Electric Cars With Physical Buttons in Belgium

Several electric cars sold in Belgium keep real buttons: Dacia Spring, Renault 5, Hyundai Kona, Kia EV3. At the other end, the Tesla Model 3 and the Volvo EX30 go all-touchscreen. Since January 2026, Euro NCAP penalises that second choice. Here is how to sort them by your tolerance for screens.

Which electric cars still have real buttons in Belgium?

Four models stand out: the Dacia Spring, the Renault 5 E-Tech, the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Kia EV3 keep physical controls for climate and classic column stalks. The Tesla Model 3 and the Volvo EX30 do the opposite: almost everything runs through the central screen, down to the gear selector on the Tesla.

A physical control here means a button, a dial or a stalk you operate by touch, without looking. That is what separates an anti-touchscreen car from one where every setting forces you to aim at an icon on a flat panel. The clearest day-to-day yardstick is climate control: it is the setting you change most often while driving.

The Hyundai Kona and the Dacia Spring are the most comfortable for a driver who hates digging through a menu. The Renault 5 and the Kia EV3 keep the essentials at hand but slip a few functions into the screen. The Model 3 and the EX30 are best avoided if all-touchscreen annoys you.

One concrete example. In the Kona, I turned the heating up to 21°C while heading up the E411 motorway one February morning, without taking my eyes off the road: one button, one dial, done. In my sister's Model 3, I had to find the climate icon and then a sub-menu, at 120 km/h. The difference shows up within two trips.

Why is Euro NCAP pushing buttons back in 2026?

Since January 2026, Euro NCAP deducts points from cars whose essential controls are buried in a touchscreen. To aim for five stars, five functions must stay reachable through a real button, dial or lever. It is an incentive, not a ban: all-touchscreen cars are still allowed on sale.

Euro NCAP is the independent European body that crash-tests new cars and awards the zero-to-five-star ratings. It does not write the law, but its stars carry weight with company fleets and buyers. Its new "safe driving" protocol now scores the ergonomics of controls, not just airbags or automatic braking.

The bar tightens over time. To earn five stars, a car must pass 60% of the safe-driving criteria in 2026, then 70% in 2027 and 80% in 2028, per the protocol published by Euro NCAP. In other words, a very touch-heavy car can still shine this year, but the screws turn each season.

Which controls must stay physical?

Five functions are targeted: the indicators, the horn, the hazard lights, the wipers and the emergency call (eCall, the system that auto-dials emergency services after a crash). Euro NCAP wants a button, dial or lever for each, with tactile feedback, usable even with gloves on. These are the emergency gestures you should never have to hunt for in a sub-menu.

Can an all-touchscreen car still earn five stars?

Yes in 2026, less easily after that. The 60% threshold leaves room for a car that is otherwise very safe, even if it pushes plenty of settings to the screen. At 80% in 2028, a dashboard with no physical controls at all becomes a real handicap for the score. A Tesla can stay five-star today and lose ground tomorrow.

Is all-touchscreen more dangerous while driving?

Yes, the data suggests so. Looking away for two seconds at 120 km/h means covering nearly 67 metres blind. In Belgium, distraction is linked to around 50 deaths and roughly 4,500 injuries a year, according to Vias institute, the Belgian road-safety centre.

The touchscreen makes the problem worse for one simple reason: it gives no feedback to your finger. On a button, the shape and the click confirm the action without looking. On a flat panel, your brain gets nothing, so you check with your eyes, so you leave the road. Vias also notes that 49% of Belgian drivers set their sat-nav while moving: a central screen that concentrates everything encourages exactly that reflex.

On Belgian roads it plays out in the details. A poorly lit Brussels roundabout, a merge onto the ring road on a rainy evening: those are moments when you cannot afford to go hunting for a menu. And let us be honest, none of these models is perfect. The Renault 5 keeps climate buttons, but defrost and recirculation hide in the screen. The Kia EV3 has a neat control bar below the screen, which is still touch. The absolute "all buttons" car has nearly disappeared.

The brands going back to physical buttons

Volkswagen, Hyundai and Mercedes have announced a return of physical controls. Volkswagen's facelifted ID generation brings real buttons back after years of non-backlit touch sliders, long criticised for forcing blind use. It is a half-admission: extreme minimalism hurt ergonomics.

The shift is industry-wide. Volkswagen showed a new steering wheel with physical buttons replacing the touch-sensitive pads. Hyundai openly defends its button rows for climate and volume, and its new in-car system keeps hardware shortcuts. Mercedes is reinstating keys on the steering wheel after a very touch-led generation. Even Kia, with the EV3's switchable bar, is looking for a middle ground between buttons and screen.

In practice, a Belgian buyer in 2026 no longer has to choose between a modern car and a car that is usable while driving. The two logics are converging: central screen for navigation and media, physical buttons for frequent gestures. That is the direction the Euro NCAP rule will impose on everyone within three years.

Should you avoid all-touchscreen when buying an EV?

Not necessarily. All-touchscreen mainly bothers you if you change settings often while driving, or if hunting for an icon irritates you. For an urban driver who sets climate and radio while parked, the screen alone works fine. The real criterion is how you drive, not the fashion of the moment.

A few safeguards exist even on very touch-heavy models. Voice control increasingly handles temperature and navigation. Steering-wheel shortcuts let you set the volume and cruise control without touching the screen. But these workarounds stay secondary: they help out, they do not replace a button you can find with your eyes shut.

My father is 71. I lent him an all-touchscreen test car for a weekend. He spent two minutes looking for the rear defrost, while parked, glasses on his nose. In his old Golf, it was a button, no thinking required. That is the real point of all-touchscreen: not modernity, but everyday use.

To separate two models on this criterion, as on the rest, the simplest way is to line them up side by side. Our electric car comparator helps cross-check ergonomics, real-world range and Belgian prices before you sign.

Which physical-button car should you pick for your profile?

Small budget and maximum simplicity: Dacia Spring. Commuter who wants comfort without all-touchscreen: Hyundai Kona or Renault 5. Family: Kia EV3 for daily life, EV9 if space comes first. High-mileage motorway driver: BMW i4, whose iDrive rotary controller remains the best answer to the screen. Each profile has its star pupil.

The Hyundai Kona Electric (around €35,000 in Belgium) is probably the best all-rounder: physical climate row, classic stalks, a screen that is present but never forced on you. The Renault 5 E-Tech (from about €25,000) plays the fun card with its steering-column volume satellite, inherited from older Renaults. For families, the Kia EV3 keeps the essentials at hand while offering a large boot.

What if I want the bare minimum of screen?

The Dacia Spring, around €16,900. It is the most stripped-back electric car on the Belgian market: a small screen, buttons and dials for almost everything, no gadgets to tame. The trade-off is clear: real-world range of 200 to 225 km and a basic finish. For a second urban car, that is often enough.

What about driving with gloves in winter?

Physical buttons win clearly. A capacitive screen does not respond to a thick glove, whereas a button, dial or stalk does. Euro NCAP built this in: essential controls must stay usable with gloves on. For an Ardennes driver setting off in a frost, the Spring, the Kona or the BMW i4 are calmer companions than an icy touch panel.

Should you really cross Tesla off the list?

No, as long as you accept its logic. The Model 3 remains excellent on range and access to the Supercharger network, the best in Belgium. But the Highland facelift dropped the indicator stalk for buttons on the wheel, which throws you off in a Belgian roundabout where you turn the wheel and the signal at the same time. If all-touchscreen is a deal-breaker for you, look elsewhere. Otherwise, you get used to it within a week.

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