Infotainment is commonplace now. A screen (or screens) that combines “Information” and “Entertainment” spans numerous vehicle operations: navigation, music, restaurant guides, traffic, weather, climate controls, lighting, you name it. We can't think of a single automobile made today that doesn't have some kind of infotainment screen. Some are small (Subaru Forester, 6.5 inches), while others are enormous (Lincoln Nautilus, 48.0 inches), and everyone else falls somewhere in between.

If you own a car that's at least 15 years old, you might still have a vehicle without an infotainment screen, but even that's a stretch. You probably rely on physical buttons, knobs, and switches. While that's decidedly old-school, those controls are better to use while driving versus looking away from the road to use a touchscreen.

(photo: Mitsubishi)

So, when it comes to buying a new car (or a slightly used one), you'll have to figure out what kind of infotainment system works best for you. While some look fantastic, they might not be ideal for visibility, great for reliability, or easy to use. Just about every manufacturer has its own system, and their appearance and functionality can vary greatly from car to car. We've driven hundreds of vehicles and can say that some are most assuredly better than others.

Some don't respond to touch very quickly, some screen wash out in bright sunlight, some have glitches that need to be worked out, and others are just atrocious to navigate. Then, there are the standouts like Ford's SYNC 4, BMW's iDrive 8.0, and Chrysler's Uconnect 5 that are head-and-shoulders above the rest. Here are the things you should look for when shopping for a car with an infotainment system.

The Problems Infotainment Distraction Cause

As opposed to using physical knobs, buttons, and switches (known as switchgear), a driver using an infotainment system is both visually and mentally distracted for more than 40 seconds when using a typical system. If the vehicle is traveling at 55 mph, their eyes are off the road for over half a mile. That's over eight lengths of a football field. If a system is particularly challenging to use, hard to read, or poorly responsive, then that timeframe and distance could be even longer, causing danger to the driver/passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers in the process.

Factor in other issues like the driver attempting to find a satellite radio station on the touchscreen, fumbling with on-screen climate controls, or even something as basic as trying to dim the screen at night, and you have a recipe for dangerous driving. In 2019, distracted driving was responsible for 9 percent of the fatal motor vehicle accidents, according to Carsurance. So, what are some important things to look for in an infotainment system that can help you reduce these problems?

Easy Legibility

You may have thought screen size would be the most important factor in a good infotainment system, but it's not. You can have a giant screen, but if it's too complex and hard to figure out, it'll still be a pain to use when you're driving down the highway in a sea of fast-moving cars. Legibility is the most important feature, and you should not equate that with fancy graphics or numerous colors. Legibility means the icons, text, and menus are easy to read and decipher, minimizing the amount of time you need to spend looking at the screen instead of the road.

The Ford SYNC 4 system is a prime example. It looks almost boring with its huge white space and basic icons and text, but it's all laid out cleanly and without much adornment. You can even look at the icons to see what function you need to choose without having to read the text. It opts for more universal symbols than proprietary ones, making them very easy to figure out quickly. Look for a system that has large, easy-to-understand icons, simple fonts, and a crisp layout. Legibility will go a long way if you look for it first rather than picking a dressed-up screen that's better to look at than it is to use. Here are some of the most legible systems on the market today:

Good Dash Placement

(photo: Chrysler)

Things have changed significantly for screen dash location over the past few years. Many models had the infotainment screen set lower in the dash, embedded in the middle of the car's center stack. That location would require you to move your eyes to the right and down while driving, but now that most infotainment screens have been moved atop the dash, there's less eye movement required. You typically only have to move your eyes to the right to make contact with the infotainment screen, and that changes the game. These “floating” screens are positioned higher compared to versions situated in the dashboard. The result is that they are more in the natural line of sight of the driver, and the windshield is still in the periphery.

While good screen placement can't take the place of a highly legible system, it can aid matters by making the screen less distracting and frustrating to use. This also permits the driver to see things better peripherally while using the screen because he or she no longer has to look further down on the dash to operate the screen. Keep in mind that other factors can detract from the usefulness of good dash placement. If the screen is still too complex, not especially responsive, or too small to see the details clearly, no amount of ideal screen placement will make up for that.

Quick Responsiveness

You might think that with this much in-car tech, every system works as well as your Apple iPhone or Android smartphone. Not true at all. Not all car touchscreens work equally, and that can make things unsafe while operating them. Responsiveness means how quickly your car's infotainment screen activates the function when depressed. If there's too much lag when you depress a screen function, that means you're waiting that much longer for things to work and your eyes are away from the road for longer. It also adds to the stress because you're not getting the reaction from the system in a timely fashion.

Look for a system that's quick to respond to inputs. Do you want a navigation map to pop up quickly while you're trying to figure out where you are and where you're headed? That map should come up very quickly. But that's not always the case. A recent study showed that many car infotainment systems have such slow reaction times that they're worse than driver reaction times under the influence of alcohol and cannabis use. When you test drive your next potential vehicle, try using the touchscreen to test its responsiveness. It could make all the difference when it comes to safe driving. Here are a few of the most responsive infotainment systems available today.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Compatibility

Most cars these days have this feature, and that means the look and functionality of the infotainment screen mimics your smartphone, reducing the steepness of the learning curve. You use your smartphone constantly, so if your car's infotainment system looks and works the same way, the familiarity should make things very quick, indeed. Many automakers used to eschew the compatibility and didn't include it in their cars (ahem, Toyota) because they wanted their proprietary system OS to take center stage. Then, carmakers figured out that customers demanded it. Make sure your car has this kind of smartphone compatibility.

Then there are manufacturers like General Motors, who are not-so-secretly doing away with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Why on earth would they do such a thing? Well, GM says they want to reduce distraction while driving and when a system mirrors your smartphone, you're more prone to use it when you're behind the wheel. There's public speculation that GM has other reasons that may include increased profit margins for GM because use of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are commodities. Users of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto say these apps are more user-friendly than the automaker's versions (Google Maps versus a manufacturer navigation app, for example).

Most cars these days have Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto, and that means the look and functionality of the infotainment screen mimics your smartphone, reducing the steepness of the learning curve. You use your smartphone constantly, so if your car's infotainment system looks and works the same way, the familiarity should make things very quick, indeed. Many automakers used to eschew the compatibility and didn't include it in their cars (ahem, Toyota) because they wanted their proprietary system OS to take center stage. Then, carmakers figured out that customers demanded it. Make sure your car has this kind of smartphone compatibility or at the very least, test out the manufacturer's version. GM does plan on integrating Google Maps into its own system, so that could help when they do away with phone mirroring on all of their vehicles.

Unless you get a used vehicle that's about 5-10 years old, it's virtually impossible to buy a car that doesn't have an infotainment system, so it's important to do your research and figure out what systems are rated the highest and which ones work best for you. When you test drive, use the infotainment system extensively before you buy so you know how it works and how well it works while you're driving. All of these aspects will play a strong role in how much you enjoy your car and how safe it is when you're behind the wheel. Here are our favorite infotainment systems available today: