In-car tech helps
DETROIT — Hyundai and BMW customers are the most satisfied with their in-vehicle technology, but those brands and others still need to work on educating drivers about what their cars can do, according to a new survey by the market research company J.D. Power and Associates.
The inaugural study, released Monday, asked owners about their experiences after 90 days owning 2016 model-year vehicles. The vehicles had to be new or redesigned in the last three years.
BMW and Hyundai had two models each that were the highest performers in their segments: The BMW 2-Series and 4-Series small cars and the Hyundai Genesis midsize car and Tucson small SUV. The Chevrolet Camaro, Kia Forte and Nissan Maxima also scored well. J.D. Power didn’t release the worst performers.
Customers were asked to rate their in-vehicle technology. They gave the highest satisfaction ratings to blind-spot warning systems and backup cameras. Navigation systems got the lowest scores, with many drivers saying they found it difficult to enter a destination using voice commands. Voice-recognition systems also got low ratings.
The survey also revealed many owners don’t know all the things their cars can do. Forty-three percent didn’t know if their car had Android Auto or MirrorLink, which allow owners to connect their smartphones and access apps from their dashboard screens. Thirty-six percent didn’t know if their car had Apple CarPlay, a similar system that works with iPhones.
The study questioned 17,864 vehicle owners and lessees from February through August.
