Benjamin Franklin said that the two inevitable things in life are death and taxes, but when it comes to modern car interiors, you can add touchscreens to the list. Whether you like it or not, touchscreens have taken over dashboards, a trend that flies in the face of safety concerns. In a recent test, Swedish car magazine v bilagare found that touchscreens in new cars are actually more distracting than they were a few years ago.
The magazine collected 10 new cars, as well as the 2016 Volvo V60. Drivers had to perform normal tasks while driving at highway speeds in closed airspace – such as adjusting climate controls, changing radio stations and adjusting screen brightness. The time and distance covered while performing these tasks were measured and compared to the results of a 2022 test conducted by the magazine using the same methodology.
The average distance traveled when using the touchscreen – and thus dividing attention between the screen and the road – increased from 756 meters (2,480 ft) in the 2022 test to 813 meters (2,667 ft) in the new test. This equates to an additional two seconds required to complete a task with the 2026 infotainment system compared to the 2022 versions. Keep in mind that at 60 mph you are traveling at 88 feet per second.
The increase in distance traveled while fiddling with touchscreens also indicates that automakers’ efforts to improve these interfaces over the past four years have not worked. As v bilagare Turns out, screens have gotten bigger and are often in better condition than they were four years ago. Many automakers have also introduced new hardware and software behind the screens with sharper graphics and layouts that are considered easier to understand. But this test shows that this is actually not the case.
Demonstrating this clearly is the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, which features the automaker’s latest operating system. Drivers took an average of 35 seconds of screen interaction to complete tasks – 15 seconds more than the GLB-Class we tested in 2022 – and needed 19 seconds after unlocking the screen to respond to inputs. The CLA covered an average distance of 1,116 meters (3,661 ft), the second-longest distance in the test after the Mazda CX-60’s 1,137 meters (3,730 ft), a result that is in line with our experience. The best performer in the 2026 test was the Volvo
However, not everything went the other way. Tesla Model Y outperforms Model 3 in 2022 testing. And while it’s easy to blame the lack of buttons and knobs in new cars, the 2026 XC60 performed better than the 2016 V60, which has more analog controls. The 2005 Volvo V70 (tested in 2022) also outperformed the 2016 wagon.
