The paper presents control performance of a magnetorheological(MR) fluid-based haptic knob which is applicable to in-vehicle comfort functions. As a first step, MR fluid-based haptic knob is devised to be capable of both rotary and push motions with a single device. Under consideration of spatial limitation, design parameters are optimally determined to minimize a reciprocal of control torque using finite element analysis. The proposed haptic knob is then manufactured and its field-dependent torque is experimentally evaluated. Subsequently, in-vehicle comfort functions are constructed in virtual environment and make them communicate with the haptic knob. Control performances such as reflection force are experimentally evaluated via simple feed-forward control strategy.