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 – has 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.
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.
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 – 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!’
Source – Daily Mail
