FYI: Luxury cars are moving beyond tablet-style screens to a blend of digital interfaces and physical buttons, ensuring a user-friendly experience for drivers.

Navigating the Evolving User Experience in Electric Cars

The automotive world is seeing a significant shift: cars are becoming less about drive feel and more focused on digital features, particularly screen space. However, more display inches inside a vehicle doesn’t necessarily equate to an easier or better user experience.

The Digital Dilemma

Adding numerous screens can be impressive at first glance, but it may quickly become a source of fatigue. We turn to you, our informed readers, to share which current electric vehicle offers the most user-friendly experience. Have you ever had to navigate multiple menus just to turn off a recurring feature, only for it to re-enable on restart? We want to hear your experiences.

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Porsche’s Balanced Approach

In a recent statement, Michael Mauer, head of style at Porsche, indicated that the luxury sports carmaker plans to avoid the trend of large, tablet-like screens mounted on the dashboard. While screens are a given in modern luxury cars, Porsche aims to balance digital interfaces with smaller displays and essential physical buttons.

Porsche Macan Turbo (2024) test drive showcases up to three screens on the dashboard.

The Minimalistic Tesla

On the other hand, Tesla has embraced minimalism, consolidating most physical buttons into a single, large central screen. While this design helps reduce manufacturing costs, Tesla’s highly intuitive digital interface offers one of the best user experiences in the industry. However, the absence of traditional controls like column stalks and gauge clusters leaves some drivers longing for more conventional elements.

The refreshed Tesla Model 3 features a single screen with primary controls on the steering wheel.

Nissan Leaf: An Old-School Feel

The 2025 Nissan Leaf offers a different take, retaining a more traditional interior filled with buttons and an outdated central screen. While this design seems antiquated, it might offer functional simplicity that technology-heavy alternatives lack.

The Nissan Leaf’s classic interior includes numerous buttons and an older center screen.

Mercedes-Benz and Rivian: Different Paths

Mercedes-Benz has introduced the visually impressive Hyperscreen, essentially covering the entire dashboard with digital displays. Contrasting this, Rivian opts for a more traditional layout with a central infotainment screen and driver’s instrument cluster. To innovate further, Rivian plans to incorporate multi-functional steering wheel dials capable of performing various actions through clicks, rotations, and swivels.

Rivian’s 2025 R1 features a central screen and a functional driver’s instrument cluster.

Share Your Thoughts

Ultimately, the number of diagonal inches on the dashboard or the sophistication of ambient lighting isn’t the end-all in vehicle ease of use. Your day-to-day experiences matter most, and we invite you to share which electric vehicle you find the most user-friendly. Head to the comments section below and let us know your preferences!

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William Kouch, Editor of Automotive.fyi

Here at automotive.fyi, we strive to bring you the most relevant and insightful automotive news, fostering an informed and engaged community of readers.