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Best car infotainment systems: From UConnect to MBUX, these are our favorites

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 all car infotainment systems what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. For the most part, the various infotainment systems available all share a similar purpose. They aim to help the driver get where they're going with navigation, play their favorite tunes via all sorts of media playback options and allow folks to stay connected with others via phone connectivity. Of course, most go way beyond the basics these days and offer features like streaming services, in-car performance data and much more. Unique features are aplenty when you start diving through menus, but how they go about their most important tasks vary widely. Some of our editors prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based and chock full of boundary-pushing features. Others may prefer a back-to-basics non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some 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 infotainment overall: UConnect 5, various Stellantis products Ram 1500 Uconnect Infotainment System Review If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. 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.

Hyundai pulls wraps off new i20 WRC rally car

Hyundai Motorsport is ready for the 2016 World Rally Championship after the unveiling of the New Generation i20 WRC at the team's shop in Alzenau, Germany. This is Hyundai's third season in the WRC, and it wants to improve after taking third place in the manufacturer's championship in 2015. The New Generation i20 WRC is now based on the five-door i20 hatchback from Europe, and the updated rally car boasts a stiffer chassis and a tweaked suspension. Other than the extra doors at the rear, the latest design features a more angular front end with harder edges around the grille and headlights. The WRC car boasts a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 300 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed sequential gearbox routes the power to the all-wheel drive system. Hyundai originally wanted to base the new rally car on the latest three-door i20 production model for the 2015 season, but a delay in the vehicle's homologation turned the team's attention to the five-door for 2016. "The New Generation i20 WRC is the product of a full year of development and, with a more experienced team, we now raise our objectives to be more confident to fight at the front," Team Principal Michel Nandan said at the unveiling. Drivers Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville give the New Generation i20 WRC a competition debut at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo in January. Hayden Paddon gets his at the following event – the Rally Sweden. While those guys are racing, Hyundai Motorsport also has another car under development to be ready for the next crop of WRC machines that will see action in 2017. Related Video: Hyundai Motorsport unveils New Generation i20 for third WRC season New Generation Hyundai i20 WRC revealed as Hyundai Motorsport previews a third season at the team's 2016 launch event. Alzenau, Germany, December 9, 2015 - Hyundai Motorsport today revealed its New Generation i20 WRC during a launch event for media and guests at the team's factory in Alzenau. The car will be used in our third season of WRC competition by drivers Dani Sordo, Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville. The venue for the launch was significant as it will soon be Hyundai Motorsport's customer racing headquarters. From this base we will supply teams around the world with our new R5 rally car that is also based on the New Generation i20. The reveal marks a new chapter in Hyundai Motorsport history as we build on two successful WRC seasons and approach our third.

Hyundai Santa Fe facelift and interior redo spied

Hyundai just rolled out the third-generation Santa Fe in 2012, so it'll be a little while yet before the crossover warrants replacement altogether. It does, however, appear to be preparing a facelifted version for introduction in the near future. Spied undergoing testing in Europe, the updated Santa Fe looks poised to get a new grille, restyled LED foglamps, new bumpers front and rear, new taillights graphics and new exhaust tips. The cockpit looks like it's getting the once-over as well, with a new infotainment system in the dashboard. Beyond that we couldn't really tell you at this point, but we can expect the revised Korean crossover to arrive sometime later this year. Previous generations of the Santa Fe lasted for about six years on the market, however, so we wouldn't anticipate a complete replacement until 2018 or so. Related Video: