Around the world, automakers are rapidly competing to deliver the vehicle of the future in a race that is seeing not only an increase in the number of technologies present in the vehicle, but also their significance to its overall user experience. The success of these technologies, however, depends on their ability to ensure that the user experience is delivered in a seamless, and satisfactory, manner. In achieving this, OEMs, suppliers, developers and start-ups can ensure continuously successful product launches, while ensuring long-term customer loyalty with the vehicle and its ecosystem of digital services.
Recognizing the impact of HMI features on the overall in-vehicle user experience is our best-selling In-Car HMI UX Evaluation & Benchmarking report series. Representing one of our longest running reports, each entry provides a comprehensive, analytical assessment of the latest HMI systems launched in vehicles around the world. So far in 2024, our UX experts have reviewed and benchmarked the systems provided in seven recently released vehicles to understand which OEMs are leading the in-vehicle HMI space, and which ones are falling behind.
In this Insight, we will be taking a closer look at each report released in the 2024 series to date. While detailing the innovative infotainment systems and features that drive the user experience of the vehicles tested so far, we will also highlight some of the biggest, and most surprising, takeaways from each evaluation.
Current 2024 Vehicle Catalog
BMW X1
For the first report in the 2024 series, our experts tested the 2024 BMW X1, which utilizes the new iDrive 9 infotainment system. Built on Android OS, iDrive 9 offers interesting proprietary features like customizable widgets, in-vehicle gaming, and the ConnectedDrive Store – the user experience of which our experts commended for its familiarity to mobile app stores from the world of consumer electronics. However, during their evaluation, the team found some surprising stability issues across the system that were not major issues in prior BMW models.
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
This entry focused on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which marks the debut of the OEM’s all-new Zero-layer UI theme, and offers a broad range of native and downloadable features and apps for various domains. Within their testing and analysis of the new E-Class, our UX experts enjoyed the variety of delight features it offered across a broad range of domains. Although, at the same time, they underscored how the complicated, overwhelming, controls implemented for some of these features could hinder their overall usability.
Xiaomi SU7
In this edition, our experts tested the Xiaomi SU7, the Chinese tech giant’s first vehicle. While delivering a rich feature set through its Xiaomi phone integration capabilities, the EV also utilizes innovative AI technologies to elevate the experience of its on-board voice assistant. Our experts commended both the deep integration of the vehicle’s Smart Cabin with Xiaomi’s broader technology ecosystem, and how it utilized AI to support its native features. While identifying some teething issues in the SU7’s hygiene feature offering, our experts also highlighted the potential benefits of opening up Xiaomi’s smartphone integration system to non-Xiaomi smartphones.
Lincoln Nautilus
One of the newest vehicle releases reviewed by our UX team was the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus, the first vehicle from Ford’s luxury brand to ship with the all-new Lincoln Digital Experience infotainment system. Built on Google’s Android Automotive OS, the new IVI pairs an 11.1-inch central touchscreen with a 48-inch 4K panoramic display. Our experts found the cohesion offered across the system’s display setup enhanced its usability while facilitating a safer, more seamless, user experience. The limited customizability of these displays, however, caused the system to fall short against similar offerings while its broader stability issues could pose further weaknesses if not resolved.
Hyundai KONA Electric
For 2024, the user experience of the Hyundai KONA Electric is largely hosted across its next-generation infotainment system, which integrates two 12.3-inch panoramic display screens into the audio-video navigation system to offer a widescreen digital experience. Our experts were impressed by the convenience offered by the EV’s delight features across several domains, especially within domains that play key roles in the EV ownership experience. However, a series of integration issues found in many of these features led their overall usability to feel inconsistent, confusing and, in some cases, difficult.
Acura ZDX
In this edition our experts tested the 2024 Acura ZDX, the Honda brand’s first EV and first integration of Google built-in, itself hosted across an 11-inch Precision Cockpit Driver Information Cluster and an 11.3-inch Center Information Screen. While offering a familiar user experience to its mobile counterpart, the OS’s implementation in the ZDX shares a common set of strengths and weaknesses with its implementation in other vehicles. Beyond Google built-in, it demonstrated strengths across key domains, but its AM/FM radio presented a series of weaknesses that negatively impacted the EV’s overall usability.
Avatr 12
The latest entry in our HMI UX Evaluation report series sees our experts test the Avatr 12. It is the latest vehicle from Avatr Technology, a joint venture between Changan, CATL, and Huawei that pools their respective automotive, battery, and connected technologies into luxury, all-electric, vehicles. While our experts enjoyed the entertainment capabilities and IoT integrations offered by the in-vehicle variant of Huawei’s HarmonyOS, they felt that its lack of third-party support could limit its usability for customers who do not own a compatible Huawei smartphone. Beyond infotainment, the EV offers an impressive set of features that individually enable unique and seamless user experiences.
Next Steps
As illustrated above, each of our HMI UX reports offers deep, expert-led, insights into the strengths and weaknesses in the user experience of key HMI features offered in a new vehicle, based on our proven evaluation methodologies and mix of scoring systems. These work alongside concise recommendations for improving these features, with a focus on the impact of these improvements on the overall customer experience and their ease of implementation.
A subscription to the HMI UX series not only provides you with immediate access to all seven reports released so far this year, but also secures your copies of all future 2024 HMI UX reports – including the Audi Q6 e-tron report that's soon to be released. Subscribers of the series will also receive a dedicated summary report that compiles the most important takeaways from the 2024 series with comparative views of how this year’s vehicles performed relative to one another across several feature domains.
Want to learn more about the latest in-vehicle HMI solutions, their impacts on the end user experience, and which vehicle offers the best user experience? Then be sure to secure your subscription to our In-Car HMI UX Evaluation & Benchmarking series!