Infotainment mega-test How distracting are your car’s infotainment system and other controls to use on the move? We put 20 to the test
We put 20 cars’ infotainment systems and air-con controls to the test to see how distracting they are for drivers to operate on the move
THE NUMBER OF collisions caused by driver distraction is rising each year. It accounted for 15% of accidents in 2018, compared with 13% in 2016 and 14% in 2017, according to Department for Transport data. And when you focus on fatal collisions, distraction of some sort contributes to 25% of incidents.
Against this backdrop, the safety of in-car touchscreens has been questioned by safety campaigners, while Highways England has also raised concerns about the use of them. You operate them in a similar way to smartphones, yet nothing has been done to restrict the use of them while driving. By contrast, anyone caught using a handheld mobile can be fined at least £200 and get six penalty points for succumbing to this type of distraction.
So, should we be worried that most car makers have swapped traditional dashboard controls and infotainment systems with buttons for touchscreens over the past five years? While digital instrument panels can be a boon because they allow a wider range of information to be displayed directly in front of the driver, the same can’t be said for touchscreens, which are generally more fiddly and time-consuming to use on the move.
Even Audi, which has traditionally garnered praise for the ease of use of its infotainment systems, has ditched centre console-based rotary controllers for touchscreens in its latest models, and some also have a touchscreen for secondary functions such as the climate control. That said, its systems are still among the best, because they offer the driver a number of different ways of doing each command. You can manipulate the sat-nav map by pinching the touchscreen, or via a small dial on the steering wheel, and if you want to change radio stations on the move, you can request this using the voice control system.
However, not all car makers give you a choice of ways to do various tasks, and it’s these cars that are potentially the biggest problem.
To find out just how distracted a driver can become while performing six common tasks, we filmed two people driving 20 different car models that encompass the majority of the different types of infotainment systems and dashboard layouts on offer. Our results only relate to the specific system tested, because more and less sophisticated systems are often available with different trim levels of the same model, or as optional extras.
We analysed the footage of our two drivers – both of whom were familiar with each system – doing each task to see how long each spent looking at dials or a touchscreen. The results of our research reveal that it can take more than twice as long to adjust the heater fan in a car with this function on a touchscreen rather than a dial or physical switch. It can also take more than four times as long to zoom out on a satnav map and eight times as long to scroll down a list of radio stations.
Meanwhile, using voice control to find the nearest fuel station – a task that should be far less distracting than using a touchscreen – can make drivers take their eyes off the road for more than 10 seconds if the system is slow to respond and requires them to go through lots of stages to complete the command.
When you consider that a car covers 13.5 metres per second at 30mph, in our worst case scenario of spending more than 42 seconds not looking at the road, the vehicle will have travelled the length of almost six football pitches in that time.
‘Not all car makers offer drivers a choice of ways to perform the various tasks’
Temperature Fan Sat-nav zoom End guidance Radio station Voice control
Task
Temperature Fan Sat-nav zoom End guidance Radio station Voice control
Task
Temperature Fan Sat-nav zoom End guidance Radio station Voice control
Task
Temperature Fan Sat-nav zoom End guidance Radio station Voice control
Task
Temperature Fan Sat-nav zoom End guidance Radio station Voice control
Task
EVEN THOUGH AUDI has ditched its dial-controlled infotainment system, the replacement in the Q3 proves that touchscreens don’t have to be horribly distracting, as long as they’re quick to respond and combined with a range of other ways to access the car’s various functions.
Likewise, the Porsche Panamera’s combination of a responsive touchscreen and dial controllers impresses. However, it’s BMW’S idrive that remains the benchmark for ease of use, particularly now that it’s backed up by one of the most effective voice control systems in any car.
Mercedes-benz, meanwhile takes the runner-up spot, with its voice control system being every bit as good and its touchpad interfaces requiring only slightly more of your attention than the BMW’S control dial.
As for the systems in non-prestige cars, Mazda’s is the clear winner here, offering similar functionality to idrive; only its voice control is significantly less sophisticated.
It’s also interesting to see the difference between infotainment systems that look broadly the same. The Skoda Kamiq is more distracting than the Volkswagen Passat GTE, because it requires the driver to use the touchscreen to alter the fan and the voice control doesn’t extend to selecting a destination and starting navigation.
Similarly, the Peugeot 508 has a large touchscreen and a high-resolution map, but the menu buttons aren’t easy to see and you have to use the touchscreen to adjust the climate control, so it finished well behind the Vauxhall Corsa, even though they’re from the same stable.
Although the Skoda Citigo doesn’t have an infotainment system and instead requires the driver to use a smartphone in a dock, it didn’t prove as distracting as the worst systems on test. That said, it is reliant on you having a phone with a large enough screen and all the appropriate apps.
The cars that are rated poorly either have unresponsive screens or systems that make it difficult to navigate around them or require too many steps to carry out tasks. The MG ZS and Citigo also lost marks because neither has an integrated voice control system, This technology will be crucial in making distracted driving a thing of the past.
Most car buyers own a smartphone and will want it to work with their car. So most new cars are now offered with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, both of which migrate functions from your phone to the car’s infotainment system so you can use them via the touchscreen and voice control system.there are two notable exceptions to this among the brands in our test: BMW and Porsche offer only Apple Carplay, not Android Auto.
If you own an older car, or one with a poor infotainment system, using the apps on your phone for navigation, music, phone calls and text messages can be less distracting than using the built-in system. However, not all systems work seamlessly with the smartphone mirroring technology, so it’s worth trying it out before you buy.
‘Voice control will be crucial in making distracted driving a thing of the past’