VW May Bring Back Physical Buttons

The move to more high-tech and screen-heavy interior car designs has angered a lot of shoppers. Enormous screens certainly look cool, but they’re not very user-friendly. And the way that automakers have attempted to make them easier to use can be more troublesome than the screen themselves.

Volkswagen, for instance, has relied on touch-capacitive controls on its newer vehicles that are infuriating to use. For years, journalists and owners have lamented VW’s decision to use touch-capacitive controls and it looks like the German automaker has finally listened. A new report from Autocar claims that Volkswagen is bringing physical controls back to its vehicles.



The outlet got a peek at the brand’s latest ID.2all concept, which, surprisingly, has a thin row of physical controls on the dashboard. It marks a dramatic interior design change compared to VW’s current vehicles like the Golf R and ID.4 which have touch-capacitive controls directly underneath the central screen.

The ID.2all concept’s interior design isn’t a one-off, either. Autocar claims that future cars from VW will use the ID.2all concept as inspiration. That means that physical controls could be here to stay.

According to VW interior designer Darius Watola, the ID.2all concept is being used as a “new approach for all models” and was created in response to “recent feedback from customers.” Watola claims that the changes were made with European customers in mind, as they wanted “more physical buttons.”



Based on the images of the ID.2all concept, the physical controls below the central touchscreen include temperature toggle switches for the driver and passenger, a switch for fan speed, an air recirculation button, a hazard light button, front and rear defroster buttons, an air conditioning button, and an automatic button for the climate control.

The concept car also has an enormous dial that’s positioned on top of the center console. It’s an interesting element because, at first glance, it looks like a dial for the transmission. But according to Autocar, the dial provides drivers with another way to control the central screen.

Volkswagen design boss Andreas Mindt told Autocar that “customers say a pure touchscreen is not enough and they expect physical switches and dials for important functions.” Based on that, it sounds like VW is attempting to give owners multiple ways to control the touchscreen, which include touching the screen, physical controls, and a large rotary dial.

The production version of the ID.2all concept is expected to arrive in Europe in 2025. A larger ID.2all SUV won’t arrive until 2026. With these expected release dates, we suspect that VW shoppers and owners will have to keep dealing with their cars’ touch-capacitive controls for a few more years.