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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I actually like big screens on infotainment systems, especially the ones that integrate into the dash and not the ones where it looks like they just stuck a tablet on top of the dash. I have a Subaru and it has a nice vertical 11in screen. I also like the design of the new Hyundai and Kia screens that run across the dash.
Having said that, those screens should strictly be for that purpose, infotainment. Anything that controls essential functions should still be physical buttons, levers, and dials.
I was excited when Volvo announced they were going to release an affordable subcompact SUV EV, then saw they put almost everything on the infotainment screen in the middle of the dash, even the speedometer!
So what did they put there instead of the spedometer?
kagis
I guess this is the EX30. It looks like it doesn’t have a driver’s side display. Weird.
considers
I guess it saves some money, but yeah, that doesn’t seem like a reasonable tradeoff. There are displays that I want to have readily-accessible all the time.
And, I mean, what does an LCD screen cost? $100 or something? It can’t save all that much.