Chrysler Adding Five-Inch Uconnect Infotainment Setup to Ram 1500, Fiat 500L

Chrysler's Uconnect touch-screen infotainment system is one of the best in the business, being both easy to use and easy to look at, but a new version is coming to market that runs on an entirely different software platform. Automotive News first reported the discrepancy between the latest iteration of Uconnect, dubbed Uconnect 5.0—a reference to its five-inch screen size—and Chrysler's ubiquitous Uconnect 8.4 setup. So what does any of this matter? Much of the kerfuffle over Uconnect 5.0 has to do with what it could mean for the future of Uconnect.  Uconnect 5.0 / Blue&Me in Fiat 500L The 5.0 setup runs on Microsoft software, whereas 8.4 uses a platform called QNX. Chrysler representatives tell us that the company has no plans to switch Uconnect over to Microsoft; the reason for 5.0′s use of the different software has more to do with happenstance than any intentional move on Chrysler's part. That's because 5.0 is just a variant of the Blue&Me system used by Fiat, the latest version of which debuted in Europe in the 500L. The system likely was already in the works when Chrysler and Fiat hitched up—Microsoft furnished code for previous iterations of Blue&Me—and now the American automaker is simply repurposing the smaller screen for use as a less expensive touch-screen Uconnect option for the 2013 Ram 1500. Instrumented Test: 2013 Ram 1500 SLT V6 8-Speed Automatic Instrumented Test: 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo Instrumented Test: 2013 Dodge Dart Limited 1.4T DDCT There are few differences between Uconnect 5.0 and 8.4, but since screen space is at more of a premium on the 5.0, a set of hard buttons augments the on-screen options. (Uconnect 8.4 systems feature an array of buttons that live on the bottom of the screen, including radio, media, controls, climate, phone, navigation, and apps—if so equipped; on 5.0, most of these are actual buttons flanking the screen.) Otherwise, despite running on different code, the two systems' displays look pretty similar; Chrysler tells us that besides the unique origins of their architectures, Uconnect 5.0 and 8.4 will live together in its U.S. lineup and abroad. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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