SYNC 3 marks the end of Ford‘s much-lambased MyFord Touch, whose interface proved to be quite frustrating for users, prompting publications like Consumer Reports to give Ford products negative marks just based on that feature alone. However, the SYNC 3 is all-new. It’s based on a new code base and has a new interface, and will be rolling out in new Ford Motor Company products throughout 2015. And recently, Car and Driver managed to sample the new interface at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
According to C&D, the biggest issues plaguing MyFord Touch were the tiny buttons placed randomly on the touchscreen. SYNC 3 rights this by placing a menu bar of chunky buttons at the bottom of the display. The menu bar disappears when the navigation is enlarged to full-screen status but can be recalled with the touch of a button on the screen, and the home screen shows navigation and summaries of the audio and phone settings. Additionally, C&D says that the screen’s response to a tap is much more reactive, requiring just a light touch.
Also much-improved over the MFT system is the audio interface. Not only does it have fewer buttons than before, but its functions are supplemented by honest-to-goodness analog controls (yay!). The same rings true for the climate control.
In addition, C&D says that the voice control response is also improved and much less wonky than before, allowing C&D to walk away impressed with the SYNC 3 system’s “presentation, ease of use, and newfound hard buttons [that] seemingly draw it closer to the industry benchmarks for infotainment.”
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