We test drive so many new cars every year with top quality in car navigation systems. But we always end up using our smart phone to navigate. Why? Well, it easier to use and faster to react, especially WAZE….right?
J.D. Power and Associates released the results from a new survey, focused on the experience owners of new vehicles have had during the first 90 days of ownership. Drivers were asked about many different things, mainly about in-vehicle technologies including built-in satellite navigation, infotainment system, and safety features.
The research discovered that customers are generally satisfied with the technologies in their new cars, as the average satisfaction score was 730 on a 1,000-point scale. Interestingly, navigation systems rated the worst with an average score of 687 points.
The results show more than a half of the people surveyed with built-in navigations have never actually used them at all, deciding to use the navigation functions of their phones instead. Also, nearly a third of the drivers used the built-in GPS system for less than two weeks before giving up on it and using their smart phones again.
As it turns out, the biggest problem is entering a new destination, which requires browsing through many menus to find an address. Car drivers are totally not satisfied with the fact that they have to deal with confusing “points of interest” menus that doesn’t include enough destinations.
The survey discovered voice commands are also frustrating for users, because they are often misunderstood by the system and have to be repeated multiple times. In addition, for safety reasons, drivers are usually not allowed to manually enter a destination while the car is in motion. And while this is perfectly understandable for drivers, passengers are also not able to do it, because the navigation system is locked and can be activated only with voice commands.
Android Auto or Apple CarPlay that mirror the mobile phone’s apps in the car’s infotainment system are the perfect solution, but many car owners aren’t even aware they have such systems in their cars.
