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Best car infotainment systems of 2022

Declaring one infotainment system the best over any other is an inherently subjective matter. You can look at quantitative testing for things like input response time and various screen load times, but ask a room full of people that have tried them all what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. Some prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based with a simplistic user interface. Others may prefer a non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some folks prefer Android phones over iPhones, we all have our own opinions for what makes up the best infotainment interface. All that said, our combined experience tells us that a number of infotainment systems are at least better than the rest. WeÂ’ve narrowed it down to five total systems in their own subcategories that stand out to us. Read on below to see our picks, and feel free to make your own arguments in the comments. Best overall: UConnect — Various Stellantis products If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. Both UConnect 4 and the latest UConnect 5 software are included in this praise, too. It has numerous qualities that make it great, but above all else, UConnect is simple and straightforward to use. Ease of operation is one of the most (if not the single most) vital parts of any infotainment system interface. If youÂ’re expected to be able to tap away on a touchscreen while driving and still pay attention to the road, a complex infotainment system is going to remove your attention from the number one task at hand: driving. UConnect uses a simple interface that puts all of your key functions in a clearly-represented row on the bottom of the screen. Tap any of them, and it instantly pulls up that menu. We like the radio/media interface — itÂ’s super easy to swap stations or sources. The menu structure is easy to grasp, and of course both Apple CarPlay/Android Auto are available if you want them. UConnect 5 is a big visual improvement over UConnect 4, but thankfully it retains the same ease of use as the outgoing system. WeÂ’ll also point out that Stellantis is able to adapt UConnect to different screen shapes and sizes with great success — it works stunningly well in the vertical 12-inch screen of the Ram.

A Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country with 12,000 miles is up for auction

A hundred years ago, the LeBaron name was among America's top luxury nameplates, so when we heard that auction house R.M. Sotheby's was auctioning one off, we immediately thought of one of the coachbuilt Imperial-branded classics that competed with the highest-order Gatsby-era Cadillacs and Lincolns. What we found instead, however, was arguably even better. It's a 1985 Chrysler LeBaron Town and Country convertible, the one most of us know from when "Back to the Future" was still in theaters, complete with faux wood paneling. This has strong nostalgic value, especially as one of my best grade-school friends' mom had one, and I always felt like a celebrity to get picked up from school with the top down. While the LeBaron name may have fallen from grace by then, becoming the entry-level Chrysler offering, the T&C droptop was the most glamorous of the midsize K-cars. Did the Plymouth Reliant or Dodge Aries have acres of plastic timber applique on their flanks and four words (five if you count "Le" as its own) in their model names? Hell no. It may have been powered by a 2.6-liter Mitsubishi Astron engine, but the front-driver was pure Americana. K-cars were as common in the 1980s as RAV4s are today, and the K platform was largely responsible for saving Chrysler from bankruptcy. Nothing from Ford, GM, Germany or Japan came close, then-CEO Lee Iacocca said, and, "If you can find a better car, buy it!" he would threaten. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Beyond that, the LeBaron was the steed that carried Neal Page and Del Griffith cross-country in time for Thanksgiving dinner in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Esteemed LeBaron T&C owners counted Iacocca himself, Frank Sinatra (a wagon, even!), and if George Costanza is to be believed, Jon Voight. For a car that sold over 2 million examples, the "wood"-sided Town and Country convertible variant was rare. Chrysler made only 1,105 of them, and this particular example has a claimed 12,345 miles on the clock. The color is gold, Jerry, gold! And given what we known in hindsight about their build quality, you're not likely to find a better one. According to its CarFax report, the LeBaron was purchased new in Vermont, where it resided until 2004 when it was sold to a new owner in West Virginia. Five years later, it made its way to a dealer in Utah.

Why Chrysler didn't send off 300 with Hellcat-powered model

Chrysler is sending off the 300 with a limited-edition model powered by the mighty 6.4-liter (392-cubic-inch) Hemi V8. Earlier rumors claimed that the 2023 300C could get the supercharged, 6.2-liter Hellcat V8, but a new report suggests there aren't enough engines to go around. Quoting unnamed inside sources, The Drive wrote that the available supply of Hellcat engines is already spoken for. Sister company Dodge uses the eight-cylinder in several models, including the Challenger, the Charger, and the Durango, and Ram needs it for the 1500 TRX. Enthusiasts can also buy the V8 as a crate engine. Hellcat production is coming to an end with no successor in sight so demand is high. Another issue brought up by the publication is that stuffing the Hellcat between the 300C's fenders didn't necessarily make sense from a business point of view. The big sedan shares its basic platform with the Charger, which is offered with Hellcat power, but engineers would have needed to make at least a handful of modifications to install the engine. On the other hand, Chrysler sold the 300 with the 6.4-liter Hemi V8 until the 2014 model year so the engineering work has already been completed; put simply, this is the simpler and cheaper solution. Muscle car fans hoping for a 700-plus-horsepower Chrysler sedan will need to build it themselves; like we mentioned, the Hellcat is offered as a crate engine. Buyers who score one of the 2,000 units of the 300C earmarked for our market likely won't be disappointed by its performance, however. The V8 sends 485 horsepower (up from 470 in the 300 SRT) and 470 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Chrysler quotes a 0-60-mph time of 4.3 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 12.4 seconds. Pricing for the 2023 Chrysler 300C starts at $56,595 including destination. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.