The editors at Wards have named the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica and the all-new 2021 Jeep® Grand Cherokee L to the 2021 Wards 10 Best User Experience List. Both vehicles are equipped with the Stellantis Uconnect 5 system. With greater connectivity, rich content, and greater personalization, it is the most advanced Uconnect system ever.
“Uconnect 5 is designed to be the most advanced in-car technology we have ever produced, and we’re honored that Wards has selected the system for two spots on their 10 Best User Experience list,” said Mamatha Chamarthi, Head of Software Business and Product Management. “We are dedicated to providing all occupants with greater connectivity, easy-to-use content, and innovative features to seamlessly elevate the automobile to a third living space.”
To select the best of the best, Wards editors evaluated the overall user experience of 25 vehicles, rating them on user-friendliness, infotainment features, sound systems, vehicle connectivity, driver assistance technology, information/displays, system compatibility, voice control, materials, and overall value.
“Minivans have always delivered a unique user experience and the refreshed 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle is everything we could want in a minivan,” said Christie Schweinsberg, Wards Intelligence Principal Analyst. “It has the right mix of physical switchgear and an easy-to-navigate touchscreen. Voice commands work well, smartphone pairing is lightning fast and this minivan offers virtually every advanced driver-assist technology you could ever want, including standard, stop-and-go adaptive cruise control.
“We love the FamCam, a ceiling-mounted camera above the second row that helps parents answer that most elusive question: Who touched whom first? This is a rolling high-tech living room,” she added.
Chrysler Pacifica also features a largest-in-class 10.1-inch touchscreen, as well as segment-first USB Type C ports that allow devices to charge up to four times faster than standard USB ports. Pacifica also offers the class-exclusive Uconnect Theater system, featuring built-in games and apps.
The all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee L also carries the company’s most advanced in-car technology with faster-operating speeds, new content, and improved customization. Uconnect 5 offers new convenience and connected services, keeping passengers engaged and informed while drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.
“For 2021, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L gains a third row and delivers a spectacular user experience, from the brightly configured digital instrument cluster and neatly integrated user-friendly touchscreen to the outstanding driver-assistance technologies and dreamy optional McIntosh sound system,” Wards Intelligence Principal Analyst Bob Gritzinger said. “And the brains behind it all is Stellantis’ Uconnect 5 infotainment architecture, which delivers five times the computing power of the previous generation.”
The Grand Cherokee L also features an available rear-seat monitoring camera system, which projects a best-in-class, high-definition image. Other next-generation technologies include a night vision camera, drowsy driver detection, head-up display, an advanced L2 automated driving system, standard 10.25-inch digital cluster with nearly two dozen different menus, available seat back massage for front-row passengers, and ambient lighting with a five-color selection.
The winners will be honored on November 17 at the Wards 10 Best User Experience ceremony at the Suburban Showplace in Novi, Michigan.
