Hyundai Still Keeps Physical Button, The Reason?

The latest Hyundai Santa Fe interior. (Doc. Hyundai)

JAKARTA - The fifth generation of Hyundai Santa Fe was officially launched into the Indonesian market some time ago. This car comes by offering a relieved interior space combined with radical designs on its exterior.

One of the highlights is that there are still physical and kenob buttons on the dashboard even though there are two screens that are integrated with each size 12.3 inches, consisting of an infotainment touch screen and a digital cluster. The center console is also presented with a wireless charging pad dual, making users not have to worry if their smartphone is experiencing a weak battery.

According to a Korean report by JoonAng Daily, reported by The Drive, November 12, a Hyundai executive recently told media about this physical button when visiting its design center in California that initially they were trying to switch to one large touch screen for all functions: navigation, media, and climate control. However, surveys have shown that American consumers prefer buttons or buttons to touchscreens for most of the controls. Touching screens often require more driver attention, as some functions can be buried in some submenu, making them at least frustrating when used while driving, and the worst dangerous.

"When we add an integrated [infotainment] screen in our vehicles, we also try touchscreen-based control, and people don't like it," said Hyundai Ha Ha Hak-soo vice president.

"When we tested with a number of groups, we realized that people are stressed, upset, and upset when they want to control something in a state of emergency but can't do it," he added.

If pulled back, Tesla is the first to popularize large and integrated touchscreens, then this trend spreads across automotive manufacturers.

Hyundai admits that they were also initially fascinated by Tesla's interior design. However, it seems to be starting to disappear from Hyundai cars and its newest modern SUV.

Hyundai isn't the only brand it subscribes to that it wants simpler and faster controls to find. Aston Martin's luxury brand has an internal metric to measure all interior controls, the so-called "busty factors".

"If you want to increase and lower the volume, the absolute temperature of the minute you have to go into the screen and tap on for temperature, you have lost the customer. You have lost your experience," Aston design director Miles Nurnberger told CarExpert in March.