Without a shadow of a doubt, everyone except Cadillac thinks that CUE is an easy-to-use infotainment system. Surveys by J.D. Power and Consumer Reports prove that CUE is a bother, as does just about every review of a CUE-equipped Cadillac model.
Happily, however, the crown jewel of General Motors took the hint. Dubbed “Next-generation Cadillac User Experience,” the system will make its debut in the CTS for the 2017 interim model year. The bad news, I’m afraid, is that Cadillac kept what we hate most about CUE: touch-sensitive buttons.
What was the matter with physical buttons, beats me. Moving on with what’s new, Cadillac describes Next-Generation CUE as being “dynamic platform that can be adjusted over time to meet a customer’s evolving connectivity needs.” For starters, CUE now features personalized My Driver Preferences. The cloud-based profiles allow users to customize a handful of functions. Not exactly wow, but then again, we live in the era of fast Internet connections.
A more useful update to the Cadillac User Experience is the navigation app. Molded to look like the navigation app of a smartphone, the app knows what points of interest are. Live traffic information, fuel prices, and parking information are on the menu as well. However, what isn’t so great about Caddy’s navigation app is that it’s an opt-in subscription-based system.
The Next-Generation CUE also knows how to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is the industry standard for vehicle infotainment systems in this day and age. Owners can further manage their cars remotely with the myCadillac mobile app. What’s more, every new Cadillac model, from the ATS sedan upward, comes with a no-cost 12-month subscription to OnStar 4G LTE.
For 2018, the Next-Generation Cadillac User Experience system will be introduced in the ATS and XTS. It’s rather surprising, but the automaker’s “other product lines are scheduled to adopt the system in future model years.” Caddy sure likes to take its sweet time about it, apparently.
What was the matter with physical buttons, beats me. Moving on with what’s new, Cadillac describes Next-Generation CUE as being “dynamic platform that can be adjusted over time to meet a customer’s evolving connectivity needs.” For starters, CUE now features personalized My Driver Preferences. The cloud-based profiles allow users to customize a handful of functions. Not exactly wow, but then again, we live in the era of fast Internet connections.
A more useful update to the Cadillac User Experience is the navigation app. Molded to look like the navigation app of a smartphone, the app knows what points of interest are. Live traffic information, fuel prices, and parking information are on the menu as well. However, what isn’t so great about Caddy’s navigation app is that it’s an opt-in subscription-based system.
The Next-Generation CUE also knows how to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is the industry standard for vehicle infotainment systems in this day and age. Owners can further manage their cars remotely with the myCadillac mobile app. What’s more, every new Cadillac model, from the ATS sedan upward, comes with a no-cost 12-month subscription to OnStar 4G LTE.
For 2018, the Next-Generation Cadillac User Experience system will be introduced in the ATS and XTS. It’s rather surprising, but the automaker’s “other product lines are scheduled to adopt the system in future model years.” Caddy sure likes to take its sweet time about it, apparently.