[DigitalSea]

I learned this lesson the hard way with my early 2000s BMW 5 Series (a 2004 model). It had a single joystick-style knob (iDrive, if I remember correctly) controlling a screen that handled everything—climate, settings, and more. The problem? It was an all-in-one system, completely integrated with vehicle functions, which meant you couldn’t swap it out for a newer or better OEM system. You were stuck with aging tech, and once the screen or computer started acting up, there were no simple fixes. No cheap button replacement, no easy upgrades.

Compare that to an old LandCruiser or similar vehicle from the ’80s. Physical controls still work decades later, and worst-case scenario, you replace a button or a switch for pocket change. Meanwhile, modern cars are turning into disposable tech products, destined for obsolescence the moment their proprietary systems fail. It's for this reason when I bought a new car a couple of years ago, I opted for a Toyota LandCruiser, the use of physical buttons (despite coming with touchscreens now) makes a huge difference when you're driving and want to press a button to change music or turn the volume up/down.

[NegativeLatency]

Having a standard DIN/double DIN slot for a head unit also makes upgrades/changes easier. With all the new cars having such bespoke and integrated systems, it makes stuff like changing out the head unit much harder.

ex putting a new carplay double DIN head unit is much easier in older cars, and difficult/impossible in newer cars

[ssl-3]

New-enough passenger cars tend to have connectivity like Carplay as a built-in.

Old-enough passenger cars tend to have a standard-enough hole DIN-ish hole to fit a modern aftermarket unit with modern connectivity.

In between those two, there's a world of cars that have touch-screen controls but lack modern connectivity. This is a subset of vehicles that cannot do anything but shrink as they age out.

But there are some aftermarket solutions for these, too, which add modern connectivity while retaining the stock electronics and physical appearance. (There's actually quite a diverse array of these upgrades available, though the origin of these devices feels very strange to me compared to traditional car audio aftermarket, and it is also absolutely exclusively Chinese.)

[timc3]

My 2021 BMW has iDrive and physical buttons and dials. It’s a fantastic system.

A lot of iDrive systems can be replaced, though I do worry where the cheap ebay components come from.

Later iDrive was so much better than earlier, probably the best system I have used in a car, but now they have gone with huge touch screens. yes it looks impressive and no I don't want it.

[piperswe]

iDrive 7 (what you probably have in your 2021, and what I've had in 2022 and 2020 BMWs) is peak iDrive to me. The important stuff (climate control, volume, radio on/off) still has physical non-capacitive buttons, while the radio is entirely controllable with the touchscreen OR iDrive Controller (the puck in the center console). I barely have to take my eyes off the road to do anything, even in the iDrive system, since I have muscle memory for the iDrive Controller motions.

And now they're rolling out iDrive 8 vehicles that move climate control to the touchscreen and don't even have the puck (looking at you, X1) and I can't imagine buying one of those cars. I'm happy with my 2020.