The new 2020 Audi RS6 has touch controls and the general consensus appears to be that they are ok, but I’ve heard at least one review where they mention having to search for a particular button and while doing so weren’t looking at the road!!!, I think this is the issue, the buttons themselves and the way they function are fine, but mix that in with having to drive and it suddenly doesn’t work so well!
This has been a huge problem that everyone wants to ignore.
Infotainment screens that control everyday functions beyond media are a stupid idea. Touch screens that handle frequently adjusted features don't belong in normal cars.
Elon can put whatever he likes in a Tesla; that car drives itself. It's a terrible idea to go slapping that crap in much else, though.
We've had a century to figure out where to place buttons in cars, and once we landed on the standard, it stayed that way for a reason. We could have put fan speed controllers in glove boxes, CD players in the floor... We didn't, though. What you reach for in a properly laid out interior is always where it needs to be, and requires very little study to learn.
That's not possible with touch screens. The people that design this crap need to be put in a Quake III tournament and then asked to navigate a phone tree that doesn't have voice recognition at the same time.
When they fail, toss them a flip phone and watch it all work fine.
Screens are cheap, and people are stupid. That's why we have them controlling all this stuff. It has absolutely nothing to do with improved function, and manufacturers need to hear from the intelligent minority, because the vocal majority is allowing this crap to happen.