For the first time in 28 years of JD Power’s car owner survey, there is a consecutive year-over-year decline in satisfaction, with most of the ire directed toward in-car infotainment.
For the first time in 28 years of JD Power’s car owner survey, there is a consecutive year-over-year decline in satisfaction, with most of the ire directed toward in-car infotainment.
Touch screens in cars are stupid: you need to take your eyes off the road to use them. Buttons and knobs, once you have learned them, can be operated by touch and maybe a quick flick of your eyes.
Love my Mazda3 for saying “no” to touchscreens. The knob is great!
Mazda has the best system for infotainment systems. I own 2 Mazdas and a Toyota. Every time I get in the Toyota I hate that I have to touch the screen for everything.
Mazdas also focus on providing the best driving experience for the actual driving part. Their infotainment is actually kind of mediocre compared to others, but I don’t care about that because I just need CarPlay and my phone does the rest.
I agree. I only need a screen that is capable of CarPlay and lots of physical buttons, which Mazda has. Then I want the rest of the car to be a blast to drive, which Mazda is known for and definitely delivers on. I’m a Mazda fanboy and will keep buying them unless they decide to move away from the driver experience.
We’re looking for a vehicle and the Mazda design language really hits above the price point. The CX-90 is just beautiful with the fabric layer on the dashboard. Very impressed with it.
I’ve owned probably 15 vehicles. No Mazdas. We just went from a 2012 highlander limited to a 2019 cx-9 GT with 25k mi for around 35k.
Man, what a nice ass car. I honestly never knew. Tons of features and thoughtful details. Dollar to value we’re very happy with it.
Might turn it in for a cx-90 in a few years.
Our problem is we’re cheap because we hate being indebted to someone/thing and we do want to actually retire so most of our money goes to retirement accounts. That makes actually buying a nicer vehicle trying. I just can’t stomach the prices these days. 🤮
Mazda has been killing it the last 5-7 years on their premium interiors without the premium price. That was until the CX-90 came along. Don’t get me wrong, I love it but it’s way too much for what it is in my opinion. I got a 2019 CX-5 signature (fully loaded, top trim) for 35k brand new and it has some features the CX-90 lacks without paying for it’s top trim at 60k.
With that said, I’m sure it’s still one of the most fun 3-row SUV’s to drive. Mazda won’t sacrifice drivability for nothing.
Same. If I need to get a bigger car, the CX-50 always has me turning my head. But I want to keep my little hatchback for as long as I can.
Not having a touch screen was a pretty sizeable component of my decision making process when I bought my 3.
I love the knob but hate that in 2021 they ‘upgraded’ the auto start to being in an app.
My opinion is that touch screens should be for passengers only. Display screens are fine, but if physical buttons are so unacceptable, then we need voice control that actually works.
Also, I’m surprised no one has started a company to retrofit buttons and switches into modern cars. Whatever kind of headache that would be to design and install, I’d like to see it work.
A lot of these cars are starting to get massive touch screens too. I’m looking at buying a Prius and several of the trims have a 12 inch touch screen. Why would I ever need that as a driver? Why would I ever possibly want that? Pedestrian and cyclist deaths keep skyrocketing and we continue to out these massive screens in cars that in many cases can’t be turned off. Lawmakers really need to make auto manufacturers responsible for the part they are playing in enabling distracted driving.
And then they double as GPS, but they’re installed so low that you can’t see the GPS out of the corner of your eye, and therefore need to look away from the road. Great design!
I see “but it does gps!” As an excuse in favor of the oversized screens. But a heads up display, reading aloud turn by turn directions, or even a set of lights to indicate where you should go would do the same thing better
And guess what? I navigate with my Android and don’t even have to SEE the screen. “In a quarter mile turn left on Bright Screen Road.”
They objectively make night driving significantly worse. Why would I want a big, bright, light pointed directly at my face while I’m driving?
Sure, but I don’t always have a passenger in my car and want to listen to the radio
I think the driver should definitely have radio controls, just not through a touch screen. Passenger touch screens should be for their entertainment and their own heating/cooling settings. I think the passenger controls should have nothing to do with the way the car drives and handles, or headlights, wipers, anything like that.
Enhance S3XY Buttons would like to have a word.
And I’d like to have a word with them… About how good their idea is!
That’s a great start. I am dreaming of some kind of a full dashboard and center console replacement. While I’m at it, I may as well dream of having the money to afford a car that would be new enough to need such an upgrade plus be able to afford the upgrade itself.
My 09 focus actually had a fantastic voice control. Never seen anything nearly as intuitive or operational.
My current vehicle is 7 years newer and I don’t even know what the voice button does.
and let’s not forget the back and forth rocking game you play anytime you try to push a touchscreen when the road is not perfectly flat