Best, worst car infotainment systems

Some amaze while others are too complicated, unreliable

SAN ANTONIO – Automobile technology continues to improve, but, when asked about their car's infotainment systems, not all consumers were impressed. 

Infotainment systems in new cars have Bluetooth, touch screens, and many of the same functions as the most advanced smartphone.

A consumer reports survey of 58,000 people showed which systems were consumer favorites and which ones consumers think aren't worth it.

"Some systems require too many steps to do simple things," said Tom Mutchler, a consumer reports auto engineer. "Others don't have a basic volume knob. And other systems can be hard to figure out and unreliable to respond."

The survey reported that Infiniti's InTouch system is the most disliked system among consumers.

Another strongly disliked system was the CUE system in Cadillacs. One consumer said drivers need passengers with IT degrees to make the system work properly. Another called it "stupid and unintuitive."

​Some systems received positive reviews from consumers. Many were pleased with the Hyundai infotainment system, especially the voice command feature.

Chrysler's U Connect 8.4 system was the most-liked system in the survey, with one consumer saying the manual isn't needed to operate the system. Some users gave stronger praise, including one person who said, "This sounds cheesy, but we love it."