Genesis, Cadillac, Hyundai score high in J.D. Power tech study

Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis ranked highest overall and in the premium segment for innovation, according to J.D. Power's 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index released Wednesday.

Genesis scored 634 on a 1,000-point scale.

Rounding out the premium segment was Cadillac with 551 points, Volvo with 550, BMW with 545 and Mercedes-Benz with 523.

Hyundai also took the top slot in the mass-market segment with a score of 519. Kia came in second place with 510 points. Nissan posted a score of 502, Subaru had 499 and GMC scored 498.

Tesla Inc. scored 668 Innovation Index points, the highest in the study. But the electric vehicle maker was not officially ranked because it doesn't give J.D. Power permission to survey owners in 15 states where it is required. J.D. Power said that Tesla's score is based on results in the 35 remaining states.

Hyundai also ranked highest in the mass market segment in last year’s iteration of the study, when it scored 556 points. And Volvo ook the 2020 top slot overall for innovation in the premium segment with 617 points.

The two studies shared key findings: Customers routinely opt for cameras in their vehicles and many dislike the potential unreliability of gesture-controlled features.

The TXI study is based on responses from 110,827 owners of new 2021 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. It was conducted between February and July 2021, J.D. Power said.

The study analyzes 36 technologies divided into four categories: convenience, emerging automation, energy and sustainability, and infotainment and connectivity.

The Cadillac Escalade and Ram 1500 snagged convenience awards in their respective model segments for camera rearview mirror technology.

The Lexus IS was honored in the emerging automation category for reverse automatic emergency braking technology. The Hyundai Elantra won the emerging automation award for a mass-market model because of its front cross-traffic warning technology.

The Lexus IS was also honored in the premium segment for its infotainment and connectivity features — more specifically, its virtual assistant connectivity to vehicle technology. The Kia K5 was awarded for the same technology in the mass-market segment.

The study also found many high-tech gadgets and latest features in new vehicles often go untouched by owners.

For more than 1 in 3 advanced technologies, less than half of owners have used such technology in the first 90 days of ownership, according to the index.

The study reported 61 percent of owners said they've never used in-vehicle digital market technology, and just over half of them said they had no need for it. Driver-passenger communication technology is also seeing decreased use: 52 percent of owners said they haven't used it, and 40 percent said they had no need for it.

"New-vehicle prices are at an all-time high, partly as a result of an increased level of content," Kristin Kolodge, J.D. Power's executive director of human machine interface, said in a statement. "This is fine if owners are getting value for their money, but some features seem like a waste to many owners."

Camera rearview mirrors and ground-view cameras rank among the top three technologies owners want on their next vehicles, according to the TXI study.

Other technologies do not perform so well. Many owners reported that gesture-based technologies — which respond to hand motions rather than physical touch — performed poorly. The study found a whopping 41 such problems per 100 vehicles. That makes it the technology with the lowest overall satisfaction score in the study for the second year in a row.

One-pedal driving features built into some EVs got high praise from owners, who cited relatively few problems — eight per 100 vehicles.

The technologies don't always receive the same level of enthusiasm across global markets. The TXI study found vehicle owners in China reported issues with camera rearview technology — about 18 problems per 100 cars.

Similarly, about 62 percent of U.S. owners said they definitely want ground-view camera technology in a future car. Just 24 percent of owners in China agreed.