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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.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla opens 50th European Supercharger, BMW smart charging in Singapore

Southeastern Illinois College wants to create a biofuel processing certification program. The school is waiting to hear about receiving $750,000 from a US Department of Labor grant that would allow it to expand its Biofuels Education curriculum to include certification for manufacturing biodiesel and ethanol. There are currently no such programs in existence, and its development would require Labor Department approval as well as input from biofuel companies. Southeastern Illinois College believes that biofuel processing certification would be a large draw for potential students. Read more at The Southern Illinoisan. Tesla has opened the 50th Supercharger in Europe. In the year since the first on was installed in Norway in August 2013, Tesla has been building the network that, like it does in the US, will allow Model S drivers to go long distances for free. There are now 168 Superchargers open throughout the world. Find more in the press release below. BMW is partnering with Greenlots to bring an open standards EV charging network to Singapore. As part of BMW's 360 Electric program, Greenlots will install public chargers and manage the network that allows BMW i owners to find and use the chargers with BMW's navigation system and ChargeNow card. The 30 possible public chargers Greenlots plans to install will use the company's SKY Smart Charging platform. Greenlots will also install the BMW i Wallbox Pure charger at customer's homes and offices. Read more in the press release below. Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales are forecast to reach 1.8 million a year by 2023, according to a report by Navigant Research. Right now, North America is the biggest buyer of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but that should change as the Asia Pacific market is expected to outgrow it; still, the US alone is expected to have more than 2.7 million PEVs on the road in 2023. Urban areas are where we'll see the largest concentration, naturally, with Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris having the most sales in 2023, respectively. With the increase in PEVs comes an increase in residential load on the electric grid, which is expected to rise by 33 to 37 percent. Read more at Hybrid Cars, or head to the Navigant Research website. Chinese automaker Dongfeng is now manufacturing its first mass-produced electric vehicle, the Aeolus E30. The small, two-seat urban EV has a limited speed of 50 miles per hour, but has a range of up to 100 miles.

BMW i8: Jaw-dropping style and green performance, but why?

Why is there a BMW i8? Given the relative simplicity, affordability, practicality and energy efficiency of BMW's i3 sedan – available as a $42,000 all-electric or $46,000 extended-range EV – why design, engineer and build the much more complex and expensive ($137,450) but much less practical, exotic plug-in hybrid i8 2+2 sports car? Are i8 sales really worth BMW's huge investment of engineering effort and dollars? In 2015, BMW sold 2,265 i8s in the US, or about 189 a month. That compares to 11,024 (919 a month) for BMW's own i3, an estimated 27,840 (2,320 a month) for Tesla's battery-only EV Model S sedan and 1,024 (85 a month) for Cadillac's handsome, more practical and less expensive (but ridiculously overpriced and dismal-selling) ELR extended-range-EV luxury coupe. Are such sales really worth BMW's huge investment of engineering effort and dollars? The i8's lightweight Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) "Life Module" passenger cell rides on an aluminum "Drive Module" chassis that houses its complex propulsion system – a 228-horsepower, 1.5-liter turbocharged gas 3-cylinder (half of BMW's 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight six) driving its rear wheels through a six-speed automatic and a 129-hp electric motor twisting its front wheels through a "two-stage" automatic – and a 5-kWh lithium-ion battery. Its drag coefficient (Cd) is an aero-slick 0.26, and BMW says it can run on battery energy alone for up to 22 miles. Its total system output is a healthy 337 horses, and its EPA economy is 76 miles per gallon equivalent in gas-electric mode, but just 28 mpg when it's gas-only. A Driver Experience Control and an eDrive button offer EV and Comfort modes, plus Eco Pro (12 percent more range) and Eco Pro+ (12 more). So what is this gorgeous plug-in hybrid sports car like to drive and live with? I missed its press launch so have been hoping for some quality time with one ever since. Production has been limited, and US press cars are few, but BMW said I would eventually get my chance. It finally happened. If the unlovely i3 is a green technology revelation, this supermodel-sexy i8 is a green styling and performance revolution. If the i3 is the practical soccer mom of battery BMWs, the i8 might be the ultimate Teutonic trophy wife. But really, why do it? For starters, just look at it. Some might see a new, high-tech take on the Giugiaro-designed BMW M1 mid-engine sports car. Just 453 of those were built from 1979 to 1981.