We have "drive-by-wire" in cars since decades. But the need to make tight turns did not vanish. In a plane you are steering a miuch smaller "turn rate" than that of a car. As you just adjust the speed with the plane dives into the turn. In a car you adjust the turn rate directly. Did you ever fly a plane? Try MS Flight simulator or something equivalent. The first thing you will learn is that turning a plane is very different from turning a car. Mathematically speaking in a car you control the turn rate, in a plane you control the change of the turn rate. Obviously you do not need that much space on the wheel to do the latter.