People say there’s no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ but it seems Volkswagen might have done so. In the Volkswagen ID.4 EV - which will be launched in Malaysia - there are only two switches on the driver side to operate the four power windows.

How does the driver use all four windows then? To that, Volkswagen has released a video tutorial on how to use the window opener in the ID.4.

The video explained that the “rear” button above the switches needs to be ‘touched’ in order to operate the rear windows. It went on to show that a long press of the “rear” button will allow the driver to operate all four windows simultaneously.

Apart from the windows, users can activate the heated seats by using two fingers to ‘touch’ on the temperature control strip. A neat trick perhaps, but what about illumination at night?

The video concludes by showing another trick to set vehicle speed for the adaptive cruise control. A ‘touch’ on the plus or minus button brings the speed up or down by one km/h while a ‘push’ will change the speed by tens.

Feedback on the video haven’t been positive, and understandably so. If a car company has to release a tutorial on how to operate something as supposedly straightforward as windows, that doesn't exactly scream user-friendly.

Also read: Specs confirmed: Volkswagen ID.4 EV previewed in Malaysia, full ADAS, 204 PS/310 Nm, 519 km

Conventionally, each window would have its own switch in almost every other car on sale today. There’s no fiddling about with the buttons and switches just to operate the rear windows when driving. It’s straightforward and no one has ever complained about it, so why reinvent the wheel?

Last year, the Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer said that physical buttons on the steering wheel will be brought back based on customer feedback. Will the window switches receive similar response? We'll have to stick around and find out.

Also read: Touch-sensitive buttons a mistake? VW to bring back physical buttons on steering wheel

As for the Volkswagen ID.4 itself, it should be making its Malaysian launch sooner than later as Volkswagen Malaysia’s MD Erik Winter said that it is coming “as soon as possible” during its preview last year. 

Also read: 7 EV SUVs launching in Malaysia in 2023: Toyota bZ4X, Smart #1, VW ID.4, and more