[Turbolove]

I use the app to start and cool the car in advance whenever its hot outside or the car is parked in the sun. Besides this I haven't really found any use of connected features.

[vivek_lm]

I own a Brio so there's nothing other than after-market bluetooth connectivity at my disposal!

Having said that, connected car features would NOT be a priority for me when I go for upgrade. I don't think they are completely useless though, just that they aren't a necessity for me.

[S.Shyam]

I have a Creta SX(O) IVT variant.

While I haven't used all the connected vehicle features in Creta, a few are quite useful

1. Remote unlock - useful if you trust the guy cleaning your car, you dont need to give the car keys or go over personally. I had my car cleaned in Bangalore while being in Delhi last week for Ritual Deepavali cleansing. Engine can start remotely but car wont move without keys detected inside (from my observation)

2. Location check - if you have given your car to somebody or waiting for your wife to pick you up, you can follow live location.

3. Send Location to car from Blue Link App - this is most useful. The Blue Link navigation map is pretty good for daily use, and using the app on your phone you can send location to your car to start nagivation. Works pretty well in bangalore atleast.

Complaints -

1. The service is slow to respond. sending the engine start/unlock signal takes about 30 seconds to 1 min for car to respond. The vehicle has a SIM and my phone has one. The response should be as fast as 5 seconds unless network issues cause delay - similar to calling someone.

2. All the info in the MID is not available through app which seems like a weird miss. For example i cannot see TPMS reading through app but can view fuel gauge - unless i am not using the APP correctly.

[racer_7]

After watching Black Mirror and the below video I am somehow not confident about excessive connectivity options in my car. Its so easy to hack into anything these days. Just imagine a hacker has somehow geofenced your car to a max movement within 1 km radius OR quite simply remotely unlocks your car and flee with valuables! All the data between your vehicle and your phone might be getting transmitted through Kia or Hyundai servers which are vulnerable for hacking. I am happy with a simple set of buttons and keys thank you. Besides I would rather use that money charged for the connected features to buy a superior albeit a lesser connected car.

https://youtu.be/fPQIWawXSRI

[shobhit.shri]

I think it's just the early days of the technology and that is why we are seeing some resistance. Once it is mainline, this will become another indispensable part of the car, like how Bluetooth, navigation did.

Personally, I would definitely want to use the remote start and cooling of the car.

[Abhinav_2502]

Voting Yes.
I cannot comment on the remote start and related features, but the car health and tracking features are very much useful according to me. Had installed The Suzuki Connect device from MGA catalogue for our Baleno and it has proved extremely useful in the last 2 years. It is especially useful when the car is being driven by a chauffeur and we can keep track of where the car is and it's current condition. Also the battery voltage indication really saved us once from being stranded during a longer drive. While the whole car telematics system concept is not a necessity, I really feel it is nice to have.
The hassle we had to undergo to get the Suzuki Connect system up and running is a different frustrating story altogether.

[rugveda78]

As a newbie, can't vote. Also, my current ride doesn't have all these features. But if I had option, I would have voted, "I use them, but on rare occasions".

I think, most of the connected tech are 'good-to-have' features. When such a car is new and you are new to using these features, you will enjoy using these features and find them amusing. Over the time, things mellow down. The only useful features could be:
(1) remote lock: believe me, there are people who would forget to lock their cars, especially if you happen to unlock it again when you go down to fetch something in a hurry that you left in the car.
(2) trace the car: the office parking lots, the huge underground parking lots of malls that often tend to be dimly lit and so on. If you happen to visit such places often, you might get into the habit of making the car honk remotely and get your attention.
(3) geo-fencing: is quite an useful feature in my opinion, especially for those who regularly visit different places and have to leave their cars on road / unmanned parking spaces (not that manned parking places are 100% safe anyway) or those who do not have parking spaces & park their cars overnight on roads, or even those who employ drivers and want to keep a check on their cars once they reach their destination places (not wanting the driver to take car on ride later).

Call me old-fashioned, but I think most other features are not something that we would be using regularly or they are going to make a world of difference to us. And then their are aftermarket substitutes to most. For example, a trip info is useful for me to get details of how my trip was, but is it going to be something that will make a difference to my life? I guess not; unless I am an family-economist who is going to sit down after every trip & analyze how the trip fared, economically. And most cars today show the similar info on the MID / touchscreen anyway.

I am absolutely not against the tech & the usefulness of it. I am just saying, it is not making a big difference to me personally at-least. I might still buy a car who has these features, say a Seltos / Sonnet, as some features I mentioned are part of the larger package. But I would buy the car for what it offers to me as a car, not because of this fancy tech alone. For me, a good quality reverse camera, a good quality touchscreen with basic functions & android auto / apple car play (and good audio system if someone loves music / radio on the move) and you are through. Even the safety features, road assist, nearby service centres etc are all available on your normal simpler apps of the respective maker.

Sorry for the long post.

[turbowhistle]

Voted No, might have used it when I was a teenager or in my early twenties but not now.
Give me a mechanically solid car with basic creature comforts and I'd choose it over and over again.

The only useful feature I can use is the pre-conditioning of the car where I can turn on AC 10 mins before I start my ride. I haven’t tinkered much with Apple carplay so can not comment much on it's usefulness apart from Google Maps.

[superguy282]

I feel that this is one of the features that will have the usual initial "Why would I need that?!" just like it was with Bluetooth and Navigation. Even though some features are gimmicky a considerable amount of features are genuinely useful too and hence, give it 3-4 years and it will become the norm.

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Voted “occasional use”. The BlueLink app is good for some things - checking on your vehicle, remote lock and pre-starting it for the A/C. I wouldn’t pay for the BlueLink features, I can live without them.

I like the Apple CarPlay connectivity and features. I am directionally challenged and having real-time directions helps. I like the car acting as a hands free and routing calls through the speakers. I can play music through my phone. These basic features are good enough for me.

[Nalin1]

This may not be related to this thread-

https://www.carandbike.com/news/why-...ome-topstories

Automotive OEMs these days have a found a new toy to peddle to their consumers. Wireless chargers! But as premium this feature is, for a market like India, it is almost useless.