- Advertisement -
HomeTechnologyNew Market Analysis says BMW and Hyundai have the friendliest technology

New Market Analysis says BMW and Hyundai have the friendliest technology

- Advertisement -

BMW and Hyundai both earned top marks on technology usability in a new report out by J.D. Power, signifying that luxury and mass-market vehicles can do equally well satisfying customers with new technology.

A first of its kind for J.D. Power, the usability study found new vehicle owners are most satisfied with collision avoidance technology but still struggle with navigation systems, where many simply turn to a smartphone to substitute.

The BMW 2 series and 4 series ranked highest for the bcrand. Hyundai’s Genesis and Tucson also scored well on the survey, which looked at vehicle owner’s interaction and usage of technology used in collision protection, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, smartphone mirroring and comfort and convenience.

The Chevy Camaro, Kia Forte and Nissan Maxima also scored well.

The long development times for cars may hurt consumer ratings of many technology systems, said Kristin Kolodge, the report author and J.D. Power’s head of driver interaction.

In many cases, “a system might be working the way the engineers and designers have planned it,” Kolodge said. But “expectations change rapidly — change driven by other electronics in our lifestyle rapidly evolving into what the expectations are in our vehicle.”

Usability

Basic tech usability is a major factor in measuring overall product quality. Consumers “just want to be successful the first time they use a technology,” says Kolodge.

J.D. Power asked 17,864 new vehicle buyers to rate the functionality of in-vehicle technology. Safety systems like backup cameras, blind-spot warnings, and detection and lane-keeping ranked the highest in satisfaction, with a score of 754 our of J.D. Power’s 1000-point scale. These technologies were used nearly every time survey respondents drove.

But consumers are struggling with navigation technology, which achieved the study’s lowest score of 687 out of 1,000. In many cases, consumers will bring another device into the car as a substitute, leaving in-car navigation systems unused. Fifty-seven percent of those who brought in outside technology did so without ever trying OEM-provided solutions in the first place.

There is a disconnect between how consumers are using technology now and what they say they want, Kolodge said. They are willing to pay for difficult-to-use technologies like navigation and voice-recognition in vehicles despite underutilizing them once they buy the car.

“There’s a patience there that the industry should take advantage of” to improve the technology, Kolodge said. “It’s frankly a gift.”

.D. Power Usability Study
Segment Highest ranked Second Third
Compact Kia Forte Scion iM Mitsubishi Outlander
Compact Premium BMW 4 Series Lexus IS Lincoln MKC
Small Hyundai Tucson Scion iA Fiat 500X
Small Premium BMW 2 series Audi A3 BMW X1
Midsize Chevrolet Camaro Kia Sorento (tie)
Nissan Murano (tie)
Midsize Premium Hyundai Genesis Cadillac CTS Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
Large Nissan Maxima Chevrolet Silverado LD GMC Sierra LD

 

Stepping stones

The two carmakers that lead the report’s segment winners, BMW and Hyundai, represent a narrowing of customer experience between luxury and non-luxury vehicles. Safety technology that was once found only in luxury cars has now filtered down to mass-market vehicles, Kolodge said.

In particular, she noted that blind-spot detection — which consumers have the option to turn off, unlike other safety technology — ranks highly among customer use. Kolodge said this acceptance could affect wider consumer reactions to upcoming self-driving technologies.

“These safety technologies are the initial building blocks to autonomous driving, Kolodge remarked. “An initial negative experience could add up.”

Car dealers have a big impact on overall satisfaction. Technology demonstrations at the time of purchase increased satisfaction by as much as 54 percent compared to customers who were self-taught or learned elsewhere, J.D. Power found.

In some cases, Kolodge said, customers just need to know the technology is there.

“Sometimes it’s just the sheer introduction of the technology,” Kolodge said. “At its simplest stage, (dealers should) make sure the consumer understands that they have the technology.”

- Advertisement -spot_img
- Advertisement -

Must Read

- Advertisement -

Recent Published Startup Stories

- Advertisement -

9 COMMENTS

  1. Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
    I mean, whazt you say iis valuable and all. But think about if you added some great graphics or videos to give your posts more,
    “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and videos,
    this blog could definitely be one of the best in its niche.
    Very good blog!

  2. Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems
    with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a
    few months of hard work due to no data backup.
    Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?

  3. I have observed that in the world nowadays, video games would be the latest craze with kids of all ages. Many times it may be impossible to drag your family away from the video games. If you want the best of both worlds, there are several educational activities for kids. Thanks for your post.

  4. I simply wanted to thank you once again for this amazing web page you have built here. It truly is full of useful tips for those who are seriously interested in this particular subject, especially this very post. Your all so sweet and thoughtful of others as well as reading the blog posts is an excellent delight in my experience. And such a generous present! Ben and I really have pleasure making use of your ideas in what we must do in a few weeks. Our checklist is a mile long which means your tips might be put to beneficial use.

  5. Good article. It is quite unfortunate that over the last several years, the travel industry has had to handle terrorism, SARS, tsunamis, bird flu virus, swine flu, and also the first ever true global recession. Through everthing the industry has proven to be solid, resilient plus dynamic, acquiring new methods to deal with hardship. There are continually fresh issues and the possiblility to which the industry must again adapt and behave.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Select Language »