It's become common these days for automakers to load up dashboards with tons of high-tech bells and whistles — everything from sophisticated stereos and Internet-connected navigation systems to the ability to use a smartphone as a remote control or to run applications such as organizing social media feeds or managing your business contacts and calendar. But while the overall appeal of these gadgets is apparent in our tech-crazy, constantly connected world, their implementation in the automobile often leaves a lot to be desired. Operating a slick touch-screen on a smartphone or other electronic device while standing still is one thing, but doing it at speed, in a moving vehicle, is another. That can be frustrating at best and dangerously distracting at worst.
But the bells and whistles in these 10 2012 vehicles are examples of car tech done right. In various ways, they help make your drive more entertaining, more productive and safer — and sometimes all of the above.
Bing: Hands-Free Car Technology
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
The Grand Cherokee may be the original old-school SUV, but the recently refreshed version contains some of the best tech in the SUV segment. Its Bluetooth hands-free phone system works consistently in combination with accurate voice activation. The optional rear-seat entertainment system allows backseat passengers to access any media source in the vehicle — DVD, CD, radio, a connected iPod, music on an in-dash hard drive — and to listen on wireless headphones while everyone else enjoys the standard 10-speaker, 500-watt Alpine sound system. The available forward-collision warning, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection watch your front, sides and rear.
Watch Video: 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Ford Fiesta SEL
Expensive cars used to get all the cool electronics. The Ford Fiesta SEL, with the Sync system as standard, is a perfect example of how that old paradigm no longer applies. Sync works with any Bluetooth phone to give the driver easy voice-activated access to make and receive calls, access contacts and even receive and reply to text messages. Sync can also download voice-guided turn-by-turn directions and traffic conditions, and it can alert you to local businesses and services such as restaurants and gas stations along the way. It can even call 911 if an airbag deploys in an accident. And it's all free during the first three years of ownership.
Read: 10 Great Cars for Less Than $20,000
Honda Odyssey
The minivan segment is highly competitive, and automakers tend to throw their best bells and whistles into these living rooms on wheels. While the Honda has some tough competition in terms of tech from Japanese rivals such as the Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest, the Odyssey is the only minivan with an HDMI input for plugging in a portable Blu-ray player or other high-definition video source. The 16.2-inch split-screen rear monitor can simultaneously display HD programming as well as video from an onboard DVD player. The backup camera displays an equally impressive picture by providing multiple viewing angles via an in-dash monitor to help the driver avoid backing over anything.
View Slideshow: 10 Stellar Commuter Cars
Infiniti M Sedan
Infiniti's infotainment interface stands out by providing four separate and easy ways to access the features you want, whether from a connected portable device or from embedded electronics. Choose the touch-screen, dashboard controller, steering-wheel switches or voice commands — or some combination thereof, since they all work in concert. If you get distracted and drift off course, the lane-departure prevention in the Infiniti M will automatically steer you back on track, while blind-spot intervention will do the same if you don't notice another vehicle in the next lane. The navigation system scouts ahead and issues weather alerts along your route, and it can give a three-day forecast for your location or anywhere in the United States.
See: New Sedans With Navigation Systems
Volkswagen Tiguan
The German approach to technology can lean toward over engineering. But done right, Teutonic tech is simple and straightforward. The in-dash display and command center for the infotainment system in the Tiguan is a mere 5 inches. But once you get the hang of its icon-based system, the interface is a snap to operate on the fly. The navigation system uses crisp graphics and the most realistic icons this side of a 3-D map. So that you don't have to glance down at the dash, important infotainment information is also shown in an instrument-panel display. One downside is that like with other German interfaces, such as BMW's iDrive, a few features are buried in submenus of the in-dash display, when a simple switch would do.
Compare: Volkswagen Tiguan vs. Honda CR-V vs. Mazda CX-7
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