Drivers appreciate an extra set of eyes on the road.
When it comes to new vehicle tech features, owners are most enamored with cameras, according to the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Tech Experience Index. Luxury owners rate camera features highest in five of the six satisfaction attributes measured.
The study, released last week, tracks how effective automakers are in bringing advanced technologies to market in ways that consumers find intuitive and not overbearing.
Gesture controls were the lowest-rated technology “by far,” the report says.
Camera rearview mirrors earned the highest execution index score among luxury owners, followed by ground-view cameras.
Among advanced camera/vision technologies in the mass-market segment, camera rearview mirrors received the highest overall execution score, followed by transparent trailer view and ground-view cameras.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents who have these features said they “definitely will” want a camera rearview mirror on their next vehicle.
But luxury owners disliked gesture controls, which let occupants control various interior features using hand gestures instead of touching a knob or screen. Gesture controls, which J.D. Power says are not available on mass-market vehicles, had 36 problems per every 100 vehicles — more than twice the rate of the second-most-problematic technology.
“The user experience plays a major role in whether an owner will use the technology on a regular basis or abandon it and feel like they wasted their money,” said Kristin Kolodge, J.D. Power’s executive director of driver interaction and human machine interface research.
Among automakers and their brands, Volvo ranked highest in overall innovation.
Hyundai ranked highest among mass-market brands.