That would be a shame since I love the touch sensitive buttons on the steering wheel of my GTE. I wonder if it’s actually a cost saving exercise by VW?
I’ve read differing reports on the cost of capacitive pads versus physical buttons. It seems that capacitive may be cheaper on average when produced in large numbers, so reverting to a steering wheel with physical buttons might not be a cost saving exercise.
Some Golf models already have steering wheels with physical buttons so VW will have already incurred the design costs, and the production process, manufacturers / suppliers are already in place to supply steering wheels with physical buttons, so there may be a cost benefit due to the larger numbers that will now be required. Additionally, fewer types of steering wheel to be installed on the production line may remove an element of complexity from the car assembly process. So overall, maybe VW will realise cost savings.
I personally like the steering wheel in my Polo GTI+ that has physical buttons and if I had a choice between capacitive and physical buttons, I’d always go for the latter as IMHO with physical buttons, it’s easier to find the correct one solely by touch, which makes it safer / easier to use.
I wonder if VW will also listen to customer feedback / complaints about the removal of physical controls for heating, ventilation and air con controls, or the lack of illumination for the touch panel below the infotainment screen?
