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Top 15 Car Brands with the Best Tech Features

2/1/2016

 
By Sean Jackson, AxleGeeks
Buick

As the access for mobile technology continues to rise in demand, car manufacturers are eager to meet this need. Now, it's common to see even the basic models come with an array of tech offerings, like Bluetooth capability. All told, many companies have gone even further to provide vehicles with mobile command centers where you can do everything from answering calls to accessing traffic and navigation information through voice command or by the push of a button.

One of the best ways to view the tech feature landscape is to examine it at the brand-level, where you can compare how a manufacturer’s offerings relate to others in its class. To assist you in this regard, AxleGeeks examined the tech offerings of each brand to identity the ones that offer more tech features across the board.

Furthermore, AxleGeeks developed a Smart Rating for each brand based on data compiled from many sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index Score, the JD Power APEAL Study, the KBB Resale Value Award and the JD Power Initial Quality Study.

From these results, here’s a look at the car brands with the best tech offerings.

#15. Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a brand known for its quality in safety performance and fuel efficiency, but it offers a fair number of tech offerings as well. It equips 19.2 percent of its models with blind-spot monitoring whereas the average German brand offers this feature in 13.3 percent of its lineup.

#14. Lexus

This luxury Japanese brand offers a wealth of impressive tech offerings that work to make your drives safer. It equips more of its vehicles with a heads-up display (7.5 percent) than other Japanese luxury brands average (4.7 percent).

#13. Chevrolet

Chevy received a better Smart Rating — at 87 — than some of its American competitors, like Ford, which earned an 82 rating. Part of the reason for this is Chevy's abundance of features.

As an illustration, 27.5 percent of its models come equipped with the lane-departure warning feature, topping the average of 24.5 percent per lineup for non-luxury American brands.

#12. Cadillac

The American luxury manufacturer scores well in quality across the board by housing more tech equipment in its vehicles. One feature where it has a sizable advantage on its competition is in heads-up display capability, where it equips 10.5 percent of its models with this feature. In comparison, the average percentage per lineup for all American luxury brands is 6.1 percent.

#11. Audi

Audi is a brand known for its quality design and excellent safety offerings. At the same time, this luxury manufacturer doesn’t disappoint in its tech offerings either, as 40.4 percent of its vehicles come with a navigation system. Meanwhile, the average per lineup for all German luxury brands that is 33.6 percent for navigation.

#10. Toyota

A bit of a mixed bag, 30 percent of Toyota's vehicles come with Bluetooth capability, which is significantly less than the average for non-luxury Japanese brands, who equip 56 percent of their models with this feature.

At the same time, Toyota equips more of its vehicles with heads-up display (2.5 percent) than its non-luxury Japanese counterparts average (0.7 percent).

#9. Kia

This Korean manufacturer is generous with the amount of tech equipment it offers across its lineup. Kia equips 61.9 percent of its models with a navigation system, while its non-luxury competitors average 52.9 percent per lineup, allowing Kia to hold a slight edge in this regard.

#8. Scion

Part of Scion’s allure are its contemporary designs and ample tech offerings. As an example, 87.5 percent of Scion’s vehicles come with Bluetooth capability. Meanwhile, the average for all Japanese non-luxury brand lineups is 56 percent.

#7. Lincoln

Lincoln does a good job topping its American luxury brand counterparts in basic tech offerings like navigation systems offered per model. It equips 33.3 percent of its models with this feature, earning it an advantage over its competitors of 6 percent.

#6. Volvo

Volvo is an outstanding brand across the board; it’s no wonder why it earned a Smart Rating of 94. Aiding it are outstanding tech features offered throughout its lineup. It equips 50 percent of its models with blind-spot monitoring, whereas the average for all luxury brands is merely 16.9 percent.

#5. Hyundai

This Korean manufacturer scores well because of the wealth of tech offerings it has across its vehicle lineup. It equips 46.4 percent of its vehicles with Bluetooth capability, giving it a slight edge over other Korean non-luxury brands, where the average per lineup is 44.9 percent.

#4. Infiniti

Infiniti is an established brand known for its luxurious styling and exceptional tech features. As part of this, 61.5 percent of its models come equipped with a navigation system, earning it a huge advantage over its Japanese luxury brand counterparts, who average 32.8 percent for this feature.

#3. Mazda

Mazda continues to be a higher quality non-luxury brand because it offers exceptional performance, safety and tech features. For example, 50 percent of its models come with lane-departure warning whereas 20.1 percent do among Japanese non-luxury brands.

#2. Acura

Acura is among the highest rated luxury brands available due to its unrivaled safety performance and tech features. As an illustration of its quality offerings, every model in its lineup earned awards from Motor Trend Magazine in 2015.

#1. Buick

This American non-luxury brand has upped its game big time. Along with a fresh look across its vehicle lineup, it also houses some great tech features to appeal to the younger buyer. It equips 8.3 percent of its models with a heads-up display. In comparison, other American non-luxury brands equip only 2.5 percent of their models with this feature.

Compare Car Brands on AxleGeeks

The 15 Safest Car Brands You Can Buy Today

1/15/2016

 
car safety

A car's safety equipment and crash-test performance can play a pivotal role in shaping your buying decision; this is why finding the safest brands can aid you in selecting a vehicle that gives you peace of mind.

To find the safest car brands, AxleGeeks took into account the percentage of 2015-2016 vehicles per brand that earned a five-star overall rating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Moreover, we also looked at the ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which assigns top safety pick ratings to vehicles that display high levels of protection and offer crash-prevention technology. Lastly, we compared different safety offerings each manufacturer equips its models with to identify which brands offer the most safety features across their vehicle lineups.

Based on the compiled information, here are the 15 safest car brands.

#15. Volkswagen

The German manufacturer made the list because 15.4 percent of its vehicles earned a five-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA, giving it a slight edge over other German non-luxury brands.

However, Volkswagen equips only 3.8 percent of its models with adaptive cruise control, resulting in a significant disadvantage when compared to all German brands — where 33.8 percent of vehicles come with this safety feature.

#14. Infiniti

Similar to Volkswagen, 15.4 percent of Infiniti’s lineup earned an overall five-star NHTSA safety rating. Unlike Volkswagen, Infiniti also earned the IIHSA Top Safety Pick+ on 15.4 percent of its lineup, providing it with a substantial edge on all Japanese luxury brands.

Infiniti also equips more of its vehicles with adaptive cruise control (53.8 percent) than its luxury counterparts average (33.2 percent).

#13. Toyota

Over 17 percent of Toyota’s vehicles earned a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA, allowing it to have an advantage over non-luxury Japanese brands, where the average per lineup is 15.7 percent.

Toyota also equips 27.5 percent of its vehicles with a pre-collision safety system, while the average for all Japanese non-luxury brands is 25 percent.

#12. GMC

GMC's safety offerings illustrate its high level of commitment to supplying safe vehicles, as 18.8 percent of its lineup earned a five-star overall safety rating, putting it right in line with the average for other American non-luxury brands.

Meanwhile, GMC offers head-up display in 18.8 percent of its models; only 2.5 percent of other American non-luxury brand lineups offer this feature.

#11. Ford

Over 19 percent of Ford’s lineup earned a five-star safety rating from the NHTSA. Adding to this is Ford's sizeable advantage over other American non-luxury brands: 4.3 percent of its vehicles earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick award while its competitors averaged 2.5 percent per lineup.

Moreover, more Ford vehicles come with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rearview cameras than the competition. However, to its detriment, only 2.1 percent of Ford's models come with a pre-collision system, which is woefully short when compared to all non-luxury brands, where the average is 10.2 percent per brand lineup.

#10. Chevrolet

In total, 22.5 percent of Chevy's lineup earned a five-star overall NHTSA safety rating, giving it a slight edge on competitors like Ford.

Chevy shines with its post-collision system offerings, as 37.5 percent of its vehicles come equipped with this system — 23 percent of other American brand lineups come with a similar feature.

#9. Volvo

Volvo had 7.1 percent of its lineup earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Rating, putting it among the best brands in this regard. Volvo stands apart from other brands by equipping more of its vehicles with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning and rearview cameras.

Its NTSA five-star average of 28.6 percent is over double the average for luxury brand lineups.

#8. Cadillac

For a luxury brand, Cadillac touts an array of safe vehicles, as 31.6 percent of its models earned a five-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA.

Compared to the 11.5 percent average for all luxury brands, Cadillac has a significant advantage in safety performance. Additionally, 26.3 percent of its vehicles come with a pre-collision safety system. By comparison, 11.8 percent of luxury brand models offer this.

#7. Kia

Nearly 5 percent of Kia’s vehicles have the IIHS Top Safety Rating whereas the average for all non-luxury brands is 3.3 percent. Adding to Kia’s favor is the fact it offers more vehicles with adaptive cruise control and head-up display than the average for its competition.

A high 33 percent of Kia's fleet received a five-star NHTSA overall rating.

#6. Lincoln

Over 8 percent of Lincoln’s vehicles have the Top Safety Pick Rating from the IIHS. This is an impressive achievement when you consider that, for all American luxury brands, the average is 3 percent per lineup.

Lincoln offers more safety equipment per model. As an illustration, 33.3 percent of its models come with blind-spot monitoring while the average is 16.9 percent for other luxury brands.

#5. Honda

Safety is an integral part of Honda’s design, resulting in 35.3 percent of its lineup earning a five-star NHTSA overall safety rating. What’s more, Honda is second among all brands for its IIHS Top Safety Pick Ratings, with 11.8 percent of its vehicles making the list.

Nearly 18 percent of Honda's vehicles come with blind-spot monitoring compared to the 10.4 percent average per lineup for other Japanese non-luxury brands.

#4. Subaru

Across the board, Subaru excels in safety accolades. Nearly 36 percent of its vehicles received a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA, while 7.1 percent had the honor of gaining the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Rating.

Furthermore, Subaru tops the charts for its percent of vehicles with the IIHS Top Safety Pick Rating, at 14.3 percent. On average Subaru equips 42.9 percent of its models with adaptive cruise control. By comparison, all non-luxury brands average 14.8 percent for this feature.

#3. Hyundai

Over 39 percent of Hyundai's lineup earned a five-star NHTSA overall safety rating. An area of improvement for Hyundai moving forward is increased adaptive cruise control. Currently, it equips just 7.1 percent of its models with this feature, equating to less than half the 14.8 percent average of all non-luxury brand lineups.

#2. Buick

Buick’s brand overhaul continues, as it’s second on the list with 50 percent of its models earning a five-star NHTSA overall rating. Buick equips 16.7 percent of its models with a pre-collision safety system, earning it an advantage over the 10.2 percent average for all non-luxury brands.

#1. Acura

Acura does a remarkable job developing vehicles with exceptional safety performance. Nearly 73 percent of its models have a five-star NHTSA overall safety rating, while 18.2 percent earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick+, making the brand the safest among vehicle manufacturers.

Review of the Safest Brands

Compare Automotive Brands on AxleGeeks

Can Cadillac and Lincoln take on the Mercedes S?

3/31/2015

 
PictureContinental concept (Photo: Lincoln)
As we write this, Cadillac is unveiling its full-sized CT6 sedan in trendy Brooklyn and Lincoln has already announced a Continental concept four-door that is surely destined for production.  Both will take center stage at the New York International Auto Show beginning later this week, but can either grab the spotlight from their clear target: the vaunted Mercedes S550?

We have driven the Mercedes and have been overwhelmed by the quality of its ride, the interior ambiance (including the variable mood lighting and available scents), and its driverless-car qualities that are fed by gobs of technology.  It has vaulted so far ahead of its competition, including such rarified brands as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, that at an MSRP of $94,400, it is widely considered to be a bargain.  

It's clear that the engineers and marketers in Stuttgart sat around a table and pondered the next generation of super-sedan.  They had to.  The competition from Lexus, Audi, BMW, and even Hyundai and Kia, was obviously catching up to the old S.  It was time for Mercedes to come up with a breakthrough ride and the 2015 version has more than delivered.

Will we see the same from Cadillac and Lincoln?  Cadillac has risen like a phoenix, delivering small and mid-sized sedans that, in some cases, have dethroned BMW from its top spots in the hearts of auto writers.  Lincoln is another story.  It's a brand that was near death and has no place to go but up.  It's unclear at this point whether the Bentley-esque Continental concept can even be a success on its own, much less compete against the big Merc.  

Right now, our money is on Cadillac to come close, if not meet, the new standard that has been set by the S.  More to come on this as we get a closer look at both new cars.  In the meantime, visit our home page to enjoy an early video view of the new CT6 cruising the streets of lower Manhattan.

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    David Fluhrer has been a classic car columnist for Newsday since 2008, as well as a new car reviewer for the auto section and a feature writer for Newsday's glossy magazines, Luxury Living and Long Island Living. 

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