Volkswagen’s CEO has pledged to do away with their unfavourable touch-sensitive steering controls which have been a controversial feature on higher-end models in their lineup. Buttons will return in the future.
Few bad cars exist in the local motoring sphere but good cars may often come with bugbears that can inhibit their seamless use and become a frustration for their users. Volkswagens’ touch-sensitive steering controls are one such example of this, fitted into higher-end models within the German automaker’s lineup which have been a controversial addition from the onset.
Related: Volkswagen Tiguan R Review
This may become a thing of the past as CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Thomas Schäfer has stated that the controversial technology will be replaced.
In a LinkedIn post on customer preferences and transformation into digitization, Schäfer stated: “We are sharpening our portfolio and our design, plus creating a new simplicity in operating our vehicles. For example, we are bringing back the push-button steering wheel! That’s what customers want from VW.”
Both great offerings, the Golf and Tiguan to name a few models, wear this unfortunate feature on their haptic steering surface which provides uncomfortable feedback and are overly sensitive to touch.
The touch-sensitive steering controls undeniably provide a modern aesthetic to the Volkswagen interiors but their inherent use is compromising. Fortunately, the brand will return to the form-follows-function approach after the feature was criticised by media and customers alike. As vehicles enter the realm of digitisation more than ever before, it is crucial for automakers to ensure the user experience is as seamless as possible.
Schäfer further added: “Our industry is in the midst of a big transformation – what is crucial now from my point of view: listening carefully to our customers, learning and providing answers to the pressing questions of the time. Today, this is all about stepping up to the next level in electrification and digitalization.”
