I too was hesitant getting a…
I too was hesitant getting a vehicle with such a large screen where a lot of the controls are done via a touch screen. I heard all the complaints about a laggy experience with the infotainment screen. I've now owned a 2024 Subaru Outback for a year, with the huge screen.
Climate Control:
besides switching between where the air comes from, the controls to adjust the speed of the air flow are quite easy to use and you are able to adjust quickly. I almost never even look at the screen when I do this. Temperature control has physical buttons on both sides of the screen.
Infotainment System Lag:
People need to realize that these infotainment systems aren't the analog systems of yester years. They are digital computer systems and they need time to boot up from off. If it's colder it's going to be slower, if it's hot it may jitter. Your phone and computer at home will do the same thing. The complaints people have with the infotainment system mostly have to do with them starting the car and expecting that they can start pounding buttons right away. I've driven several vehicles with these new infotainment systems that have bluetooth connections to your phone for android auto. It takes time to start the software for the infotainment, then connect to your phone, then load android auto. At most it's about 30 seconds. This is the same for the other vehicles I've driven (2024 Toyota Rav4, 2021 Lexus NX, 2021 Mercedes GLC 300, 2023 BMW X3, 2024 Ford Escape). All require this sequence. All off them will give you a laggy response if you just start pounding buttons on the screen. If you turn on your computer, even with a Solid State Drive, it will be "slow" until it finishes it's start sequence. If you let any of these systems wait until the boot has finished, it works nearly seamlessly.
Also the volume control is all knobs and buttons on Subarus (including crosstrek). Not sure what they are talking about here. One set on the steering wheel and knob on the left of the screen.