Is it always better?
I drive my TJ during the week and can find all the controls, heater/ac, radio, wipers, lights, etc. with my eyes closed in the dark. I drive our '14 Dodge Journey on weekends and have to take my eyes off the road every time i want to change anything. It has the touch screen with most of radio and heater controls on it. It looks cool, but is it really better?
No. That's my opinion. Buttons to open and close rear hatches and tailgates? Buttons to open and close side doors on mini vans? Parking assist? Back up cameras? Air conditioning? Bluetooth? Built in phones? Air Pressure Monitors? Voice command? Traction control? Braking assist? Pedestrian/Object monitors? Push-button starting and locking/unlocking doors? Can we get any more lazy/spoiled?
My TJ has none of that. No fancy monitors, systems, and assisting crap. No AC, No carpet, no center console, no lighting up christmas colored knobs and buttons. No fancy 8 speed transmission. Not even a tape player. It has a AM/FM radio, holes in the floor where mud comes in, and it's noisy. But it's a vehicle that gets me from point A to point B and I control the traction, the speed, the braking, the parking, and opening and closing the damn doors (when they are on, which is never).
We just bought a 2013 Hyundai Elantra strictly for driving to and from work. It's supposed to save us a ton on gas (almost 40 mpg). It mostly sits parked and untouched but I have been driving my 99 SE since we bought it. I cannot stand sitting in that low riding thing with all these buttons, knobs, and tech crap. And I thought cars were supposed to ride good but this little thing rides like it has springs and shocks from a radio controlled car. It's like being in a bubble of plastic. The lady drives it but I pass every time.
My fiance's has two brothers and a sister. All three of them bought brand new vehicles (2014 Grand Cherokee, 2014 Ford Fiesta, 2013 Ford F-150). The Grand has been in and out of the shop for a number of recalls and issues. The Fiesta has been in and out of the shop countless times for transmission issues (she eventually traded it for a Chevy Cruze). The Ford has been pretty reliable but what a bitch it is when it comes to the computer. Just a simple thing as airing up the tires for a heavier load wrecks havoc on the system and he has to sit in there to dial in the new psi for whatever the computer needs it for. He tried to show me all the gagdets on that flat screen in the dash but got lost in all the mumble jumble techy stuff. What a joke.
I guess I'm old fashioned or you can blame my dad for teaching me how to drive in a 86 Ford F-150 that had nothing but a full length chair, steering wheel, and a shifter.