Volvo's First CarPlay Vehicle in the U.S. is the 2016 XC90, Available Now

...and a sharp looking ride to boot.

Looks like a sweet integration

This is what all companies who still want their own platform should do.

Step aside, Pilot and Highlander. XC90 is now the front runner for the next car purchase.

The Volvo XC90 starts at a higher MSRP than the top of the line 2016 Pilot (and I'm sure the Highlander). They're not even in the same price range. It's like saying you're cross-shipping the Camry, Accord, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class....

These consoles are going to be dangerous. In fact, I'm guessing these cars will prove to be the most dangerous cars built in the last decade or two. Too many distractions. And don't tell me that pressing a button and having a conversation with Siri isn't going to prove to be just as dangerous as driving with half a dozen beers in you, because it will be. Your conscious brain CANNOT multi-task. Now it can shift gears from one task to another very quickly. But when you are thinking about and interacting with console, you will not be a good driver. And the more times per ride that you do that interaction, the more often that moment of distraction can coincide with a surprise event on the road.

Fortunately, rudimentary auto break features should be available in all cars in just a few years from now. We really just need some form auto break to not hit car or pedestrian in front of us. So we will go back to being safer. And then driverless cars will really help out. But autobreak is the key thing that needs to be added with these gizmos. Tesla has that figured out and that is why they are releasing auto drive now.

But for other cars this stop gap isn't going to work. A touch screen without tactile feedback but with lots of changing things to interact with is going to be a distraction.

Talking to Siri as dangerous as being about 4 drinks beyond the legal limit? How in the hell have we dealt with talking to our wives and kids? Remember when changing radio stations was a freaking little red line that slid behind a piece of glass that you could barely see? This XC90 comes with so many autonomous features that the rest of your rant is really not necessary. It has complete autodriving up to 30 mph and software upgradeable to 80 mph...as well as the autobraking. It's been dubbed the safest car the world has every seen..also has 360 degree cameras that monitor for cars and pedestrians. Even has airbags in the hood so if you actually DO hit one, they are cushioned as they hit the hood. Volvo's goal is no fatalities in a Volvo by 2020...I think they might know a thing or two about safety, btw.

In case you were unaware, many of these features lock while you're driving, you need to spend some time with this before you judge.

Oh, one more thing. Compare this to fumbling with your smartphone in a rental car while you try to learn a new system that isn't quite syncing correctly with what you have. It's like night and day. Every car you get into will have an identical experience as well, which solves the biggest problem between all of these disparate systems.

Looks smooth. I'll take 2!

"Use the center touch screen without being distracted..." Riiiiiiight.

WOW! By FAR the best implementation of Carplay.

Since my PHONE isn't that smooth, I doubt their in car screen is...

The Volvo integration into the center stack looks fantastic. Car makers are slowly getting better.

CarPlay is one of those things that is so simple it's brilliant. I wasn't impressed until I needed to take a call and text while driving (thank you work). I was easily able to do both without issue since I was already used to Siri on my iPhone.

I'm driving a lot safer now that I keep my eyes on the road a ton more and I'm not reading texts at red lights. It really is useful.

The Pioneer AVH-4100NEX I have takes a bit of getting used to but now that I understand how it works it's actually quite easy to navigate and switch between CarPlay and the NEX UI.

What really makes Volvo's implementation work best is that the console has a ton of horsepower. There is no lag and slow response times, it's also capacitive + infrared so it works with gloves or without.