Volvo claims it has the next great hope for in-car infotainment, a brand-new touch-screen interface we'll be able to play with on their beautiful, brown Concept Estate at the Geneva auto show. It's a preview to the all-digital dash coming on the 2015 XC90 due later this year.
But we've heard this line a dozen times before as automakers swap buttons and switches for slabs of touch-sensitive plastic and movable icons on a screen. Nearly every automaker has mucked it up—some, like Ford, in a dramatic spiral of customer complaints—and the only system we've found worthy and nearly bug-free comes on a $100,000 electric car (yes, the Tesla Model S).
In a new promotional video showing Volvo's system in action, Gothenburg seems to have posed the same doubts we'd have brought up on our own. So we'll do Volvo a favor, as it tweaks and updates it's new system during the months ahead, and do our best to answer their exact questions from the clip.
In a car, when does a user interface make you feel relaxed and in control?
If it's digital, almost never. We quite enjoy Audi's MMI and have learned to love the latest BMW iDrive, but no system is quite as simple and easy to operate since big screens took over the dash. Granted, we love technology and watching live traffic data on the commute home, but no one seems to have the "user" fully in mind.
How many buttons do you actually need?
If you're Porsche, about 45. As complex as modern Porsche dashes are, once you learn your way around, they're actually easier than wading through menus on a screen. Basic audio and climate controls, especially for heated seats, should always be real buttons or knobs. Volvo seems to have done that only for the stereo.
What functions do you need to see at all times?
See our answer above. It's silly to require a driver to exit a navigation screen to stop his butt from burning.
What can you hide, and forget for a while?
Good Lord, please don't mention our pasts. We've learned and moved on, Okay?
How do you design temperature?
About the same way as we write engineering. That's an awkward way of saying that Volvo has climate controls that enlarge from the bottom of the screen, including a giant temperature slider that we wish our oven had.
What's the best way to control music?
Volume and mode buttons on the steering wheel, along with smart voice commands, are the best ways. Scrolling through Volvo's menus upon menus of song titles like we're in a rolling iTunes Store doesn't quite get it done.
- First Drive: 2015 Volvo S60 / V60 / XC60 with New E-Drive
- Auto Shows: Volvo Concept Estate
- Official Photos: 2014 Volvo XC60
How do you get an overview and notice details?
You can try looking up from the touch screen and through the car's biggest screen, the windshield. It's even transparent and UV-treated! Seriously, we like that Volvo is using larger maps and allowing pinch and gesture controls for much of the interface. It's certainly come far from the 1980s-style remote control and hidden steering-wheel buttons on its first nav systems. We just hope it doesn't lag and take precious seconds to process inputs, which happens on too many new cars. We'll give the company the benefit of the doubt until we see a production version, but for now, keep observing those details, Volvo.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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