No ban on car touchscreen climate controls, say safety experts
Climate and audio controls are not deemed “time critical” by industry safety experts, Euro NCAP
It’s bad news for those who hate over-reliance on touchscreen controls in cars. Euro NCAP has ruled out plans to mandate physical climate controls, saying they are not deemed “time critical tasks”.
From the start of 2026, safety body Euro NCAP began factoring the presence of physical buttons and controls into its scoring of new cars. For a car to get full marks from the testing body, features such as indicators, windscreen wipers and washers, hazard warning lights, horns and eCall emergency buttons must now be accessible via a traditional button, rather than a touch-sensitive element on a screen.
Programme director, Dr. Aled Williams, noted that: “the move toward placing as many driving controls within a car’s touchscreen system is one that has concerned us just as much as it has annoyed consumers.”
However, when asked by Auto Express whether Euro NCAP would start including elements such as climate and media volume controls within its list of key driving controls, a spokesperson said: “[we have] no plans to require manufacturers to fit physical buttons for climate control and media. These are not time critical tasks under our criteria and it is also not proven that direct physical input is safer.”
This might disappoint drivers and seems to be at odds with the number of manufacturers switching back to physical controls in their latest models; the Volkswagen ID.3 Neo, for example, has recently introduced physical climate control toggles to replace the touch-sensitive sliders in the old ID.3. However, this appears to have been done in response to customer feedback and frustration, rather than in a bid to comply with safety regulations.
Adding insult to injury is how little the ‘key driving controls’ element of the Safe Driving segment in Euro NCAP’s test appears to affect a car’s overall rating. The XPeng G9, for example, only scored 20 per cent here, but was still awarded the full five stars overall. Granted, the Chinese electric MPV did offer strong scores in both the Crash Avoidance and Post Crash Safety sections of Euro NCAP’s tests.
Likewise, the Kia EV2 and Audi Q7 also both got the full five stars. Dr. Williams said Euro NCAP “reward[s] the intelligent use of physical buttons and controls, as this can reduce driver distraction, and both Audi’s new Q7 and Kia’s EV2 do an excellent job of keeping safety simple.” That said, the Q7 does, unfortunately, incorporate its climate controls into the touchscreen – albeit in a fixed position at the bottom.
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