Case Study: Car Dashboard Design
February 7, 2026
The design of in-car interfaces has become increasingly controversial as touchscreens replace traditional physical controls, creating a tension between technological advancement and user safety. Customers and safety researchers have expressed clear preference for physical over touch screen controls.
Safety concerns are paramount, as research consistently shows touchscreens require visual attention, taking drivers’ eyes off the road for dangerous periods. Despite these concerns, economic factors drive touchscreen adoption, as automakers find them cheaper to manufacture and update than physical components. The “Tesla effect” has been significant, with Tesla pioneering large touchscreens in cars with the 2012 Model S, setting a trend other manufacturers followed. However, regulatory intervention is emerging, with safety authorities like Euro NCAP beginning to require physical controls for critical functions. Consumer experience has evolved too—after initial enthusiasm, many drivers find touchscreens frustrating in real-world driving conditions. In response, a hybrid approach is developing, with the industry moving toward combining physical controls for essential functions with touchscreens for secondary features. Some experts suggest voice interfaces might eventually reduce reliance on both touchscreens and physical buttons, though haptic feedback limitations remain a fundamental issue, as touchscreens lack the tactile feedback that allows drivers to operate controls without looking away from the road.
As an exercise in forensic design, why did this trend start, why did it last so long, and why might it be changing now.
- The Subtle Art of Designing Physical Controls for Cars
- Tesla’s Touchscreen UI: A Case Study of Car-Dashboard User Interface
- When Bad UI Design Kills: China Bans Flush Door Handles
- 3 reasons why Tesla’s dashboard touch screens suck
- Are Car Touch Screens Getting Out of Control?
- Physical Controls Are Back Because Drivers Are Sick Of Endless Touchscreen Menus
- Touchscreens Are Out, and Tactile Controls Are Back
- Study: Hardware buttons in cars are safer than touchscreens
- Could Touchscreens in Cars Be on Their Way Out Already? Let’s Hope So
- If Cars With Touchscreens Are Unsafe at Any Speed, Why Do We Have Them?
- Our Tesla Model 3’s Turn Signals Aren’t Just Dumb, They’re Borderline Unsafe
- Analysis: Are touchscreens a good thing?
- New Safety Guidelines Could Kill an Annoying Automotive Trend
- Former Apple design boss calls for physical buttons to return to car interiors
- Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds
- screens Studios - recordings of almost every car infotainment system
- Auto Interfaces
- Sci-Fi Interfaces
Interestingly, the new Apple CarPlay addresses very few of the safety concerns above