Team-BHP
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https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
Unless I'm taking my steering to an auditioning for a role in a sci-fi movie, all I want is a rather large horn pad.
Why a large horn pad ? So I can honk with my palm, wrist, forearm, elbow- when it's honking time I don't want to mess around.
No buttons at all. This is my preference. Our 2008 Hyundai Santro doesn't have any buttons on steering wheel, meaning I can honk from any where on the steering wheel while taking a turn. Our Slavia has a relatively uncluttered Steering switches but still, our driver managed to increase the volume, or change the radio stations while turning, albeit unintentionally. And my father doesn't get a head or tail out of those switches. Heck , he still now hasn't managed to figure out the headlight knob of the Slavialol: Imagine what kind of pain it is for these type of people. Instead of giving me connected this , connected that( which would eventually be obsolete due to change to some other G than 4G or 5G) ,give me the options of steering wheel with buttons, and without buttons. Let people choose according to their preference. This is the real connection with the car. The man machine bond sans electronic gizmos.
Must haves are just 2 for me:
1. Volume + Tracks control for infotainment
2. Accept/Reject phone when having ACP/AA
If you have Cruise control then
1. Activate/Set cruise
I believe the steering wheel of the Kia Seltos is quite on the mark
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GT Line gets a sweeeeet 3-spoke, leather-wrapped steering wheel with red stitching, piano black + silver inserts and thumb contours. It looks very premium, is the perfect size and has just the right thickness. Flat bottom steering feels great to hold and offers good grip. The steering-mounted controls are finished in black & have well-sized buttons, making them easy to operate. The toggle switches are finished in silver. While the steering is great when it comes to the looks and feel, one gets the impression that there are too many buttons on the wheel. The hornpad isn't easy to reach for those with shorter thumbs, but it is light to press. The horn itself is a twin wind-tone type with a premium European sound:
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I have been driving one since 2022 and extremely satisfied with it
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Buttons for the infotainment system, telephony and voice commands are placed on the left spoke. Mute function (very useful) is by pressing the volume switch inward. Pressing the mute button does not pause the song that's playing. Like we have seen in some new cars, to go to the next track, you have to push the track button down (opposite of what is usually the case). Looks like a new trend being adopted by manufacturers.
Buttons for operating the MID and cruise control are placed on the right spoke:
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A steering wheel with buttons definitely makes life behind the wheel easier. Smart, logical placement of buttons and their functionality is key. Here’s what I think should be on the steering wheel:
- Infotainment controls (volume, source, track change, mute button)
- MID controls
- Telephony.
Cruise control, in my opinion, should be on a separate stalk on the steering column, like on the Innova Crysta. This not only frees up space for the buttons on the steering, and allow for a bigger horn pad, it makes it easier for engaging, disengaging, and setting speeds for the cruise control.
I feel the Innova crysta’s button placements, are spot on.
Also, capacitive touch buttons or, any touch based buttons have absolutely no place in a car, anywhere. Whether on the steering, or centre console.
Analogue buttons all the way!
Must have for me will include volume/ track change; MID; Cruise Control and ADAS only. No telephony for me while driving. Better to stop and take the call on mobile.
I hope the main idea of steering wheel controls is to not move your eyes from the road, so keeping the above in mind you only need volume up & down, mute buttons in the left side, cruise control buttons in the right side (mine doesnt have this also)
Other than the above, anything which makes you move your eyes to.MID or Infotainment is going to.be an issue, I have call attend & cancel buttons in my car and have programmed myself not to see the infotainment when the call comes up (people who will be able to call you can be decided by you with the current technology - eg do not disturb function in android).
Some (many) people will argue that these actions are too much but the present conditions in our country roads doesn't require any less from each and every one of us.
Nowadays people are worried about,
* 5 star rated vehicles
* Sunroofs
* Ventilated Seats
while many people doesn't even use indicators and lane change intimation, so other road users will be informed of your intentions, what's the use of owning a 10 lakhs hatchback or 1 crore luxury vehicle if we don't know to communicate with other road users ?
I drive a 2023 Grand i10 Nios, the steering has the following controls:
- Volume and MID controller button
- Voice command and MID toggle button
- Phone control
- Favourite button
- Cruise Control buttons
Physical buttons have good and tactile feel as compared to touch sensitive ones
Why car manufacturers are not providing a simple button for horn on the steering wheel control:disappointed:disappointed?. Why is it always takes so much effort particularly in few models?
BMW M steering wheels are one of the best looking steering wheels in business.
It manages to look classy and sporty at the same time. It also has only the essential buttons which makes it uncluttered as well.
Attaching pictures of the steering wheel of a BMW X4 M sport
Just an airbag and a horn pad for me.
Everything is optional.
The steering wheel should have the following:
1. MID
2. Telephony
3. Infotainment
4. Cruise control
Changing through various options on the speedo console is probably the most important one for me, such as scrolling through Fuel efficiency, time, temperature, speed, distance from the start etc. These aren’t there anywhere else.
Apart from this, Volume control and track change are two things I use.
Another thing I have realised is that it is not necessary to honk at all, even in India. This after, multiple failed attempts at dabbing the honk on our Polo and Octavia. This has made me a better and much more considerate driver, and possibly, same is the case with others too. The world is changing towards a much more silent place:)
I found XUV's steering wheel to be perfect for my needs.
It has got the all the Infotainment controls like mute button (song wont pause), volume controls, call answer and end. Cruise control with set+ and set- and resume (pressing the cruise button again will cancel cruise control). But the one I like the most is the MID controls. XUV got a lot of menu options in MID and it is so easy to navigate through them with the MID controls on steering. I use to scroll a lot through the MID options very frequently and I found it to be very intuitive. The cherry on top is the 'Fav button' which you can customise to glance the most needed screen (tyre pressure screen in my case)
Just audio & phone controls for me. I never use cruise control, and MID toggle is too infrequent to warrant a placement on the steering wheel.
This is all I need:
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