In software-defined vehicles, automotive middleware plays a fundamental role in enabling efficient communication, integration, and coordination among software components. This paper examines how effectively two of the currently most popular middleware frameworks, ROS 2 Jazzy and AUTOSAR Adaptive Platform R24-11, meet practical requirements elicited from automotive software engineers at one of the major automotive supplier companies, ZF Group. Our objective is to provide insight into an otherwise difficult-to-obtain industrial perspective and support a clearer understanding of priorities in the development and evaluation of middleware for automotive applications.