My current car took the fully touch experience approach (except for the usual stalk controls) and while I love the rest of the car, I despise the interface.
I’ll be in the market for a new car soon and I am only considering ones with touch buttons for HVAC. It’s not worth getting into an accident trying to change the temperature.
Volume and HVAC physical buttons are an absolute must for me.
I was given a rental once from a dealership who was doing warranty work on my truck. It was one of those weird months in the midwest, where the temperature could be 80 or 30 depending on the day, and this day just happened to be 30. I realized shortly after I got onto the road that it wasn't getting any warmer, because A/C was on. There were no buttons to turn it down or off, only a touchscreen, so I just did the 15 minute drive home of shame in 30 degree weather with the AC blasting. That was all it took to make me swear off -ever- buying a car without physical buttons.
I’ll be in the market for a new car soon and I am only considering ones with touch buttons for HVAC. It’s not worth getting into an accident trying to change the temperature.