An entertainment system that’s been a feature in cars for 40 years has now entirely disappeared from new models – and plenty of drivers will be angry about it.
The in-car CD player is officially dead after the last manufacturer offering one in a vehicle has discontinued the availability as it – like all other brands – have switched to streaming services instead.
While it means motorists will no longer need to clutter up their car interiors with cases of CDs, it does raise yet another concerns around driver distraction, with drivers now having to fiddle their way through infotainment screen menus to change tracks and switch between favourite artists.
End of the road for the in-car CD player: Which? confirms no new cars come with a CD player as standard as the market shifts to streaming services. But could this be more distracting?
Subaru was the last brand to have sold a model with in-car CD player, according to Which?
But that changed this year.
The Japanese car firm has stripped the Forester SUV of its CD player as part of a model update earlier in 2024.
As part of the facelift, the CD player has been ditched in favour of built-in streaming services via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto or by connecting a smartphone via a USB – bringing the Forester in line with the rest of its model line-up.
Subaru was the last brand to have sold a model with in-car CD player. The Japanese car firm stripped its Forester SUV of its CD player as part of a model update earlier in 2024
It ends four decades of CD players in cars, with Mercedes-Benz the first to offer the technology back in 1985 as the successor to cassette player.
The last new model sold with a cassette deck disappeared more recently than you might have expected – Lexus still sold one in its SC model up until 2009.
While cars with large CD-changer systems (often situated in the boot or glovebox) haven’t been sold in the UK for many years, only last year you would have found a selection of new models with single-disc players.
This included the Subaru XV, Porsche 718 and Lexus LC.
But with the Subaru Forester now shunning the humble CD player, it really is the end of an era, says Which?, after it claimed to have scoured the entire new car market as part of its research.
Of all mainstream vehicles currently available new, the Isuzu D-Max pick-up truck is the only one available with a CD player.
At the time of writing, three out of four trim levels come with one, so be sure to not accidentally get the one without if you’re in the market for a truck.
Unsurprisingly, not everyone is going to be happy to hear the news of the demise of CD players in cars.
According to data from the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, CD sales saw a year-on-year increase of 3.2 per cent in the first half of 2024.
And drivers have already made the complaints about not being able to play their CD in their new motors.
As part of the latest annual Which? Car Reliability Survey, drivers were asked what frustrates them most about their cars – any many respondents expressed their dismay about the lack of a CD player.
‘Very disappointed that there was no option to have a CD player fitted,’ said one Ford Focus Estate (2018 to present) owner, while a Dacia Sandero (2013-2021) driver commented: ‘I bemoan the lack of a CD player.’ Many other owners simply exclaimed: ‘No CD player!’
According to data from the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, CD sales saw a year-on-year increase of 3.2% in the first half of 2024. And plenty of drivers still prefer to have one rather than connecting their smartphone or using a streaming app in the infotainment screen
Loss of CD players causes yet another distraction at the wheel
Buyers of new cars now need to familiarise themselves with the world of streaming music on the move.
This does have its advantages, not least that you can listen to a vast library of songs in your car – certainly more than would be possible with a wallet of CDs.
And with many cars linking seamlessly to your phone by Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, streaming from services such as Amazon Music and Spotify has never been easier.
However, operating streaming services via infotainment screens is another distraction for drivers when on the move.
Independent car safety body, Euro NCAP, earlier this year announced plans to downgrade the safety ratings of cars that don’t have physical buttons for controlling five key functions over concerns about distraction.
From 1 January 2026, vehicles without physical hard buttons or switches for the indicators, hazard lights, horn, windscreen wipers and SOS function will also receive lower marks in crash tests.
Matthew Avery, director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, explained: ‘The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle-maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes.
‘New Euro NCAP tests due in 2026 will encourage manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive manner, limiting eyes-off-road time and therefore promoting safer driving.’
The growing trend for removing buttons and adding more control functionality to touchscreens is said to be ‘undermining’ the ban on using a phone at the wheel, which since March 2022 will land motorists who touch their device with six penalty points on your licence and a £200 fine (and if, within two years of passing your test, will cost you your licence) if caught by the police or roadside cameras.
For years, road safety experts have been warning that the latest cars are proving an increasingly distracting danger.
Designers love the use of larger, high-definition screens because it clears the dashboard of – as they see it – unnecessary ‘clutter’ to create a clean, minimalist feel.
Industry bean-counters also prefer this setup because it cuts costs by removing switches and wiring in favour of an iPad-style dashboard run by downloadable software.
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