Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.The sheer weight of the items competing for your attention on the road can be crushing. Driving distracted means driving unsafely, and a first-of-its-kind study shows that drivers, now more than ever, are spending more time distracted by screens to complete basic tasks in their cars.Compared to 2022, a test conducted by Vi Bilägare found that drivers now spend more time interacting with screens and controls to perform basic tasks in their cars. The test was also conducted in 2022, and the 2026 test repeated the methodology for consistency.AdvertisementAdvertisementTesting included having drivers adjust climate settings, change radio stations, and alter the display brightness, all while moving at highway speeds on a closed airfield. Critically, the test looked to replicate an owner's experience by allowing testers to learn the systems first. Results were measured in the time it took to complete a task and the distance a car traveled while it was performed.Drivers conducted testing to measure how distracting a modern car's interior is.Niklas Carle/Vi BilägareCars Cover Shocking Ground While You're DistractedMazda's CX-60 was the most distracting in 2026's test.We've been hearing about this since cell phones became commonplace in the early 2000s: your car is capable of covering ridiculous distances while you're distracted. Seconds can translate to hundreds of feet, and today's screens appear to exacerbate this.In the outlet's 2022 testing, the average distance covered while completing tasks was 2,480 feet. In 2026, that figure has only grown. Now, the average distance is 2,667 feet. Drivers needed, on average, an extra two seconds to finish the same tasks they were given just two years earlier. All the while, screens have become an increasingly critical aspect of a car's interior.Winners And LosersThe baseline in testing was a Volvo V70, disliked in its day for its cluttered interface.Bring a TrailerBoth figures are ridiculously high compared with the test's control vehicle: a 2005 Volvo V70. The station wagon was, at the time, criticized by media outlets for featuring a cluttered and distracting array of buttons. Despite that, on average, it traveled around 984 feet in testing.AdvertisementAdvertisementMeanwhile, the Mazda CX-60 was the worst offender in the distance traveled category, taking a whopping 3,730 feet on average for the set of tasks. It's not a good look for Mazda. The CX-60 featured an updated design interface, and one that Mazda insists prioritizes safety and ease of use.Volvo's crop of cars seemed to perform the best in testing, with an XC60 taking an average of 1,591 feet to complete its series of tasks. Notably, the XC60 is extremely screen-heavy, illustrating that there is a way to do screens in cars right, prioritizing essential functions with large, clear buttons.VolvoIt's not all bad news. The outlet reports that larger screens, higher on the dash, tended to perform better. The industry is leaning in this direction, and others, like Audi, have demonstrated a renewed focus on usability and physical switchgear in their upcoming models. The execution, though, matters most of all. If OEMs want to cut costs by eliminating buttons, the solution isn't a slapdash job, but rather spending some of those savings on a thoughtfully laid-out interior.This story was originally published by Autoblog on Aug 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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