Which car multimedia system is the best? These ten brands have the highest ratings!

Nowadays, car multimedia systems are almost as important as airbags, and have even become standard equipment. With the advancement of technology, car multimedia systems are becoming more and more integrated, intelligent, and user-friendly. With the popularization of 5G technology and the improvement of Internet of Things technology, I believe that more and more drivers will be happy to have this equipment.

According to statistics from the authoritative foreign organization IHS Markit, in the major global automobile markets, only 53% were equipped with touch multimedia systems in 2014, but this year the proportion has reached 82%.

However, the car multimedia system has different technologies and R&D concepts from different brands, which leads to a big difference in user experience. Consumers have the final say on whether it is easy to use or not. Therefore, the famous foreign "Consumer Report" conducted a survey on more than 60,000 car owners to evaluate the use of car multimedia systems of various brands.

In this report, Tesla ranked first with 86 points, while BMW ranked second with 80 points for its "gesture control version" iDrive system, third place went to Hyundai's high-end brand GENESIS, fourth place went to Ford SYNC 3, and fifth place went to Fiat. As for sixth place, Porsche's PCM scored only 69 points, while BMW iDrive without gesture control scored 68 points, and Audi's MMI virtual cockpit, which many people find easy to use, scored 68 points together with Volkswagen.

It is worth noting that there is no Japanese brand in the top ten. American brands occupy three places, German brands have four places (BMW takes two seats), one Korean brand, and one Italian brand.

Nissan performed best among Japanese brands, but it was ranked 14th out of the top ten with a score of only 61 points. Nissan's premium brand Infiniti scored 60 points, the second Japanese brand to score over 60 points. Audi MMI, which is not equipped with a virtual cockpit function (that is, the traditional dashboard version), is the watershed of user experience. Other well-known brands, including Mercedes-Benz Comand and JLR InContral, scored very poorly.

A Consumer Reports survey shows that car owners generally believe that the optimal size of the central control screen is between 7 and 12 inches, which is the most suitable size for operation and identification; if physical buttons or knobs are retained for more commonly used functions (such as volume), it is easier to operate than touch screen buttons; some models still have two screens in the central control design, which makes it difficult to distinguish them during operation; and if the control buttons are too small, it will distract driving attention and be difficult to operate accurately on bumpy roads.

The most complained about issue is the poor voice recognition. When you have to repeat the voice command over and over again while driving, you will unconsciously want to greet the host. Impatience is also more likely to distract attention, and the original purpose of voice control is lost. I wonder if you still remember the video of the correction brother who was hard on OnStar.

Increasingly powerful car multimedia systems are definitely the future trend. Many brands are even trying desperately to reduce physical buttons and replace them with a touch screen, but does such a design really contribute to driving safety?

What size do you think is most suitable? Is it necessary to cancel the physical buttons?