Plenty to like about these infotainment systems
We now take it as a given that infotainment systems — once so lowly that automakers let the aftermarket dominate audio-system sales — are an important, nay crucial, part of the automotive landscape. Indeed, there are some who would say that audio/information/connectivity systems will soon be the most important aspect of a car’s performance.
That’s why Driving looked at six vastly different units from very different cars — different operating systems, different design philosophies and vastly different price ranges — to see if we could make heads or tails of what is the best design methodology, which system is more convenient, and whether a car’s price tag makes the same kind of difference to infotainment systems as it does to engines and amenities. Here is our evaluation of the Kia UVO, GMC IntelliLink, Fiat Chrysler Uconnect, Volvo Sensus, Range Rover Touch Pro Duo and BMW’s latest iDrive system.
KIA UVO
The little Rio’s UVO system impressed all the testers simply because of Kia’s traditional strength: value for the money. Fully featured, save for voice control, the Rio’s “Intelligence” version of the company’s UVO is the most advanced infotainment system the South Korean automaker offers.
Pros: Excellent bang for your digital buck; physical volume and channel-tuning knobs; Intelligence version boasts a sizable (for the segment) seven-inch screen. Cons: A little slow on the uptake; radio stations and maps take time to load; no voice control. Overall rating: Excellent value for the money.
GMC INTELLILINK SYSTEM
Next up the price range was GM C’ s most advanced infotainment system, found in the all-new Terrain. And, in something of a trend — at least in this test — the GMC was an extremely competent, extremely fast full-featured system let down by a few cost-cutting design details endemic to its price point.
Pros: Blindingly fast processor; quick Bluetooth connectivity; excellent predictive navigation system address entry and voice commands.
Cons: Not the most fashionable design; graphics a little underwhelming; difficult keyboarding.
Overall rating: Lightning quick and intuitive, but a tad prosaic.
FIAT CHRYSLER UCONNECT
Not surprising is that FCA’s Uconnect was well received. Well documented is the fact that Uconnect is a solid performer in the infotainment field; perhaps its highest compliment is that the same basic hardware is used in Maseratis without complaint.
Pros: Fully featured, with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Sirius Radio/Traffic/Traffic Link, plus many other apps that can only be used with the van in Park to avoid distraction; plenty speedy.
Cons: Controls are a little complicated; ordinary graphics.
Overall rating: An excellent system that deserved its No. 1 placing in this test.
VOLVO SENSUS
Compared with the three systems noted above, for instance, Volvo’s Sensus display is positively huge, reminding us very much of a Samsung Galaxy Notebook plunked into the XC60’s centre dashboard.
As such, it was like operating a tablet with all the benefits — and foibles — we’re all used to. One of the system’s big pluses is that it allows you to scroll through all the radio channels, displaying the song and artist on each, without switching from the station you’re currently listening to.
Pros: Attractive tablet-like format; swipe controls to access different menus; excellent radio controls.
Cons: Frustrating manual address entry; frustrating voice-activated address entry.
Overall rating: Huge potential that needs better data entry.
RANGE ROVER TOUCH PRO DUO
If Volvo’s Sensus system is like having a Samsung Galaxy built into your centre console, then Range Rover’s new Touch Pro Duo system — as seen in the new Velar — is akin to having an Apple iPad built into your dashboard.
Pros: Screens impeccably integrated into cock pit design; appealing graphics; excellent navigation system.
Cons: No physical radio-tuning controls; no voice command for address entry.
Overall rating: A beautiful system that needs finishing.
BMW IDRIVE
If the Range Rover Touch Pro system is an iPad, then BMW’s iDrive is an Apple MacBook. Unlike the other two luxury entrants, which have gone the tablet route, iDrive is very much computer-like with a “mouse” and lots of submenus.
Pros: Beyond excellent voice-command system; large, well designed 10.2-inch iDrive screen; logically laid-out submenus.
Cons: Too many submenus; complicated system can occasionally baffle; system uses too many buttons.
Overall rating: A complex, complicated system made more than livable by an exemplary voice command system.
CONCLUSION
The most obvious conclusion we gleaned from our giant infotainment-system test was that the computerized automobile is still in its infancy. Each manufacturer’s system had its strengths, and one could imagine a perfect — OK, better — system if one combined Range Rover graphics with GMC speed, BMW voice control, Volvo radio tuning and FCA’s interface, all, of course, at the Kia’s price.
That said, Fiat Chrysler’s latest Uconnect system ranked highest, its edge over the Terrain’s IntelliLink in the tester’s subjective ratings greater than GMC’s speed advantage.
Nonetheless, the GMC system was a close second. BMW’s iDrive and Kia’s UVO system were so close in our points standing that differentiation was difficult, hence they tied behind FCA and GMC (though big points to Kia for value for money).
Range Rover’s Touch Pro Duo and Volvo’s Sensus were 5th and 6th respectively, based mainly on their poor (in the case of Volvo) and nonexistent (Range Rover) voice-command abilities for the navigation system.
Both, however, were more aesthetically pleasing, the Range Rover system in the Velar, especially so.