It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them.
JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey.
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All 4runners still reigning supreme with chonky ass thicc boi buttons and dials. Give me Android auto capabilities on a small screen, backup camera, and rear parking sensors. That’s it.
My wife drives a 2023 loaded Kia Sportage. The thing is basically a smartphone on wheels. Giant dash screen with all the car controls buried in it, touch screen climate controls that double as touch screen audio/volume controls. If I want to change the AC temp I have to take my eyes off the road for a few seconds. Also a subscription service if you want to use any of the actual useful functions like remote start, remote climate control, remote door lock/unlock, sentry mode, etc. I hate where cars are at today.
I have a Kia Niro and have a similarish gripe about the switching ac/media controls, but the media controls are also on the wheel so it’s not that bad if you leave it on the temp control mode mostly.
I have a '24 Subaru that is similar but I don’t really mind it. There are physical buttons for the temperature but every other ac control is digital. No reason to look at the screen while driving since there are audio controls on the wheel plus voice commands so I usually turn it off once I set certain settings that won’t save for some reason. I gotta set them every time I start the car. That’s the most frustrating thing about it. Having a map available has helped me a few times so I didn’t have to pull out my phone to look. It was also a decent price around $30k.
I have a 2015 Tacoma. Toyota has abandoned the infotainment system. There is no way to update the navigation. I wish that when manufacturers stopped updating the infotainment system they were required to make it open source, and give a final update adding android auto and apple car play.