Five most distracting touchscreens in modern cars ranked - is yours a hazard?

Drivers appear to be getting increasingly fed up with car touchscreens – and there's good reason, as a new study shows how distracting they are.

In a test of 21 new cars, automotive consumer platform What Car? studied not only how long infotainment screens keep your eyes off the road in general, but which cars' screens are the most distracting for drivers.

And the results were concerning: doing simple tasks such as changing the radio station can take up to 81 seconds on some cars – a dangerous amount of time for the driver to be distracted.

The worst infotainment screens belonged to the Honda HR-V SUV and Suzuki e-Vitara, which were both awarded just one star by What Car? judges.

What Car?'s study also highlighted how good quality voice control can reduce distractions and allow the driver to command the car to carry out simple tasks in a matter of seconds.

The findings flagged how drivers are keen to return to less distracting manual controls, with 85 per cent of motorists saying that infotainment systems should have more buttons.

In a test of 21 new cars, automotive consumer platform What Car? ranked the most distracting and least distracting infotainment systems and 85% of drivers demand more buttons

At present there is no official stipulation as to when a car's systems are considered distracting, but car makers generally follow guidance that a driver isn't sufficiently concentrating if they have to take their eyes off the road more than 3.5 seconds at a time.

To assess British cars, What Car? used the 12-second task time limit the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sets.

With this in mind, What Car? assessed the 21 models across four different tests: changing the radio station from Kisstory to Radio 4, both on DAB, changing the interior temperature from 18 degrees to 24 degrees celsius, turning on the driver's side heated seat, and setting the sat-nav to a specific destination.

Using Tobii Glasses 3, the driver's eyes were tracked by two tiny cameras in each lens, with Soma Reality software analysing changes in pupil size to measure cognitive workload and attention levels in real time.

The level of distraction, how absorbed the driver was by the infotainment system, the mental effort, and the time taken to complete all tasks were assessed.

The most distracting screen was the Honda HR-V's (rank 21), with the nine-inch touchscreen being unresponsive and not user-friendly

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The five most distracting infotainment systems

The most distracting screen was the Honda HR-V's (rank 21), with the nine-inch touchscreen being unresponsive and not user-friendly.

The total time taken for all tasks was 100.8 seconds, and both the distraction level and mental effort were ranked at high, with the HR-V's system scoring just one star overall.

It is worth noting though that the test was done just before Honda introduced an update to improve the infotainment system. 

The Suzuki e-Vitara (20th place) is the joint smallest tested (10.1-inch), and it was found to be glitchy and slow, exacerbating the mental effort.

The overall time taken for the tasks was 44 seconds, with the distraction level being placed in the medium band and mental effort recorded as high. The overall rating was one star.

In 19th place was the MG IM5's ISmart Connected Suite, which had an overall star rating of just two. 

Total time came in at a concerning 108.6 seconds, with both the distraction level and mental effort being ranked medium.

One of the most minimal systems tested, the voice control only worked with certain commands, and the two-screen system increased the amount of time spent looking away from the road.

In 19th place was the MG IM5's ISmart Connected Suite, wiht two stars. Total time came in at 108.6 seconds, with both the distraction level and mental effort being ranked medium

Ford's Ranger pick-up took 18th place as its Sync 4A's voice control didn't work for many functions and the tester spent too much time focusing on the transcript of the voice commands.

With a total time of 110.6 seconds and both distraction level and mental effort ranked high, the Ranger's system was only awarded two stars.

Rounding out the bottom five worst systems is BYD Sealion 5's 12.8-inch touchscreen. 

While the voice control was generally good and responsive, manual functions took a long time and were long-winded.

As such, the total time amounted to 90.5 seconds and both the distraction level and mental effort were classed as medium, leading the BYD Sealion 5 to an overall rating of two stars.

The five least distracting infotainment systems: Tesla's Model Y took bronze place thanks to its Tesla AI Grok voice command

The five least distracting infotainment systems

In fifth place, the Volkswagen T-Roc MIB4 was commended by the testers for its 'excellent' AI-backed voice control, which managed to alter the temperature and heated seats quickly and recognise the home address. 

However, finding the correct radio stations took longer.

The overall time was only 19.3 seconds and distraction level was low, while effort was medium. It garnered four stars overall.

The Mini Cooper Electric took fourth position with its Mini Operating System 9. 

Its Google-based voice control was deemed 'highly competent', but the tester had to look at the screen more than with the best systems.

However, total time was only 18.9 seconds, distraction level was low, and mental effort was medium, with the system given four stars overall.

Tesla's Model Y came home with bronze as its 15.4-inch Tesla user interface is quick to respond to prods and the Tesla AI Grok voice command worked usually after just one command and, while the tester glanced at the screen repeatedly, it wasn't deemed absorbing enough to be distracting.

Total time was 18.3 seconds while distraction level was low, and mental effort was medium, leading to the Model Y scoring five stars.

In silver position is the Mercedes-Benz GLB, with five stars.

Mercedes' latest system uses AI from Google and Microsoft, and it breezed through the four test levels. While the tester glanced at the screen to check voice control, they were never absorbed by it.

Total time was 12.2 seconds, while distraction level was low and mental effort was medium.

In first place, taking home the gold medal for least distracting infotainment systems, is the Renault 4.

The Renault 4's OpenR Link infotainment system has been awarded the top spot on What Car's least distracting infotainment system rankings thanks to Google built in

The new retro EV uses an OpenR Link system which is simple to use and responsive and has Google built in – a highly competent voice control system.

The driver was able to concentrate on the road ahead while performing the tasks and spent comparatively little time looking at the screen. As such, total time was 12.2 seconds and both distraction level and mental effort were low – hence its full five-star rating.

Voice control is less distracting than touchscreens

As well as ranking individual systems, What Car? ascertained overall that it's 96 per cent faster – and far less distracting – to perform simple tasks in the car with good quality voice control, compared with a car fitted with a poor system.

However, many drivers are reluctant to use their cars' voice control systems because they've not proved reliable in the past.

What Car?'s survey of 1,157 drivers found that the radio and sat nav are the two most frequently used infotainment functions, used by 71 and 70 per cent of respondents. And yet only 27 per cent relied on their car's voice control system.

The testing shows that the best voice control systems perform well, but consumer confidence will only grow if more cars are better at understanding natural speech.

What Car? consumer editor, Claire Evans, said: 'Car makers need to make it a priority to install voice control systems that are efficient and easy to use. This would encourage drivers to use them instead of touchscreen controls, which are more distracting.'

A Honda spokesperson commented: 'Honda takes customer usability and safety extremely seriously. The HR-V included in this comparison was tested before the rollout of a software update that improved the Honda CONNECT infotainment system, a point acknowledged within the article itself. 

'We are continuously evolving our in-car technologies based on real-world usage and feedback, and remain committed to delivering systems that are intuitive, reliable and supportive of safe driving.'

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