Tata Finally Admits Touch-Only Cabins Were a Mistake
Tata Motors will reintroduce physical controls in future cabins, Chief Design Officer Martin Uhlarik has confirmed, following customer feedback on touchscreen-heavy interiors. The shift will be a hybrid rather than a full reversal, with screens retained for some functions and proper buttons returning for others across the range above the Tiago and Tigor.
What was announced
Speaking to Autocar India, Tata Motors Chief Design Officer Martin Uhlarik confirmed the company is rolling back its no-button approach in future product. "We did go down the no-button route with a number of our products. But the reality is people do want to have some level of interface, and we're in the process of introducing it," Uhlarik said.
Tata's all-touch cabins were the single biggest reason buyers walked into a Taigun showroom instead. Admitting that is the hardest part.
At present, every Tata model above the Tiago and Tigor, including the Punch, Nexon, Curvv, Harrier, Safari and the recently launched Sierra, relies heavily on touch interfaces. That includes touch-based HVAC controls and haptic steering-wheel buttons with no tactile feedback. Customer feedback on these interfaces has been mixed, particularly on the haptic steering controls, which several owners have flagged as distracting to use on the move.
Uhlarik clarified that the change will not mean a full return to a button-heavy dashboard. "It will be a hybrid," he said, indicating that touchscreens will continue to handle infotainment and configurable functions, while physical switches will return for high-frequency controls such as climate and drive modes. Tata's stated focus is on fewer but higher-quality physical interfaces rather than a blanket reversal. The changes are expected to roll in via mid-cycle updates and on next-generation platforms, rather than as a running change on existing models already in showrooms.
The Car Jury verdict
Good. Tata's all-touch cabins were the single biggest reason buyers cross-shopped the Volkswagen Taigun, which still uses real climate knobs. Haptic steering buttons on the Nexon and Harrier are genuinely annoying at night, and the touch HVAC slider is a safety problem at highway speeds. Faisal Khan of FasBeam has noted the Sierra range opens at Rs 13.58 lakh on-road Mumbai, which is Creta money; at that price, ergonomics cannot be a beta test.
Our stance does not change on the cars already on sale. The Sierra, Harrier EV and Curvv EV remain BUYs on packaging and powertrain. But if you can wait twelve months, the mid-cycle update with proper buttons will be the one to own. Tata listened, late, but it listened.
