completing five common adjustments while driving on a test track that simulated real-world road conditions. This involved staying within a 20mph speed limit, navigating junctions and roundabouts while making five adjustments in the cabin. These adjustments included:
- Turning off Lane Keep Assist.
- Activating navigation and setting a ‘home’ destination.
- Increasing the cabin temperature by two degrees.
- Turning on the heated seats.
- Selecting the radio and tuning to BBC Radio 4.
Each system was evaluated based on the time required to complete the changes. The drivers’ lap times were also recorded to measure how much they slowed down due to the distractions.
Skoda’s Success
The Skoda Superb, equipped with the Volkswagen Group’s latest navigation system, demonstrated the shortest average time to complete the setting changes. It took drivers an average of 4.8 seconds.
Turning off the lane keep assist safety feature and setting a sat-nav destination were the simplest tasks. The Skoda system performed well across all five adjustments.
Genesis’ Challenges
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Genesis GV60 SUV’s ‘ccIC’ infotainment system, took drivers an average of 13.6 seconds to complete the five tasks. This was almost three times longer than with the Skoda system.
The most time-consuming task in the Genesis system was turning off lane keep assist, taking 22.6 seconds, nearly four times longer than in the top-ranked Skoda Superb (6.6 seconds).
Changing the sat-nav location to home and tuning the radio also took almost 20 seconds, indicating that drivers needed to take their eyes off the road for a significant period to accomplish these common tasks. As a result, lap times were also considerably slower.
Industry Impact and Future Trends
Paul Barker, editor at Auto Express, commented on the trend: “By combining myriad manual controls into a single digital system perched atop your dashboard, car makers are able to reduce time and money spent on design, development, manufacture and assembly, making significant savings across the board. However, as touchscreens become more complex, they are increasingly distracting. Glitches are also common, with screens occasionally freezing or failing to respond promptly, causing drivers to look away from the road longer than necessary.”
A Genesis spokesman countered, “While the test focused on accessing features and making changes through the infotainment screen, there are also shortcut direct access buttons for these most-used features on the steering wheel and on the central dash to do exactly the same thing.”
The study highlights a growing concern among drivers and safety groups. They seek simpler dashboard controls to make adjustments easier while driving. A 2024 poll of almost 1,500 drivers by What Car? found that nine out of ten motorists want more buttons and switches in their cars.
Independent car safety body Euro NCAP plans to downgrade the safety ratings of cars that lack physical buttons for controlling essential functions. From January 1, 2026, vehicles without buttons or switches for indicators, hazard lights, the horn, windscreen wipers, and the SOS function will receive lower scores in crash tests.
This push for simpler controls also influenced Volkswagen’s design decisions. The company announced they would reintroduce physical buttons on steering wheels and dashboards, responding to consumer feedback and acknowledging the need for intuitive controls.
