Car makers must stop reinventing the wheel. For steering, round is sound

Earlier this year my colleague Tom Jervis quite rightly pointed out that car wheels are simply getting too big, which is somewhat consistent with another wheel that car makers seemingly can’t stop fiddling with: the steering wheel. 

Except for perhaps a Caterham Seven, almost every car on sale now comes with buttons on the steering wheel. Yet, these can be welcome and useful tools to navigate infotainment systems without having to take your eyes off the road for extended periods of time. Indeed, the Renault-sourced Dacia Sandero’s steering wheel-mounted buttons work a treat and show there’s no excuse, budget-wise, to not have them function properly.

Not all brands prioritise function over form like Dacia, however. Touch-sensitive steering wheel ‘buttons’ (they’re more like pads) have come into vogue, and the likes of Mercedes and Audi have incorporated them into their cars. We’ve often found that it’s easy to inadvertently touch one of these buttons during normal driving. 

Some other brands, such as Volkswagen and Cupra, have started to back-track on this kind of technology following negative feedback from customers. So, it’s worth checking whether a model you’re interested in buying has touch-sensitive buttons and then see if you can get on with them. 

Steering wheels are typically subject to parts-sharing within a brand, too, so it’s a crucial element for firms to get right. That’s on top of the fact that manual gearboxes are being axed left, right and centre, so the steering wheel is often the only connection to the car we make with our hands. 

Given that the steering wheel is such an important part of how you drive the car and can affect your entire ownership experience, it’s vital that to check that the wheel is right for you before signing on the dotted line and handing money over.

That’s true whether you’re buying new or used, and if you’re looking at second-hand cars, bear in mind that steering wheels can wear at different rates, so check to see if a previous owner has picked at the seams or the surface of the wheel.

Also consider the thickness of the  steering wheel’s rim. It might sound like nit-picking, but the thicker rims on a lot of new BMWs and MINIs spoil my enjoyment of these cars, because a thin rim gives a driver more feedback. As with anything else when buying a car, make sure the wheel’s thickness is suitable for you.

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