The past few years have seen multiple updates to VW’s in-car infotainment displays, and at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, the automaker debuted still another iteration of its dashboard display. This one has a new menu layout, limited gesture-control capability, and a hyperquick USB connection for external devices. Unlike many CES debuts, VW’s new system is actually going into production cars soon, so we had to try it for ourselves.
Fitted to an e-Golf dubbed “e-Golf Touch,” the new system consists of a high-resolution 9.2-inch touchscreen with a built-in infrared sensor. VW’s screen shows a series of large tiles on the main “menu” screen, with the option to select a “home” screen that permanently displays a navigation window on the left side of the screen and two smaller, user-determined tiles to its right. For example, an owner could set one of the smaller tiles to display phone contacts, audio information, or a slideshow of their downloaded images. Interestingly, this home screen lets users manipulate the navigation or two other tiles without bringing up a new menu; i.e., you can swipe right or left through your most recent phone contacts from this main window, or select a new song, too. A small button in the corner of each right-hand tile brings users to expanded phone or audio menus.
When your hand comes within one inch of the screen, the lower menu (pause, play, skip song) appears.
The graphics on the e-G...