Infotainment Review: Jeep Uconnect

There is one thing that stands out when you fire up Jeep’s Uconnect infotainment system in the Grand Cherokee Summit Platinum and that is the audio assault.

Crank this beast of a (standard) sound system up to 11 and you will attract noise complaints from the neighbours whether sourcing your tracks from CD, DVD, HDMI, USB, AV, FM, AM or DAB radio.

Whatever your choice of sound source, for lone-wolf trips the Jeep really should come standard with an interior light effects suite or at least a roof-mounted mirror-ball, because the Harman Kardon surround speakers can deliver some phat sounds throughout the vehicle's generous interior.

High-quality sound at full volume is probably something you will only experience on those rare occasions you’re alone in this people-mover though, because chances are you purchased the Grand Cherokee for the passenger seats to be utilised. 

There are three screens in this vehicle — four if you count the rather prominent multi-function display on the dash.

Two flip-up rear displays provide DVD or BlueRay playback (via the player mounted inside the centre console) or independently from USB-attached devices via the handy rear ports. Jeep rounds out the keep-the-kids-quiet entertainment package with wireless headphones and a remote control.

The headphones we found to be somewhat dodgy at times, cutting out occasionally. It would be nice to have a wired headphone jack as an alternative if needed.

Back up front to the 8.4-inch touch-screen and functionality-wise most requirements are checked. We really like the ability to dial in directly a radio frequency if the DAB list of stations is either unappealing or non-existent due to lack of coverage.

The navigation display uses muted pastels as the colour theme and with city buildings rendered in 3D it's pleasant to the eye and logical to the brain. Visually, the smooth smart-zooming of the screen enhances the effectiveness of map directions.

This level of intelligence and convenience carries over to other offerings of the system, as UConnect provides a mini-map option to keep navigation available even when using other functions.

In Australia the TMC traffic warning system does not get populated, so there are no traffic congestion alerts for us, however, we do get speed limit warnings and safety camera information as part of the Uconnect system.

The generous dash-screen also integrates well with the navigation system to display vital information including lane guidance at a convenient eyeball location.

The screen can also be customised to display your preferred info where you want it, so you can add outside temperature, a compass or fuel range to the standard set of screens Uconnect provides. The visual theme integrates with the existing analogue dials and cycles through displays showing fuel consumption info, 4WD selection, tyre pressure or a digital speedometer.

Voice control was a pain in our test vehicle. Whether it was too much southern Australian drawl or just system intolerance to a wider range of spoken inflection, we needed to be AB-SO-LOOT-LEE CLEAR with our spoken commands — far more than most voice-recognition systems we've used – making it overly distracting and undermining the safety advantage hands-free systems were designed to offer in the first place.

Steering wheel controls activate the voice-command system, along with adaptive and normal cruise control functions, phone and dashboard-screen controls. Buttons obscurely placed behind the steering wheel in front of the gear-shift paddles provide track-skip and other audio functions.

Bluetooth phone integration is very well implemented. For the executive on the go, setting up conference calls is a cinch, as is transferring a call from the Uconnect system to a mobile phone once the Jeep is parked in the office basement spot.

The main touch-screen is highly responsive and clever innovations such as customisation options and picture-in-picture model gives the otherwise cluttered display some edge over the infotainment offerings in some competitors. 

Functionally, Jeep, Chrysler and Fiat owners get everything they need with the Australian version of Uconnect. Our US friends get a more connected experience with a wifi hot-spot interface and smartphone application providing integrated news and entertainment features. At present, however, there are no plans to release these options in Australia.