Why are car makers bringing back physical buttons — and what should you check before buying your next car?

Ars Technica reports buttons are back and storage is winning in new car interiors, as buyers reject burying basic controls in touchscreens. The safety science behind the comeback, the five controls that should always be physical, and a test-drive checklist.

Somewhere in the last decade, car makers decided a volume knob was old-fashioned and a climate menu on a touchscreen was luxury. Buyers have now voted the other way. Short answer: manufacturers are bringing back physical buttons and knobs for everyday controls, Ars Technica reported November 3, because touchscreens make drivers look away from the road — and because customers simply enjoy a car more when the basics are one reach away.

Storage space, not screen size, is becoming the interior bragging point.Why it matters: A button can be worked by muscle memory and feel — with gloves on, on a bumpy road, without a single glance. A touchscreen cannot: every tap needs eyes to aim it, and eyes-off-road time is the currency of crashes. Menus also bury safety basics; defrosting a fogged windshield should never be two swipes deep.

And there is an ownership catch: with over-the-air updates, a car’s controls can move or change after you buy it, which never happened with a knob.Use this checklist on any test drive:1. The five must-be-physical controls: volume, climate temperature and fan, front and rear defrost, hazard lights, and wipers. If any of them lives only in a menu, count it against the car.2.

The glove test: wear your winter gloves and adjust the heat and volume without looking down. If you cannot do it in the lot, you cannot do it at 60 mph in January.3. The bumpy-road test: on a rough stretch, try changing the radio station.

Knobs forgive bumps; glass does not.4. Ask about updates: ‘Can an over-the-air update move or remove this control?’ Get the answer before you sign — not after your dashboard rearranges itself.5. Check the storage, too: door pockets, console depth, a home for your phone that is not the cupholder — the newest interiors compete on exactly this.Common mistake: judging the interior parked in the showroom, where every screen looks wonderful.

Touchscreens fail at speed, in sunlight and in gloves — test the car the way you will actually drive it.Ad’s take: A knob you can find without looking is not nostalgia, folks. It is good engineering that respects the driver’s real job: watching the road.