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. We’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

If there’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, it’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 you’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 — it’s super easy to swap stations or sources. The menu structure is easy to grasp, and of course both Apple CarPlay/Android Auto (wired or wireless) are available if you want them.

We'll also point out that UConnect 5 is a big visual improvement over UConnect 4 (the previous version that is only found on the outgoing Charger and Challenger at this point), but thankfully it retains the same ease of use as the outgoing system. We’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, but is just as enjoyable to use in a more traditional layout as seen in the Grand Cherokee directly above. The software takes full advantage of the extra screen real estate no matter the shape, and in the big Ram screen, it comes with its own screen-splitting capabilities that aren’t possible on the more traditionally-shaped screens.

No matter the application, whether it’s in a Maserati or a Jeep, UConnect is flexible, easy to operate and aesthetically pleasing. It’s high-tech, but doesn’t slap you upside the head with unnecessary features and complications, and it’s our favorite infotainment system of all.

Best luxury infotainment: Volvo with Google Built-In

Google Built-In infotainment systems are sweeping across the automotive industry, and they're quickly finding favor amongst our editorial staff. Volvo's been on a crusade of getting this Google-based infotainment into all of its models, and for good reason: It's really great to use!

The key with Google Built-In systems is that you get to use many of the apps you're accustomed to from your phone natively through the infotainment system. For example, Google Maps is the native navigation system in all Volvos running this software. You can log in to your Google account, and it will function and appear exactly like the Google Maps app on your phone. The integration with every screen in the car is especially impressive, as Google Maps not only appears in the central touchscreen, but you can also have a full map and turn-by-turn directions in the digital instrument cluster. That way you can prioritize the central display for tasks other than navigation such as music playback and more.

And we do mean more, because having Google Built-In means you have the Google Play Store to select apps to download to the car. Login to Spotify, podcasting apps and more directly from the infotainment system, and then enjoy what's easily one of the best interfaces for music playback out there. Either tap through the intuitive menu structures within or use the Google Assistant voice control (another excellent feature), and you'll have audio going with very little effort.

One of the nice aspects of Volvo's Google Built-In software is that you can also completely ignore it if you so choose. Maybe you have an iPhone and don't want anything to do with Google? Go ahead and plug it in, then use whatever apps you typically do via Apple CarPlay. It's that easy. It's also easy to control the rest of the car via this interface that should prove familiar to most recent Volvo owners. While a lot changes with all of the Google apps, the same layout we've grown accustomed to remains. Your climate and seat controls are stickied to the bottom of the screen, and any remnants of lag on initial startup (a longtime hangup in older Volvos) are vanquished.

A "home screen" of sorts is easily navigated to where all the various apps present themselves in tile format. And man, it sure is great that Volvo's kept the physical push-button to go straight to the start-up screen with the most-often used controls selectable straight away. Volvo's really raised the game for others as of late, and we're convinced it's one of the best infotainment systems out there.