Mazda Says A Finger On A Screen Beats Reaching For 15 Similar Buttons

Mazda held out longer than almost anyone on the giant tablet-screen trend, sticking with modestly sized central displays and a rotary console controller while the rest of the industry raced toward dashboard-spanning glass. The new-generation CX-5 ends that resistance, and the company is now making the case that the screen it once resisted is the safer choice.

The brand built much of its identity on the conviction that physical buttons and dials beat touchscreens for keeping drivers focused, but it has flipped that position. Speaking with Australia’s Drive, CX-5 program manager Koichiro Yamaguchi argued that the big display actually shortens the time drivers spend with their eyes off the road compared with a bank of conventional controls.

Read: Mazda Goes All In On Huge Display And No Buttons For Its Latest SUV

“Air conditioning, you can operate with a finger, and if we have to put the physical button, that will be at the lower position,” he said. “Then the driver has to look down, and [there are] 15 similar-looking switches. That means that you rather have to look down and select the correct button – actually, requires the driver [to take eyes] off the road. So rather than that, it’s better to have this control on the screen – minimise this change [distraction].”

Moving climate control settings to touchscreens has upset many drivers, but most carmakers are now doing so. On the CX-5, temperature and fan speed controls remain locked in place along the base of the screen, so they’re always accessible.

Compared to some other cars on the market, this is a good setup. I frequently jump in and out of new cars, and when A/C controls are integrated into a section at the bottom of the central screen, they are generally easy to use.

However, there are some cars on the market where the fan speed and temperature can only be adjusted from the home screen, meaning you have to exit Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or any other app before accessing them. Mazda has also retained physical buttons for the windshield and rear window defrosting settings, so they can be quickly turned on and off on the fly.

Mazda Will Still Listen To Customer Feedback

For now, the company believes what it has done with the CX-5 is the best solution. However, Yamaguchi-san mentioned that Mazda is open to bringing back buttons based on owner feedback.

“Of course [we would be open to changing the touch-only layout], however, how customers use these things, their preferences [will inform that decision],” he said. “We need to get the feedback from customers first.

“For the CX-5 of course, as a main policy, we provide this, but we are gathering the feedback from customers to consider that [change].”