Hi,

What's the difference between the MFD2 & MFD3: is it just updated software or something else? Also, are there any differences between the Skoda ones and the VW ones? I'm guessing that VW's have blue buttons when illuminated, and Skoda's are green, but that's just a stab in the dark and as far as I go! Seen lots of VW MFD2's around, that's all, and wondered if it's worth getting one, and if so, how much is a reasonable price for either a VW or Skoda unit?

(Couldn't justify paying 1500 wing-wangs for the unit so I didn't even entertain the idea, but second hand ones seem fairly cheap at £300ish for a MFD2 unless they're generally considered rubbish?)

Cheers,

Matt

The MFD2 is an ok unit, the MFD3 is far better but 1K more.

The MFD3 has a builtin 30GB hard drive to store nav data/music on. The MFD2 doesnt.

I've just changed from an MFD 2 to the Skoda Columbus (MFD 3) & was very happy with the old MFD 2.

It's all a matter of what you want it to do! There are some things I actually miss from the MFD2! On the other hand the Columbus does so much more!:D:D

My observations between the two are very subjectictive, but here they are for what it's worth!

The MFD2 has simpler 2D mapping, which could be easier to read at a glance as there is less detail. I've a mate who is a pilot in the RAF & he can't get on with my Columbus as it presents "too much info", even in 2D mode, as far as he is concerned. He much prefered the MFD2 for mapping!!

I've spent years traveling on, often a twice daily basis, between York & Sheffield & have a preferred route which has always worked for me. My TomTom would get close to that route, but the MFD 2 in Dynamic planning was always the nearest of the two! it was also never far off at estimating arrival times, again about as good as my tom tom. The down side of the Skoda MFD 2 was that the screen resolution could have been better & that it used a CD for data (later VW ones used a DVD), It could also be slow at start up in loading. A plus side was the disks were cheaper than the Columbus. I used to get the genuine Blaupunkt disks (with the TMC Dynamic route planning feature) for about £100 brand new & delivered.

The Columbus, is by far faster at mapping, but some of the announcements are a legend in this forum, "Stay on this road for a long time" being my favorite at the moment! The Navi unit, seems to over estimate the journy time by a fair bit (but I think there are options I can set to improve this) and as I have already said It's attempt at the "fastest route" is very different to my version & that of my tom tom, but it is early days yet & I haven't explored all the settings fully. The 3D presentation is very nice (in my opinion!) & the maps are more detailed, including better road names & the screen is easily customisable to your needs & tastes

From a sound point of view I have found that it is a better sounding unit than the MFD2, even through the standard speakers. The advantage of having a hard drive & an SD slot to use for playing MP3's & WMA's from is just great, I've never run out of music (to sing to :eek:) on a journey yet!!

Add to that the touch screen input, DVD Player & full integration with premium blue tooth, and you can see why these sell for the premium money. On top of this, I'm aware that members of other forums have posted that VW are working on a propper ipod link!

So what about cost differences between the two? well if you wanted an MFD 2 to do most of the same things, then you will need to budget in something like a Desion icelink 300 (which will give iPod & usb input) and something like a Nav TV input! Add all that lot together & the cost difference becomes very slim!

So in my opinion, if you are thinking about & MFD2 & "system uping" then the MFD 3 is the better solution, however if all you want is a basic in dash navi, you can't go far wrong with an MFD 2 for the money!

Thanks bulgaria, i'm a bit more informed now, just got a few questions left:

1. By what your saying, I may be gathering (incorrectly) that that the MFD3 functions as DVD player, and has imputs to plug in an ipod, where the MFD2 doesn't and that you need extra stuff to get it to do that? I may be missing some other bits, I don't know. Is it possible to knock up a quick very general functions list of what each does, ie. ipod, DVD player, etc., nothing specific like power RMS, so that it's easy to se what i'd be missing out if I got the older model?

2. Do you, or anyone know if the VW units are exactly the same or not as there's loads of them around?

To be honest, I always thought if I wanted to spend that much on an ICE extra from Skoda, i'd just get a double din unit from Alpine as surely THAT's gotta be much better and cheaper, but you need loads of add-ons; sat-nav box, ipod adaptor that bring it into about the same amount of money!

Hi,

I have had my L&K for just over 2 months now and wish I had never specced a Columbus unit. It has proved to be unreliable and sound quality varies from day to day. Medium wave radio (after 3 visits to dealer )works when it feels like it, and the unit has "popped " and restarted twice now. Both times when playing music on the hard drive.. Tried a DVD once and it froze. after 15 minutes. (it was a brand new DVD with no marks). I seem to be an isolated case and the sodding unit always behaves reasonably well when the dealers mechanic listens to it and compares it to a standard unit. They have promised to get a replacement unit but i am not holding my breath.

Also they do not seem to know zip about the software upgrade (V3) that I have been informed about on the forum.

I feel that long term there may be problems with this unit.

My wifes Garmin has more functions as a sat nav, just all those untidy cables!!

Sorry to be so negative, I ordered the unit after hearing so much praise heaped on it.

G.K.

That sounds rubbish, but as you say, you may just have a friday afternoon stereo!

You're just the person to ask about another question though: Did your L&K come with ANY underseat storage boxes? Been trying to find out if mine will when it comes due to the heated/memory seats.

That sounds rubbish, but as you say, you may just have a friday afternoon stereo!

You're just the person to ask about another question though: Did your L&K come with ANY underseat storage boxes? Been trying to find out if mine will when it comes due to the heated/memory seats.

Storage box comes as standard on L&K and Elegance on passanger seat only. Electrically adjustable drivers seat takes up too much room underneath.

Friday afternoon stereo just about sums it up!!!

There is quite a large amount of info here on both the MFD2 and the Columbus.

The Columbus is pretty identical to the VW RNS510 so it would function perfectly however you would have the obvious differances with illumination and startup screen.

Thanks bulgaria, i'm a bit more informed now, just got a few questions left:

1. By what your saying, I may be gathering (incorrectly) that that the MFD3 functions as DVD player, and has imputs to plug in an ipod, where the MFD2 doesn't and that you need extra stuff to get it to do that? I may be missing some other bits, I don't know. Is it possible to knock up a quick very general functions list of what each does, ie. ipod, DVD player, etc., nothing specific like power RMS, so that it's easy to se what i'd be missing out if I got the older model?

2. Do you, or anyone know if the VW units are exactly the same or not as there's loads of them around?

To be honest, I always thought if I wanted to spend that much on an ICE extra from Skoda, i'd just get a double din unit from Alpine as surely THAT's gotta be much better and cheaper, but you need loads of add-ons; sat-nav box, ipod adaptor that bring it into about the same amount of money!

Think you hit the nail on the head! MFD3 works as a DVD player, and has an aux in facility that VW are working to develop a proper ipod adapter for. As Stu said, loads of details are already posted in the forum!

MFD2 requires a few add ons for TV/DVD & Ipod & as Stu will vouch it gets very tight at the back of the set with all the extras plugged in!!!

At the end of the day there is no right & wrong answer, it's just what works best for you & your personal preferences/budget!

Fair enough, thanks for all your honest advice. At the mo it'll be coming with an Audience head unit which will probably suffice with the wife's Tomtom, but I wasn't sure if I was missing out on anything. After what Stu said, I would be curious as to how much the VW ones go for, but as I suspected, the illumination would be naff on a Skoda so that's probably be enough to put me off!

Think in the long run, i'll use the Audience until either the warranty runs out in 3 years or it gives up the ghost (wife's Leon stereo has been completely replaced about 7 times under warranty!) as hopefully the price will have come down for second hand and any glitches you're wary of will have been sorted.

G.K, did you get the double folding sun visors at all, seing you have an '08 L&K?? I've seen them and they look a great idea but I'm getting the impression it's something else the eruopeans get that we get stitched on!

G.K, did you get the double folding sun visors at all, seing you have an '08 L&K?? I've seen them and they look a great idea but I'm getting the impression it's something else the eruopeans get that we get stitched on!

Hi, Just normal sun visors on mine.

The Columbus unit represents a huge step forward in OEM navigation, from pretty much any manufacturer. However, the third party boys have now definitely caught up.

I think it would be worth considering some of the aftermarket competition, as long as you are not too worried about losing the OEM look.

I've recently been test driving a wide variety of cars, in an effort to choose my new company motor. This has given me chance to compare both the Columbus (in RNS510 guise) and the new Pioneer AVIC-F900BT.

The Columbus is a great unit, but the Pioneer is better in a number of important ways.

1) The bluetooth phone capability is provided by software from Parrot, and is separately upgradeable from the main Navi firmware. This means a much wider variety of handsets is supported out of the box, and adding new ones will be very easy. My iPhone paired easily, and the unit was able to copy across my phonebook with no problems. The RNS510 did work with the iPhone, but my phonebook was nowhere to be seen. I will admit that this is more the fault of the iPhone than the Columbus, but if Pioneer can do it, why can't VW?

2) The Pioneer supports video playback from nearly all video capable iPods, along with full touch screen control of all iPod features. Sadly, the iPhone doesn't work for video playback, but the iPod Touch does. This should be fixed in a forthcoming firmware update.

3) You get USB and SD connectivity built in. I simply plugged my 320GB portable drive into the socket, and I had access to all my MP3s. In addition, you can also playback MPEG-4 video files from a USB hard drive, meaning I also had most of my DVD collection with me too. There is also rear screen output, if you need to keep the sprogs amused in the back.

4) From a navigation point of view, the Pioneer was way better at choosing the fastest/best routes. Doing test drives in my local area, I know which routes are best for getting around, and the Pioneer consistently made better choices. In addition, the F900 can learn new routing based on how you drive from place to place. When doing my drive into work, I drove along my normal route, which was different from what the satnav had chosen. The unit realised that my route was faster than it's 'fastest' route, and chose my route from there on. Pretty clever!

5) The map data on the Pioneer was more up to date, even though the RNS510 had the v3 disk.

6) Pioneer have built-in support for speed cameras and new POIs (1 year subscription included). There is a fully supported Windows application that makes adding new POIs very easy.

It would be possible for the Columbus to get most of these features via a software update, and the new MDI interface rectifies some of the hardware issues, but I doubt that any of these things will happen in the near future (in Skoda land, anyway).

Given that you can now get the Pioneer unit for £750, I know what I would buy.

Having said all that, I'm looking to get the new Superb, and can't say I'll be unhappy to get the Columbus unit as part of the deal.

Bagpuss.

Here's what the Pioneer unit looks like in the Octavia (using Pioneers own fitting kit):

The Pioneer looks very effective. Can the illumination and buttons be set to a suitable green? Is there any kind of physical security (i.e. a small removable panel) or does it just rely on a pin number? Do you know whether bluetooth and ipod adaptors are included in the price, or are they extras like the equivalent Kenwood nav unit?

Hmmm that Pioneer looks a nice set:thumbup:

The button colours can be set to any RGB combination you desire, but it also comes with about 10 different preset colours (one of which matches Skoda green).

The bluetooth hardware is integrated into the unit, and works seamlessly with the rest of the unit.

For iPod connection, you need to buy a cable, but there is no external hardware required. USB drives simply plug straight in (there is a flying cable from the back which you simply need to bring around to the front of the unit).

All in all, it's a great unit.

For a great video review, go here:

AVIC411.com

The US unit is called the AVIC-F90BT, but it's basically the same as the EU version. There are some differences, like integration with MSN and also Sirius satellite radio. However, the EU version gets TMC standard and DAB (as an option).

Bagpuss.

It looks like Pioneer have now withdrawn the F900 from sale in Europe.

I never found any major issues in the unit I used, but apparently there are a number of software issues which need to be addressed.

I'm told that the unit (complete with software update) should be available by the end of July.

Bagpuss.

I like the look of the Pioneer AVIC-F900BT but would I lose the reverse parking sensors as fitted on my 54 Octavia?

You don't loose the use of them just the remote indication.