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Ever since Apple released it’s iPad tablet, they changed the way everyone designs their touchscreen devices. Even the dashboard center consoles of newer cars have similar designs of the iPad. In Cadillacs new CTS model features a new Cue system which is all touchscreen which controlls everything in the vehicle.
It’s facile to ding new technology for throwing you a curve the first time you try it, and Cue has earned some early dings. Several reviewers, for example, have faulted Cue’s “haptic” controls, which sense the touch of your finger, for a brief delay that can lead you to push the button twice, then end up retracing your steps — while you’re supposed to be watching the road, not the car’s console.
But the real test of new technology is whether it becomes intuitive and pleasing once you get used to it. On that scale, I’d give the Cue a B- (although I might raise the grade if I actually owned a car with the system and had years to learn all the features and shortcuts). Like other multi-function systems on fancy cars, Cue is designed to provide loads of functionality without cluttering the dash with so many knobs and buttons that it begins to resemble the cockpit of a jet. It accomplishes that with a minimalist array of physical dashboard controls, including a “home” button for the Cue system, and a digital screen with app-style icons for audio, climate, phone and other functions.
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