“Police sketch of a RAV4” 😂😂😂

The point of a hybrid is reality. Charging stations are far from ubiquitous around the world, the more rural the worse. So maybe you can only charge it at home, or in only a few spots.

Hybrids actually make a lot more sense than electric cars in places with weather extremes (hurricanes, snow storms, etc), or extreme temperatures. Plus, it's much easier to travel long distances, especially across the western U.S., without relying on finding charging stations. Saves time that you would have spent charging up too.

if you don't understand "why a hybrid" - try visiting some place in the world without dense infrastructure. remote Alaska, or the Yukon, or some desert somewhere.

Yeah, the real reason for hybrids is not everyone has *parking* where it's viable or safe to charge the things. And if you do get charging facilities sometimes, a lot of people can actually run a plug-in hybrid for most days just on battery power. I mean, if you live in an apartment and hunt for parking on the street or something, where you gonna put a power outlet? And there's cities like London where they have those zero-emissions zones, so some of those cars can get through some errands on battery power. Or get you home or out if you live there.

I think Roman inadvertently hit on why hybrids still matter: "in a world where EVs are the hot new status symbol." Not everyone is looking for or can afford a "hot new status symbol". EVs are more and more popular but they're hardly ubiquitous, and, frankly? EVs *aren't* quite there yet. They're good for what they are, but they're not everything for everyone.

Here in Italy hybrids are a necessity: EVs are getting cheaper, but they require a luxury few people here have, a garage. And those, especially in large cities like Rome and Milan, are getting home levels of expensive, like literally a covered parking lot in Rome can get to 100/120k easily. Since the majority of people just parks in the street, having a fixed place to recharge is pretty challenging.

Hybrid cars are a way to give you some of the benefits of an EV with almost none of the downsides. No range anxiety, no hunting for charging stations, no waiting to charge when you get there, and you always have a tried and true gas engine to fall back on.

New Hybrids are still the ultimate road trip cars. I love my EV but when I needed to drive for fourteen hours to rural PA I rented a hybrid

Regarding the question "why a hybrid", I think there is a very large marketshare of people (like myself) who believe that the end of the EV revolution is, at least, a lifetime away and still appreciate measurable gains in mpg. I own a hybrid that gives me 50 mpg, so the cost savings of moving to an EV are fairly negligible. I'm very happy to see parallel offerings of hybrids alongside EVs, because the former can establish a new baseline while the latter establishes a stable footing based on consumer demands.

Hybrids are incredibly useful outside of places that aren’t California They provide good mileage to tight wallets, and can operate under places with similar bare infrastructure that combustions can operate on. No one is going to buy a Tesla model even in a place like Port Angles in Washington, and thats not even a remote town. And even if America manages to create EV infrastructure large enough for EVs to be supported in all regions, the hybrids will continue to thrive in other nations that can’t support such infrastructure. Hybrids will continue for a lot longer on the same principle on how the Priuses succeeded. They’re simply cheaper than EVs, need less new infrastructure, cheaper compared to EVs and around the same price as normal ICE vehicles, and saves a lot of money in gas.

Hybrids aren't just saying "EVs aren't ready yet". Here's a second opinion from someone who bought a 2003 5MT Civic Hybrid this year: Seeing how plenty of gas guzzlers are still here for the 2024 model year, and EV adoption is expensive for the average single-parent, a used Hybrid is a pragmatic solution. You can have them with an apartment. You can still use conventional infrastructure on remote road trips. I don't like burning gas, but I don't have a house, or the money for an EV with fast charging. Electrified car adoption is abysmal in the US, and I still think EVs are only here to save the car industry. Until then, hybrids allow your average Joe and Jane to reduce their impact. Pragmatically, any electrified car is better than nothing, and Hybrids help by making it accessible to as many people as possible. Hell, my 45 mpg hybrid is 1/3 the price of a used Leaf, and goes 600 miles rather than 60. I'd get the Leaf if I had both a house and a second car, but uh... I don't. Vote hybrid: an easy change in a messy, expensive world with shitty public transport.

Hybrids are OP. As a huge EV fan and owner. Hybrids are amazing, being able to have the advantages of ICE w/ the benefits of regen braking to save on energy is just amazing. Every time you come to a stop, instead of energy being wasted its recaptured.

"It looks like a police sketch of a Rav 4." I literally did a spit take on that joke. Great work roman.

I think hybrids got a bad reputation in the 00s because of the Prius and we skipped over them when the Model 3 came out. I’d like my next daily to be a hybrid. Not this one though.

"Post-nut clarity is as close as you'll get to a common sense" is such a devastating insult, I'm adding it to my list.

My GF and I bought one of these last year and have already sold it. It got HORRENDOUS gas mileage on the freeway in winter. Low 20s. There are a lot of explanations but it still doesn’t make up for the fact that low 20s in a crossover is unacceptable let alone a hybrid.

If I thought for a second that it would survive a 1000 mile road trip, I would totally bring my base model, former rental-car fleet 2008 PT Cruiser to Pennsylvania. It would race to the bottom and then start digging.

"a lot of people don't like hybrids" source: trust me bro

The Club doesn't work nearly as good as you think it would. Modern steering wheels aren't as strong as you'd think they are. They're designed to collapse or twist in a severe enough crash if your hands stay on them. (Google it.) You can take a hacksaw and literally cut the wheel in about three seconds and then twisted enough to get the club out.

The race to the bottom finishes with the Smart Fortwo. A car that compromised everything but offered nothing in return.

Why a hybrid? Because not everyone has access to private parking spot where they can install a charging point, and not every town has charging infrastructure. Also, hybrids are cheaper to buy than full electric. Plus - no range anxiety. Now why a hybrid and not gasoline/diesel? Because hybrids still get decent mileage.

I own this car, the limited with more options than the one reviewed. Bought it for my wife and she loves it. Non car people love boring cars. She gets good milage on her commute, averaging 32mpg. The interior is nice, the tech works everytime and the only complaint has been the back up chime is loud af and can't be turned off. It cost as much as it's competitors with more features. She also likes the way it looks because it doesn't look like everything else. An ev wouldn't work because we road trip a lot and my car only gets 22mpg on the highway.

Kia gave me a steering wheel club for free just for owning a Soul that was susceptible to the thefts lol

Hybrids make the most sense for those valuing cost/benefit analysis in terms of mileage, purchase cost and practicality(especially in terms of range anxiety).

It's seriously the best vehicle on the market for a family car. Hybrid gives fantastic mpg, it's brilliant for quickly pulling out of junctions and has a serious spec for the price.

I have this exact car with the 2.5L gas engine. I find it to be a very good car, while understanding that it lacks in acceleration. It makes me feel safe in the winter, and I can(accidentally) run stuff over without worrying that my car will get messed up. It shifts a bit clunky, but overall meets my needs and I can get up to 37 mpg on my daily commute. When I need to pass someone, or running a bit late, I find that it has sufficient power. I plan to keep it for a while. Also, I have the 2023 model, and mine does not have the worry factor of being stolen. It has keyless start, as well as engine immobilization. I don’t think the owner of the Tucson in the video needs to worry about his car being stolen more than any other other car. Edit: the lane keep assist is top-notch.

"What purpose do they serve?" They are, on the used market, half the price of an EV and public charging in the UK (even slow) is now more expensive than filling up on Petrol with 600+ miles vs 300 on optimal conditions. The Tuscon still sucks though.

I'm a big fan of Roman's intro and outro songs, and the funny skits with the faux ads and stuff like that. To be honest though, his reviews never hit the same as Mr Regular's.

The plug in hybrids are absolutely the current solution for the common driver, basically Full EV for your daily driving and combustion engine hybrid for your longer trips, you really cant lose here

I mean it's fine, it's just a regular car. It's the automotive equivalent to settling for "good enough". It's accepting that you're a mediocrity. Also hybrids, plug-in hybrids, diesels and so on have a place in the world. If I weren't a car guy, but a consumer, would seem perfectly reasonable.

Hyundai's LKA in conjunction with adaptive cruise control is a godsend. Barely have to do any physical driving on long highway trips and as far as the rear seat occupant alert, it is fantastic for reminding me leftovers are on the backseat. Certainly do not knock these features myself. I love them.

My sister has one and I kinda like it, I sat with the ac on for 30mins in it and it didn’t even turn the engine on once. Sounds like a space ship when the engine isn’t on. Had an older Tucson for 4 years and this is a nice upgrade.

I got the gas only model of this car and I've really been enjoying it. Not really a fun car but the creature comforts and size are perfect

Hybrids are a very good happy medium depending on driving habits. My wife for example has a 4 mile commute, round trip, per day, and her ICE engine is suffering for it. However, it's also our "family car" as typical in modern American society we use for long trips. Even for me, with my 40 mile per day round trip commute a plug in hybrid would be perfect considering most get 15 to 17 all electric and that's almost my half my round trip commute to work that is 75% stop and go to really take advantage of regen breaking.

Looks like this Tucson has a push-button start, which means it's got an engine immobilizer and is thus not vulnerable to the screwdriver-and-usb-cable theft technique.

Yeah I don't know why but these are everywhere in Bosnia, Toyotas ain't particularly common here either. I'll be entirely honest tho I like this car's weird origami poligonal design but that's about it. Also not many electric cars here so yeah makes sense why a hybrid is popular. I feel like Bosnia is entirely responsible for hybrids still existing lmao.

I keep being surprised by the relatively negative reviews. I own a Hyandai Tucson Hybrid N line and absolutely LOVE it. It's such a perfect family car, so fuel efficient (after the 1st 1200 miles). Just love it

Hybrids still have a place in the market. The idea that we should be only all electric is ridiculous. I would never want a purely electric vehicle in Arco Idaho. Different situations require alternatives. I don't want a electric vehicle that has 100 miles of range when it gets -30F outside.

Here in Europe, Mercedes sells 300de and 350de versions of some models. I think it's a brilliant idea, they are basically plug in hybrid diesels. Your daily 60 odd kilometres of commuting can be handled electrically, long trips with an efficient diesel. The problem is the same with gas plug in hybrids and electric cars. To be able to use them as they were intended, you need a home which is getting harder and harder to get.

Mr. Regular is shoving Roman out of the nest like Mr. Goose did with Jack over at Savage geese lol.

+1 for hybrids and particularly plug in hybrids really are the best option for right now and for probably the next decade or so.

The point of a hybrid?? So that for millions of Americans who live in not-homes, like apartments or condos that do NOT have an option to have charging at home, they can still have a somewhat economical car. Because frankly, yes I would buy a full EV tomorrow if I could... but I would not have the ability to charge it where I live. My complex has zero plugs for EV's, and at best I might be able to run a standard extension cord from a 110v outlet to trickle-charge the thing overnight. But if its a hybrid with a small battery that is only good to cover my commute to work the one day a week that I want to go in, yes I am for sure more inclined to still opt for a hybrid. Millions of people are still in my position. Which makes me kinda sad to see that a lot of automakers are going full charge into EVs and not doing more of a hybrid transition phase, or at least still keep a hybrid or two in their fleet for the ones that might want them.

Let’s be real full electric cars for me are not viable,I can’t afford one and I live in an apartment with nowhere to charge …

The hybrid shines when it uses the battery for highway acceleration and start and stop traffic. Then the engine handles steady state cruising and battery charging as needed. My wife’s CRV hybrid has averaged 35.5 mpg over 15,000 miles with over 80% of it being city. Then it still gets 450 miles of range on a full tank of gas for road trips. Plus the hybrid can run the AC on straight battery power when you remote start it to cool it off before getting in.

Oh my god, it IS a police sketch of a RAV4.

Clubs are almost peak security theatre, behind only Masterlock padlocks. Anyone truly dead set on stealing the car can bypass it, but has to do so either by damaging the steering wheel or club itself. In either case, the assumed time it would take is usually enough to deter attacks. Short of very specific scenarios, most theft is a crime of opportunity.

If I have to have a suv it will be a Tiguan because 1 I'm a dubber and 2 a $500 tune takes you to 230hp and 300 tourqe plus it has almost the same amount of aftermarket support as the GTI. My dad has a vr6 Atlas that's on adjustable coilovers muffler delete and a apr intake it sounds amazing and he has a spare tire sub that really helps out the VW sound system (it litterly has 6 mufflers VW wants it to sound like normal V6 now :( and they just killed the vr in America) but anyway all that to say I don't like how most modern SUVs have little to no aftermarket support

If you live in a city or an apartment complex a hybrid still makes sense to a lot of people because they can't run an extension cord from their apartment to their parking spot.

Great video Nick! Different flavor this week and I enjoyed your take.

It's obvious Hyundai tried sooo hard to not make a boring CUV, hence the styling inside and out. And yet it's funny Roman still finds it bland and boring lol, but I can understand why.

Hybrids have a well deserved and proven place in the auto world. It's wrong to assume they should be put to pasture just because they are not what's "in, hip and trendy" and that people should just buy an EV when EVs are still not practical for most people especially as a primary car. To think making hybrids hurting "EV" adoption is a red herring, plus EVs are not saving the environment anymore than hybrids are.

Absolutely excellent review Nick!

I think hybrids are more of a realistic future than pure EVs. Especially looking into hydrogen and diesel hybrid solutions. For instance the diesel manual Chevy Cruze gets about 50mpg highway. A hybrid model surely could attain 75 or more, not to mention the option of a plug in EV mode for short distance commuting.

Hyundai has been having real problems with 12V batteries going dead in PHEVs and BEVs. I'm surprised the problem also occurs in pure hybrids. While I've not heard much discussion on it, my suspicion is they just suck at designing computers that properly go into the lowest power mode. I think that the software/firmware have running onboard does a terrible job of shutting down every loop and thread, and thus the damn things just won't go to sleep and eventually drain the 12V.

My wife has one of these. I am shocked at your conclusion as this is a perfect vehicle for us. It gets great gas mileage around town, and is great for road trips since I have an Ioniq 5 and don't wish to play the whole "Is this EA charger I am driving to actually going to work" game. The Toyota equivalent drives much clunkier and was about $5k more for the same features. Plus this looks better IMO.

For my mom, "why q hybrid" has to do with the emergency factor. She watched all those videos of california wildfires and said to herself "what happens if I run out of battery there?" Sure, having a hybrid is old fashioned but it doesnt take you an hour to reach 80% full battery. Dont argue with me on this. This is her logic not mine lmao.

I work for a valet service and you’d be amazed how common brand new hybrids are, from all brands. Of all of them, I can say the Toyota hybrids are the only ones I like more than their gas counterparts, and that the 2023 RAV4 hybrid accelerates like it’s on crack

I don't care what anybody thinks, the touchscreen thing is a hill I am going to die on, and is pretty much a dealbreaker. Give me physical buttons, I do not want to take my eyes off the road.

This is for me. I'm a commercial photographer in the midwest. Gear requires space, Harsh winters require AWD, long commutes demand high MPGs, downtown living limits EV charging options. Boom. Tucson Hybrid. I paid cash last year after trading in a 2019 RAV4 for $500 over purchase price. I now get 38mpg in the summer with winter performance that neither my Impreza or Rav could compete with. Can you tell every surface they saved cost on? For sure. Harsher ride, lightweight doors that lack sound dampening. BUT it has the best lane-keep assist I've seen and offers incredible value for the price. Is it for everyone? No. But let's not pretend the "aGe oF eLeCtRiC" is viable before we addressed the USA's electric grid issues. Critique the vehicle on its shortcomings, I'm happy to pile on and point them out. But claiming this is somehow lagging the (regular car) industry? Meh.

I had the hybrid Ioniq, not the Tucson... But, the resetting of the battery was literally just a button on the dash. It also wasn't a timed thing, it was based on battery level. Also, these vehicles aren't victim to the Kia Boyz because they have push button start. Paradoxically, hybrids tend to have better maintenance records. Electric motors are great at stop and go traffic and take a lot of the wear and tear off of the ICE. That was another reason I liked my hybrid. If I didn't have to tow now, I would still have that Ioniq.

Range. Range is the absolute justification for a hybrid. To afford housing we live in the sticks (we also like the forest). But it's 45 minutes to the nearest city, 20 minutes to the 8000 person small town. So being able to drive down to the bigger hospital 65 miles away for serious things and being able to make a round trip without having to find a charging station is a must.

Here in NYC, EV infrastructure is sorely lacking. Parking garages have yet to be retrofitted for EV charging (they may have a couple of EV spots, but not the whole thing). There are relatively few charging stations accessible to the public - and they charge for both the charging and the parking! Until charging speeds become truely competitive with electric, EVs will not take off here en masse. As we are waiting for that point, hybrids make the most sense for city traffic.

As a former car salesman, I’m going to tell you the car has sport mode because people see it as a big key feature

These suv hybrids get worse mileage than my VW TDI Sportwagen. It's fantastic post dieselgate EPA approved fix with a new car warranty. Now that diesel fuel is becoming more affordable it's finally a good idea again.

I love that it came from Kunkleman used cars.

“Everything is happening and nothing ALL AT ONCE! “ Hilariously true! I’m always so busy and bored at the SAME TIME!

I actually had one of these for a few days as a rental, doing 5-6 hour days each day with it. Coming from a world of high mileage toyotas I actually found myself pretty pleased with things. Interior comfort was leagues ahead of what I'm used to. Seats were decent, NVH was much lower than what I'm used to, and the info panel felt just modern enough even If I wasn't a huge fan of the buttons and switches. Also has Carplay/Android Auto which is apparently something that you can't take for granted these days. Some of the new for me tech took some getting used to but overall it was a plesant experience, but nothing groundbreaking.

Hybrids are amazing - they reduce component wear, they get much better efficiency, you don’t need to plug them in, which means people who don’t own their own homes can actually own them, and they don’t require any change on the part of the user. They just work better.

Non plug-in hybrids are excellent at one thing: going a very, very long way and having some efficient mode of transport in between like during rest stops or at a desitnation. I would never dream of taking my EUV cross country but will happily do it an an Elantra that can do 500 miles on a tank of gas.

Hybrids would make more sense if they had an ICE generator for batteries like trains and Geoff.

Alright man, that Old Boy joke got me pretty good.

I own a Pov-Spec ICE-based 2020 Tucson. It does what it needs to do...I like *other people's* interesting vehicles, and I like mine cheap and boring. I don't see the point of paying an extra $10,000 to get it as a hybrid (we put about 5,000 miles on it per year). We get 25 to 28 MPG per gallon on it. The hybrid version would have been much more expensive to purchase and more expensive to repair. I'm thinking most folks would do best by going full commando by getting an EV, or wear suspenders and a belt with an ICE vehicle. Hybrids have added weight and expense like EV's, and you still have to buy fuel, like the ICE vehicles...the worst of both worlds.

The Club is still a a common sight in Philly especially on older Toyotas

Hybrids are absolutely not past, they're probably really smart for us for the next decade. I encourage anyone who can fit a BEV into their life to get one if they like any on the market, but there are plenty of lifestyles that don't jibe with BEVs and hybrids REALLY improve efficiency a lot. So I hope the Roman reconsiders his view on hybrids; I think their moment is anything but past, I think this is their prime time to shine.

So, a take from me as a person who now lives in a tiny Eastern European country. Here: 1. Public fast charging infrastructure is non-existent 2. Most cars on the road are diesels 3. Streets are narrow, town distances are relatively short So: the plugin hybrid is the thing I want to see. If executed correctly, there'll be many good things about it: 1. Remote controlled AC without running the ICE. Both in winter and summer. The summers are freaking hot here. 2. No diesel fumes in winter. Winters here are mild, last winter there was no snow. But catalytic converters are not warmed up, so the streets smell badly. 3. Quiet streets! No diesel rattle! I like it so much when ID3s and Teslas whisper around at low speeds. 4. Driving comfort in city. ICEs drive like crap until you're spending premium gasoline inline six money. Gear shocks, noise, all that kind of stuff. Especially for diesels, I own a diesel too. 5. But there's not that big of a difference when you're cruising on a highway. And fast charging is not an option here, as I've mentioned. I drove ~2000 km during vacation last week. 6. Small battery could be charged when going downhill (there're plenty of mountains here), or at home for those who're lucky enough to live in a private house. The electricity is clean and cheap here, BTW. Hydro+wind.

Man this thing seems like a decent daily driver! As long as you're really driving it daily and not letting the battery get too low!

Without the Tucson, there would be no Santa Cruz, so no matter how boring the Tucson is, It is still forgiven for allowing the Santa Cruz to exist

The manatee joke had me choking on my lunch =))))))))

I have a friend who designs HVAC for GM. The diffuse mode sounds more like Euro spec HVAC; over there, apparently the gold standard is to feel comfortable without realizing air conditioning is happening. American spec, however, is to blast as hard as possible and change that temperature NOW. Maybe your disdain for diffuse mode is just additional proof that you bleed red, white, and blue.

"1st world horror story" has been added to my vocabulary. Thank you Sir.

I live in an apartment. I have no external charging source for a fully-electric vehicle. Hence, Maverick.

Club saved my rusty old '82 Corolla from theft, I know this because the thieves bent my steering wheel and smashed my windscreen out of frustration.

Thank you Roman for the video.

I have this literal make and model and I clicked on this so fast to get roasted. 😅😂

That steering wheel is a spinning mouth

Also, why the Club? This is a push-button start Hyundai. It's absolutely not vulnerable to the "Kia Boyz" "USB" attack. Now, that doesn't mean your neighborhood hoodlum understands that only mechanical key Hyundai/Kia vehicles are vulnerable, so I guess there's a risk of losing your window anyway. But, no, seriously, this is not a "Kia Boyz" car.

The real race to the bottom is the friends you made along the way!

Good episode and analysis. I hope y'all decide to keep the original format reviews on Monday and "race to the bottom"on Friday. I understand if the logistics line up a certain way right now but would prefer the original format. Was nice seeing race to the bottom videos at the end of the week this last few weeks

The electic motor makes up for the lack of torque a ic engine has in the low end

Not looking away and having to use reading glasses to see the text.

Hilarious and on the button review. I'd love to see you review more modern cars just for the entertainment factor....lol

heyyy 6spd auto instead of CVT, thats a plus! Also new GMs will tell you to check the back seats when you turn off the car. and toyotas have little icons for where people are sitting.

At this point, I can still understand why people might be reluctant to buy EVs, on issues of price alone. What I DON'T understand is why anyone would buy anything that isn't at LEAST a hybrid; they're so much more proportionally efficient than non-hybrids, and they require zero compromises from people who would otherwise not be willing to buy anything that requires them sacrifice something for better fuel efficiency. I've had a 2020 Sonata hybrid since new (about 39,000 miles), and my self-calculated average MPG is 48.6mpg over the life of the car. I've also gone an entire MONTH without driving it (I tend to walk for most things), and the car starts up fine. Also, the Hyundai/Kia thefts are only for older models without immobilizers, not newer ones. And I'm sorry, you can call it cynically overdone, but saying this car's styling doesn't have character?? Really?

I wanna see a review of the Tucson's mullet brother, the Santa Cruz. I've always loved utes, from the El Camino to the Ranchero to the Australian Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon utes. I'd like to see what RCR has to say about a modern ute for the American market.

Nice Kunkleman license plate border

The car is not vulnerable to the "kia boys" attack; it only affects older Kia/Hyundai vehicles that don't feature an immobilizer. All newer variants have an immobilizer.

Currently watching in Mercer County. Never thought id be jumpscared like that

15:35 the sticker is a absolute epic little touch there. Legend!!!!

In a lot of parts of the world it doesn't matter that much if the IRL fuel economy isn't that much better than the same car without the hybrid system. What matters is how much better the car does in emissions testing since this is what often heavily affects taxation when purchasing and owning the vehicle. And the emission tests are where hybrids and especially plug-in hybrids excel. So even if you only get 1 or 2 MPG more with a hybrid and the car itself costs a lot more, the differences in taxes makes it much more cheaper to buy and run. In a company fleet the taxation argument takes on a whole other level. Often nowadays if you get offered a decent company car they won't even let you pick anything else than a hybrid of some sort since the company benefits so much more. And that is the case even when it makes no sense for the end user or planet. It was the same deal with start&stop systems. As soon as the difference in taxation/emissions tests outweight the difference it cost the auto makers to put in beefier starters, AGM batteries and all the electronics to control the system they implemented them. And even if people bought those cars to never drive in a city they had lower taxes and a lower emissions class thanks to that. As an absurd example, a friend who does a lot of mileage had to trade in his company car for a new one. I can't remember if it was a 1.6 or a 2.0 liter diesel, but fairly small nevertheless. He got around 50 MPG with that. The new choices were all plug-in hybrids so he got one. Same sort of vehicle (a german wagon, same class). Since fuel is free what incentive does he have to charge it? None. Especially since he doesn't already have a charging point at home and that (and the electricity) would be charged from him directly. So he has charged it maybe 10 times in a year and now gets at around 30 MPG driving the gasoline plug-in hybrid with an empty battery all the time. It makes absolutely no sense but due to taxation it is MUCH cheaper for the company and him. Touch screens and capacitive buttons are much cheaper than proper buttons and knobs, they couldn't give a rats ass about you taking your eyes of the road (or looking modern), all that matters is that they make more profit that way. Espescially since you constantly having to take your eyes of the road for basic operations means they can sell you a boat load of driver assistance systems at an incredible profit margin!