Just bring back buttons. Thx.

I remember that time (many years ago) when Jeremy Clarkson was reviewing a Mercedes and, to prove that it was perfect, he showed that he could close his eyes and find all the buttons he needed because they were exactly where they needed to be. Today he wouldn't even find the turn signal.

Now is definitely NOT the time to be buying a car. Average car cost $47K?! That's insane! Check your ego at the door - you need a vehicle to get back and forth to work, not to impress anyone. An auto finance rate of 7%+ is an insult to anyone with excellent credit. No thanks. Those new cars can sit on the lot and rot away for all I care.

Not only are the lack of buttons and overtaking of touchscreens creating incoveniences, I think they're incredibly unsafe regarding how you have to mess around with them in the middle of driving.

the ability to permanently turn off all of the stuff you don't need would be great

Bring back physical buttons for ANYTHING you need to feasibly use while driving. A/C, volume, cruise control. If a touch screen makes you take your eyes off the road its a safety hazard IMO Also, headlights are way too bright. Im sick of having my retinas burned in by the latest 10000000 Lumens LED. Bright enough=/=as bright as you can produce

quick in a straight line. But weights 3 tones. And corners like a bus. Thats a good idea🤣

Some things that cars generally don't have that I think should added or prioritised: 1. Hazard lights that flash with a different sequence to indicators. IMO hazards should do a quick double flash, rather than blink at the same rate as indicators - so that you can tell the difference between a car that is parked up with hazards on and one that is indicating to pull out (i.e. if you can only see one of it's indicators). The standard blink probably came about because hazards used the same circuit as indicators - but now most cars have LED lights - there is no reason this still needs to be the case. 2. Brake force indicating brake lights. Given many cars now have LED light bars as brake lights - why aren't brake force indicating brake lights a thing. If the bar illuminated from the outside in, to indicate the braking force, it would give drivers behind more information as to whether brake lights coming on where just a little reactive tap - or a full slam on. 3. Blind spot indicating lights. I know many cars come with these now - but it should be standard. 4. Dashcams. Given how cheap digital cameras and memory cards are today and the potential for sorting out insurance disputes - it's silly that cars don't come with front and rear dashcams as standard (or at least as an option). 5. This might need a change in legislation - but if cars had small rear lights say green and purple above the rear windscreen linked to buttons on the steering wheel to indicate a "thank you" or a "i'm sorry" to drivers behind, it could save a lot of road rage, anger and frustration. I know many drivers use a quick double flash of the hazards or alternating indicators to indicate thanks, but having dedicated lights for this could make things much clearer. 6. Not sure whether this is feasible (and there may be safety considerations) - but could headlights include a black light element? I have done some experiments with a black light torch and clothing that contains fluorescent material is visible at a much greater distance when illuminated by even a very low power black light torch than when illuminated by standard white light.

Lack of physical buttons is the worst trend right now and it seems to be getting worse. Cost saving aka penny pinching disguised as "cutting edge"!😅 I consider it a safety issue to have to faff around touchscreen menus for important functions that are frequently used. Easy to use buttons and knobs please! And if a manufacturer wants to differentiate they should use premium engineering and materials for the controls instead of getting rid of them altogether.

I actually like smaller wheels with taller tire walls. They improve ride quality, prevent curb rashes and you wont crack your wheel when you hit a pot hole

I do like how the smaller wheels on the E class look, maybe it's because it's a good design overall. Smaller wheels also have the advantage of improving ride quality and being lighter weight in many cases

I think the contemporary popular car styling really reached its peak between 2000-2010. Cars like original Ford Focus, BMW E46 (though these two slightly predate that timeframe), Peugeot 307, Alfa Romeo 159, latest Mitsubishi Lancer have all aged extremely well.

It's already been said in the comments but the lack of buttons and display dials needs to stop, it's honestly dangerous to have a person constantly checking over to the infotainment system for feedback on speed, battery consumption, temperature etc. I'd go so far as to make it a legal requirement on safety grounds. Also, new Model 3 Tesla removing paddles for indicator, wipers etc. is just another level of madness. It completely rules them out as an option for me.

1) Bring back physical buttons 2) Bring back small alloys which can improve ride quality. 3) Bring back analogue speedo & tachometers I think car manufacturers should focus on prioritising function over aesthetics

Bring back physical controls, build cars better, and make them more reliable. Also add cool interesting bright colors back! That’s all I want.

Reminds me of the VW Golf I rented through ZipCar. Seat position was done via the touchscreen and I could not work it out. Drove 40 miles pretty much looking through the steering wheel! Let's bring back good old buttons and switches (and not just on cars!).

Touch screens to control heater etc should be banned as not safe to adjust when driving

Point number 9 is actually true. A Finnish insurance company recently published data that EVs are more likely to get into accidents when compared to internal combustion cars. They theorized that the reason is that most people are not used to the fast acceleration and great performance they have. An alternative explanation was that their increased weight increases braking distance on snow and ice, which also increases risk. But the increased accident risk seemed to happen year around.

Agree with the buttons thing. With so many drivers actually hating the touch screens I don't understand why the manufacturers persist in foisting them on us. With proper switches muscle memory means you don't have to think about them , screens, on the other hand, are so distracting.

The wheels being "small" are fine. Some of us prefer comfort and not worrying about curbing the rims that cost £1500...

high profile tires are pretty good for tackling potholes. With those low profile wheels you need to watch out for bumps and drive extremely cautiously in order not to get them wrecked. Not to mention the driving comfort over the low profile tires.

The smaller wheels aren’t for upselling wheels only. They also look better on emissions testing and provide a more comfortable / quieter ride on tester vehicles. Then the customer gets larger wheels and screws that, but hey the manufacturer tricked both them and legislators 🥳

Less expensive Cars with less bullshit that we dont need

I do not have a problem with thicker tyres and smaller rims at all to be honest. They can look fantastic when properly designed and offer some peace of mind when the terrain gets a bit more "technical". Making the smaller options look hideous on purpose is what bugs me though. I often have trouble imagining that the professional designers, who came up with the usual standard-options, did the best they can.

Very much agree with the touch screens and engine power. We have gone so astray when a modern SUV has the same fuel economy of a brick shaped saloon of the 80's. Imagine how much more efficient we could have vehicles with all this tech if we kept to a reasonable weight and power with the tech to get lighter vehicles that use half the fuel of 80's cars. Instead we got 4000 lb SUV's that have 400 hp. Also we need a maximum lumen limit for brake lights. The modern ones blind me when I come off the highway, have to block the light with my hand.

The smaller wheels are better than the larger wheels. They give better ride quality and don't damage as quickly. The large wheels are an option for people who value looks over functionality.

BRING BACK ANALOG CARS

I can't help but wonder if there will be a repeat of what happened in the US car market in the early 60s, cars went from outrageous with tons of chrome and fins, which are very iconic, to relatively minimalistic and straightforward designs. Maybe in the near future cars will start to become much less visually complex?

I'll stick with my 16 year old astra. It has buttons, is reasonably cheap to fix and maintain, has sensible displays and does what I need it to do.

Screens instead of physical buttons is by far the worst offender

I like how he went from complaining about the brake covers because "It's a road car and has no purpose for them, just to make it look better" to "I don't like the lack of drift mode, makes it too much of a road car" between 2 different trends

I find myself reaching to change songs with the steering wheel controls every time because it's a button and I don't have to look away from the road. Also, those bigger wheels look nice, but even a 17" tire is nearly 200 dollars each and they need replaced often enough that they really factor in cost of ownership. Luckily I'm in a 22' mirage with 14's and they're about $45 a tire.

To be honest I'd take the small rims over the large ones any day. Not only I like the looks of nice tall profiles but it's so much more convenient in real traffic. Large rims may be nice for a race track but on the real road the tall profile tire absolutely rules. More comfort, more stability and just better performance in adverse conditions makes the big balloons my go to tires.

One thing I think doesn't get discussed enough with new cars is general ownership costs. Having 20+ inch wheels is all well and good but best hope you have deep pockets when replacing a tire. A lot of these cars especially the EVs are fast, and as a result fall into very high insurance groups. I even hear horror stories of entire headlight units needing replacing if the LED running lights go out instead of a simple bulb change like in older cars.

Years ago, I used my relative’s late-2000s Toyota Yaris to commute to my job. It worked perfectly fine, and the most advanced thing in it was probably the Aux cord. Nowadays, cars are almost totally overwhelming with massive screens that are unintuitive to use and no physical controls. I’m astounded at what can happen in just a few years.

I agree with you that manufacturers should bring the buttons back. In Tesla model S, why do we need to go through the screen to open the glove box? It doesn't have to be mechanical buttons. Transistor buttons are good enough. But the trunk or fuel door buttons should be mechanical leverage buttons. Hyundai and Kia are doing great they keep the buttons and their cruise control systems are easiest to use.

Since cars now commonly have LCD screens, which are always lit, they need to stop having front-only day-time running lights. The number of people driving around at night with no rear lights is astonishing.

Expected to see Tesla's removal of stalks (putting turn signal buttons on the steering wheel) on this list. One of the reasons I didn't wait for the Model 3 Highland refresh.

With you on a lot of this but not rims. I go out of my way to get smaller wheels as I usually find the ride so so much better. Went out of my way to get my Q3 in sport trim rather than S-Line to avoid the stupid large rims and get 18s instead… a nightmare when trying to get all the other options I wanted

oh my goat the E36 sound. the replays lol and give me more buttons!

Great points. But while big wheels look nice, they are a headache in practice. My previous Cayenne had 21" wheels and I constantly had to worry about damaging them trying to negotiate a big car out of tight underground parking garages. When I sold the car the first thing the dealer did was check for wheel damage. "Luckily" only one was damaged. For my new Cayenne opted for 20" wheels.

I disagree with the wheel size trend though. Smaller rim = higher tire profile = better ride comfort. 20inch wheels on an X1!? I know it looks better and all but it wont be too great on bad roads. I’m glad the smaller rims are at least and option for those would want that.

Your delivery is so good! 😆😆 like at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="215">3:35</a>. Good work!

In the 50ties and into the 70ties these fuel filler caps were hidden either behind a rear light or behind the number plate especially in American cars. It can‘t be that difficult to do this again.

I don't like all the crap they put in modern cars, stops me wanting one and saves me money! 😀

Dear Matt you are spot on with this video. I couldn't agree more. I really miss the interiors with a million buttons. I just knew where everything was and what did it do. I also agree with the outrageous horsepower of the electric cars that comes with a lot of energy consumption, battery wear and of course the much higher risk of accident.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="271">4:31</a> I sat in that exact Hiphi Z at Goodwood this year!

Amen brother / excellent points and love the honesty. Keep ‘em coming

Cheaper cars would be great. A trend I've been noticing is that all the 'budget' cars from the past (golf, clio, fiesta, etc) now come with so many features and gadgets that drive up the price, so they are unaffordable to their target markets. When I was a teen, Citi Golf's were marketed to college kids working part time jobs... Now I'm a full time software dev and I can't imagine affording a modern VW Golf.

I love that UKposts's closed captions just say "music" when you're playing the exhaust sounds from the BMWs

My wife just drove home in her brand new Camry hybrid. I was overjoyed to see it had a stereo volume KNOB of all things (on and off with the knob, too)! It even had temp level knobs for left and right sides! You still have to take your eyes off the road to adjust where to send the heat (Floor? Vents?) and I have no idea how to find the odometer on the instrument cluster.. (Or even how to use the instrument cluster). Back to the heater controls, my 1985 Toyota p/u has two sliding levers to control heater temp and where to send the heat, as well as a four position knob to control fan speed. And the level cable broke after over 30 years of back and forth. I bought the cable for $22 and installed it myself in about 45 minutes. I could do the same job now in about twenty minutes, having figured out my mistakes and how to actually do it. I don't have any idea how much a new HVAC computer would cost on the Camry, but I bet the entire thing, including installation, is north of $1500 and I definitely cannot do it myself.

Side note on video production, I happened to notice Matt looks a little cross-eyed in this video. I hadn't noticed it in other videos so I'm wondering if the prompter was a little to far away from the camera lens. Loved the video :)

I liked the old Saab dark mode that blacked out all interior instruments so that you could see better at night. Slick feature,

All i want is to control AC and radio through the buttons.

Tesla Model S 2022+ did a great job with interior and design. I agree it could use more buttons, but it has a dedicated driver display (in addition to the middle touch screen). They also come with smaller rims/taller tires that look good and perform well. One thing you won't get in more traditional cars: context sensitive cameras based on your driving (showing the left camera when using signal). It makes driving much safer and enjoyable.

I don't need to worry about touch screens because all my cars have been from the 90s or noughties.

Need those physical buttons. Analogue meter is always fascinating. And classic cable handbrake is better than electronic handbrake in case of emergency.

Mat, you hit the nail on the head with all these modern flaws! As a certified petrolhead, my daily is a Tesla M3P for the last 4 years is absolutely rapid, but soulless . The lack of buttons/tactile controls is a real safety issue for everyday use. This is why I still have a 20+ yr old manual Legacy GT-B for real driving. OK, so not so quick as the Tesla, but my goodness it stirs the heart.

As well as physical controls a big selling point if I was looking for another car would be a physical handbrake. I can't say I've had enough practical experience with the electronic ones to fully judge them, but I just like the reassurance of the noise and feel of a proper handbrake.

If only manufacturers made cars like the w140. That was the best cat ever built. Simple yet comfortable, easy to fix and reliable

I think the wheel sizes are ok, Its not all about looks, some people want a more comfortable ride. I think its ok with smaller size wheels, but they can probably make them look better.

To be honest, I like the way the new electric Hyundais look. They're maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but they actually have some really interesting design touches reminiscent of the 1980s, which I like.

There are some reason for this silly touch element on screens. The most important one, it's cheap. Also very important, you can see special features later on (or deactivate features after a period of cost-free usage). And the last one, if the feature isn't fully developed at the time, you want to sell the car, just bring it later on. But for the customer, it's a bis step backwards, wenn you have to open the climate menu first, in your wife wants to increase the temperature of the seat heating. Or you have to use silly sliders for changing radio volume. It's nearly impossible to close the sliding roof of a new mercedes C-Class while driving. Or changing temperature in a ID.3 by night. And after two years, when free testing ob connectivity is outdated, lot's of cars are losing the fine working voice control via external server. Or you have to pay again for the features, you've ordered by buying the car. Preowned cars in the future are risky. Maybe most of the features inside are no longer licensed.

I love how he criticizes brands for making cars too quick but as usual, leaves out the brand that started it, Tesla. The brand no one is allowed to criticize for obvious reasons.

I remember when EU banned Rolls-Royce having an illuminated Spirit of Ecstasy. Just 3 years ago. All in the name of the light pollution prevention. Seems they have no issue with local and Chinese brands doing crazy stuff now.

I must be getting old now (I'm 45) - I love seeing cars such as the current BMW 3 series and outgoing 5 series in SE spec on 17's with a nice fat sidewall.

In my opinion it's a great thing that they are going wild with the designs. Some of them are really looking cool. Sometimes you have to push the boundaries to get a breakthrough. :) About the button / touch screen thing. I think the best option would be to leave the most used stuff as buttons and create some programmable button which the user can decide what they set onto.

Having to navigate through the touchscreen is why there’s an increase in crashes,I have an old Astra with simple real knobs and buttons,I borrowed my wife’s up to date Hyundai the other day and nearly curbed it 3 times trying to adjust heating and finding a decent radio channel 👍🏼

But there's a catch with those Big Rims. They're just waiting to get damaged one day because they're so close to the ground. Coupled with some worse performance with stuff like increased road noise inside the cabin, your fuel/battery efficiency drop, and the ride just won't be as comfortable as those using smaller rims.

I agree with most of these but getting rid of loud cars is a blessing and huge low profile wheels are expensive and pointless.

This is real talk from a man of knowledge thank you mat 👍

Great video! I agree on everything. I think manufacturers should use more timeless designs and also follow the research when it comes to interior design of buttons and screens. Because the research available says that touch screens and touch buttons are inferior to physical buttons when it comes to using them while looking at something else (in this case the road ahead).

Simpler cars please!! Also, I for one prefer small rims. Sure they don't look as good but I can't imagine driving through potholes on 20" rims.

It's kind of sad how all those lights we used to put on our car as a kid and got pulled over as it was unsafe and illegal are now totally encouraged.

i just got a BMW series 2 coupe 21 plate & one feature that annoys me to no end is that when i connect my phone to the stereos Bluetooth to play music. The stereo will change the play setting on my phone to play all tracks when i had set it to loop a single tracks & there is no feature on the stereo to change the play setting, so i have to change it on my phone every time i connect to the Bluetooth.

So often when it comes to motor vehicles I want to turn around an old saying so we get "It's not a feature, it's a bug(bear)" The biggest is taking away tactile switch gear, a huge safety issue. Big wheels and rubber band tyres lead to appalling ride quality, I'm old enough to remember 15" wheels and a 65 profile being considered a big rim/low profile option.

The more stuff you add to a machine, the more it's likely to fail somewhere. As they say "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="380">6:20</a> yesterday I unfortunately overlooked a massive pothole since it was dark and raining. I can thell you that if I were driving a bigger rim that rim would have been toast. Luckily the big sidewall on my tires saved my ass.

Spot on. I would like to add that the older Prius also had no HUD for the driver, and moved everything to a tiny instrument cluster in the center of the dashboard. Which is kind of hard to read.

I grew up in rural areas, where we needed to drive on things other than pavement. So for me it isn't so much about having taller rims as it is having more tires, you know, with actual sidewalls.

The selfie camera is there to watch drivers for driver monitoring systems.

Fantastic Matt ! You have brought up the exact points , which were burning me down over the last few years ....what has gone wrong with the designers ? Why can't they design simple elegant looking " Dream machines" we aspired right from our childhood ! Give us back our "dreams" , " aspirations" ......today we are loosing them over design, technology and choice of fuel.

as someone driving one of these high ps economy cars i can just say that you will be suprised how many tires you end up needed. i need to change mine every 5000 miles lol

Road car tyres don't need to be lower than a 50 profile. Comfort suffers and actual suspension damage occurs on poor surfaces when using super-low profile tyres. 65 profile used to be regarded as low when the standard was 80.

Owner of a 22' Mazda 3 sedan here (my very first car as well) and I love having buttons around; no dirty screen with the use of the central knob and yes physical buttons for your A/C control as well! No need to go through endless options just to change the dang temperature while driving and putting yourself and others at risk with your attention being on the infotainment screen and not the road ahead. Clean instrument cluster gauge (although i could blame the plexiglass being so easily scratched even with a microfiber cloth and overall piano black on the center console...). Overall I'm pretty happy with Mazda keeping things simple and yet creating a gorgeous car inside and out (especially with modern cars having way too many crease, hard lines and even fake air vents lol). I can definitely see myself keep my trusty car for at least 10 yrs with proper care. TL;DR A pretty good car with a few nitpicks here and there but a lot to love also and would recommend as a first car and yes young folks that love sedans still exist xD

I remember commenting that the Merc V class had the right idea when it came to power. 12s 0-62, which is more than most use, especially in what is basically a van with seats. By having the smaller motor, they get better range, which is something EVs are still having issues with. Most drivers are asleep at the lights and junctions anyway, and rarely come close to using full acceleration. So as Matt said, chill out manufacturers. We know EVs can outdo ICE on acceleration, so focus on fixing their weakness, range.

Remember when touch screen phones were all the craze and now they're as common as a vw polo driver. Car manufacturers are trying to reinvent the wheel but forget their market... heck the Millennium Falcon has more buttons than most cars nowadays and it made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

100% spot on. Too much consideration to form as opposed to function, a fundamental engineering/design imbalance. The higher associated costs that result will self correct, but still may take some time to work through.

Thank you MAT to point out all these issues . I think that the new EV with 400 hp, 600 hp and more are dangerous .You need to be trained to drive this cars . Heavy cars, powerful, it is the perfect match to get severe crashes with death people.

The manufactures are removing buttons not only for the sake of cost cutting, but to condition users into thinking of basic car features being more akin to software than mechanical/physical features. Software is of course something consumers are already well versed in purchasing and subscribing to since the advent of smartphone apps and streaming services. With every new iteration of car models, more and more function is going to be locked behind subscription paywalls. This is also going to help the manufacturers squeeze much more additional revenue from the second hand car market too.

The Tesla Model 3 middle screen was a way to cut production costs. But research shows that physical buttons are vastly superior to touch screens when it comes to changing settings while driving.

Less sidewall flex makes for better turn-in so you get more responsive cornering yet if it all reverts to understeer, the illusion of grip can be deceiving. It's not like road cars would be easy to park with 0° of camber so your contact patch could actually be less than what we've been led to believe

An honorable mention for cameras replacing rear view mirrors and that goes for both side mirrors and interior mirrors. It's just even more technology that can and will fail. Happy to see that some manufacturers stay away from huge touch screens at least.. I drive XC60 and V90 CC at work and it really annoys me when I want to change the climate settings or heated seats/steering wheel. It's just not safe to fiddle with the touch screen while driving.

I'm attention deficit AF. The last thing I need is a great bit screen full of pretty colours and a labyrinth of menus to explore, when im supposed to be concentrating on driving 😂

Single screen is easy, and I don't miss the centre screen. A study was done (by Toyota I believe) who proved the a glance to the side for speed was quicker than glance down, and back up. And to be honest, It's noticeable, even if ugly.

i can't imagine it's super common and i don't have access to a lot of cars. but i feel like a lot of newer ('10+) cars no longer have seatbelt height adjustment sliders in the b pillar which can be a pain. keep an eye out for that

For some reason some companies feel like less features is better. Like phone companies that don't include the charger in the box but still charge you like if they did. In terms of performance, well it's the whole benefit of electric cars right? The instant power and torque. The EV6 GT is a performance version, not a base version. But yes, a lot of people should not be allowed to drive a 300HP+ machine when they cant even drive a 75HP version.

Lmao I love Mat's dry wit humor. Pretty classic. And omg the cruise control thing bothers me to no end. On my car from '06 I just flip on CC on the steering wheel knob, hold it down at the speed I am going at and it's set. That's it. I don't need to look at it or anything. Physical buttons are SOO much easier than navigating through a screen while driving.

I was photographing a Z06 near a lake and dog park. The car is phenomenal and that V8 is truly incredible, but the start up bark is really annoying after the novelty wears off. I had to move the car a dozen times to get different angles with the background we wanted to use. People in the dog park grew increasingly hostile every time I started the car, thinking I was revving it on purpose. "WTF, bro! We get it! You have a 'Vette!" yelled one guy after about 5 starts. I looked, but never found a quiet start mode in the menus.

Button, knobs, switches and leavers are ergonomically still the best you can have. Unfortunately they are more costly than touch screens and so the industry tries to tell us how new-edge-modern and cool a scree ist. No matter in cars, on stoves or elsewhere.