It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them.
JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey.
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I have a '24 Subaru that is similar but I don’t really mind it. There are physical buttons for the temperature but every other ac control is digital. No reason to look at the screen while driving since there are audio controls on the wheel plus voice commands so I usually turn it off once I set certain settings that won’t save for some reason. I gotta set them every time I start the car. That’s the most frustrating thing about it. Having a map available has helped me a few times so I didn’t have to pull out my phone to look. It was also a decent price around $30k.