Hyundai will launch its next generation interior next year – and bosses promise to keep physical buttons.
The move, confirmed to Autocar by vice president of design Simon Loasby at the Seoul motor show, could also result in the size of the infotainment display being reduced and the software for the touchscreen made simpler in an effort to improve safety.
It follows the likes of Volkswagen which last month promised a return to a more analogue cabin.
“Our vision for our next generation interiors are [to design] the safest way is to keep the driver’s eyes on the road as much as possible,” he said.
“With this philosophy in mind, we quite quickly realised that the central screen is actually just a distraction. So [in terms of safety] you really don’t want people to look at the screen, you want them to look at eye level.
“So our philosophy is to keep the eyes on the road and keep your hands on the wheel, and then you could very quickly look at what are your frequent use interactions – there aren’t many… but you want them to stay as physical buttons because those are things I want to adjust without looking away.”
He added: “It is all about the philosophy of calmness. The technology is there, but it is not shouting at us, but the architecture is keeping the driving experience safe.
“So we will have a balance of physical buttons but the display [will be there too] because it gives you the extra layers you can go in to.”
Hyundai design boss Luc Donckerwolke added that finding the correct screen size – and making them usable – would also be a key part of the next generation cabins.
“It is always a part of the balance between having the right screen that provides you with the information in a size that allows you to concentrate on driving,” he said.
“At the same time we have to make sure the screens are not forcing you to go into a sub menus for operations that only required buttons before. So it’s always not overkilling it. If you rely only on screens you are tending to go away from the fact to have the hands on the steering wheel and the eyes on the road, which is, for me, the most important factor of security safety.”
He added that while “we all have a love for analogue interaction”, screens “are ideal because you save a lot of tooling by only having the screen”.