Ford deserves credit for being a front-runner in offering advanced infotainment technology with its Sync and MyFord Touch systems, but continued consumer complaints over its confusing touchscreen interface and capacitive controls have made the auto maker to relent.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that physical buttons and knobs for controlling tuning and volume will be coming back to Ford vehicles equipped with the controversial infotainment system.
The 2013 F-150 with MyFord Touch gives a glimpse of what the new layout with buttons and knobs may look like, as Ford says a similar balance of touch screen capability and buttons/knobs are being planned for future models.
And, while capacitive controls have no fans in the halls of Autoblog, many of Ford’s models with MyFord Touch do have a large physical knob for adjusting volume with integrated buttons for tuning and advancing tracks, though most of those are models with the optional upgraded Sony Audio system.
Lincoln models with MyLincoln Touch, however, feature only capacitive controls for all stereo and climate functions.
Despite receiving enough complaints to throw buttons and knobs back into the mix (a move that reminds of BMW’s iDrive trajectory, among others), Ford reports that Sync and MyFord Touch have still been sold on 79 per cent of its 2013 model year vehicles, a number it claims is double the rate that Honda and Toyota are getting for their infotainment systems.
Ford also states that owners who do opt for the duo of technologies are more satisfied with overall vehicle quality than those who don’t have it.