The invention relates to a control device for a motor vehicle, including a control touch-sensitive surface (3) configured to detect a gesture by a user, which is exerted on said touch-sensitive surface (3), and a unit (7) for interpreting said detected gesture, in order to generate a command associated with said detected gesture. According to the invention, said control device comprises at least one processing unit (9) configured to alternate the operating mode of said control device between an applied operating mode and a basic operating mode, on the basis of an input parameter for alternating the operating mode.