Android Auto

After downloading and launching the Android Auto app, simply tap the Android Auto icon on your car's touch screen to get started.

If you use Google Now, Android Auto will show cards with items such as calendar appointments, current weather conditions, and recently searched locations.

Google Maps graphics are below par in comparison with the best in-dash OEM nav systems.

While the Google Voice Search feature is better than most automaker's systems, when we asked to find local a BBQ restaurant it misunderstood and wanted to send us to Lexington BBQ in North Carolina, thousands of miles away.

For a POI search, Maps supplies information such as hours of operation and how long it will take to drive there, and you can tap a phone icon to call.

The Phone feature provides a large keyboard and plenty of screen real estate to display functions such as call history, contacts, voicemail, and missed calls.

Hitting the media icon brings up music apps, with Google Play always at the top (naturally). Android Auto has almost 50 compatible third-party apps, compared with about 15 for Apple CarPlay.

Android Auto has big, bold background graphics for apps like Pandora and Spotify, and large controls that make the system easy to operate.