Guys

Just ordered a New Superb, an 1.8 FSI 160BHP Elegance DSG in default Blue.

Supposed to be in 6 - 8 weeks.

The only extras I bought were the Auto dipping mirror and the Variable Boot floor because I like them both on my current Octavia L&K.

I have some questions, if anyone knows any answers it would be appreciated.

1. How big is the Hard Drive in the Columbus system?

2. How much space does the Navigation software take up.

3. What areas/countries does the Navigation system cover (UK Car)

4. The Columbus manual says it can handle Post Codes but I could not get it work on the demo car.

5a. Is there an ISO port on the Columbus system you could add a third party car/iPod kit into?

5b. Any ideas/suggestions on getting an iPhone to work in the car (I know about the BT rSAP issue) but anyone recommend a car/iPod/iPhone integration kit?

Oh one useful thing I did find out is that the White Superb depreciates significantly faster than the other colours - Now that is bizzarre, I could understand orange or lime green but white?

Welcome to Briskoda,

Sounds like a nice spec'd car you have ordered.

Most of your questions can be answered by read threads in this section.

Cheers

I am working through them now, but, no answers so far :-)

I'll keep working through them....

Guys

Just ordered a New Superb, an 1.8 FSI 160BHP Elegance DSG in default Blue.

Supposed to be in 6 - 8 weeks.

The only extras I bought were the Auto dipping mirror and the Variable Boot floor because I like them both on my current Octavia L&K.

I have some questions, if anyone knows any answers it would be appreciated.

1. How big is the Hard Drive in the Columbus system? 30gb

2. How much space does the Navigation software take up. 10gb is reserved for nav use but I don't think it's all used

3. What areas/countries does the Navigation system cover (UK Car) Europe, not sure how much of eastern europe though!

4. The Columbus manual says it can handle Post Codes but I could not get it work on the demo car. only the first 4 or 5 digits, ie not the last two letters, you input postcodes in the TOWN section

5a. Is there an ISO port on the Columbus system you could add a third party car/iPod kit into? don't know, there is a 3.5mm head phone jack in the arm rest which links to the aux input

5b. Any ideas/suggestions on getting an iPhone to work in the car (I know about the BT rSAP issue) but anyone recommend a car/iPod/iPhone integration kit?

Oh one useful thing I did find out is that the White Superb depreciates significantly faster than the other colours - Now that is bizzarre, I could understand orange or lime green but white?

hope that helps

Who told you that the white superb depreciates faster ? First, the model is brand new, and no one can say anything about it`s price when it`s used.

Second, our biggest car magazine just published a story where they told that WHITE is coming back, after being not-so-popular for many years.

Of course, this thing varies quite a lot dependig where you live. Different countries like different colours...

And I don`t know about other countries, but only white and dark blue were the only options when we talk about "normal" colours. Not even red and black...:(

It was on my Leasing site - it reported that I chose white it would increase may payments because of faster depreciation.

5a. Is there an ISO port on the Columbus system you could add a third party car/iPod kit into?

You need 5N0 057 342 - MDI interface - £120 +VAT which plugs into the back of the Columbus and 000051446C - iPod cable - £17.02 + VAT.

For more information see http://briskoda.net/superb-ii/columbus/126355/

Not sure why Skoda didn't offer this as an official option from the Superb II launch, but it is an option with the facelift Octavia.

On my Octy II I have my 3.5mm aux-in routed into the dash-top box. I put my iphone in there with the mic facing roughly outwards and, maybe surprisingly, it works absolutely perfectly. When uising it for playing music and a call comes in, it pauses the music and fades it back in automatically after the call is ended. Call quality is flawless through the car speakers and people can hear me fine.

Edited 9 November, 200817 yr by wega3k

Regarding the white depreciating faster - I can believe it on a Superb. White is great for performance japanese cars and Octavia VRSs, it's not for large, luxury cars.

Just a quick follow up on some of Ant's answers:

2. How much space does the Navigation software take up.

The disk is divided up into 2 partitions. One is 10GB and holds the maps, the other is 20GB and holds the music. The 10GB partition is a proprietary format, whereas the 20GB partition is FAT32. Currently, approx 3.7GB of the map partition is used. This leaves room for expansion, including much larger POI database (which is supposed to be part of the next map update).

3. What areas/countries does the Navigation system cover (UK Car)

All of Western Europe is covered, which includes UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and possible a couple of others. None of Eastern Europe is covered. There is a separate Eastern Europe DVD, which you can buy.

4. The Columbus manual says it can handle Post Codes but I could not get it work on the demo car.

Five digit entry is the best you can get, but VAG are working to solve this with the next map update.

5a. Is there an ISO port on the Columbus system you could add a third party car/iPod kit into?

As Wega says, MDI is what you need for this, but there has been some discussion which indicates that the iPhone might not work correctly. Not sure why, as the iPod Touch does. I've not had chance to try it myself, but plan to in the near future.

5b. Any ideas/suggestions on getting an iPhone to work in the car (I know about the BT rSAP issue) but anyone recommend a car/iPod/iPhone integration kit?

The short answer is, you can't. I'm an iPhone and Mac user myself, and I've had to change phone. I'm now using a Nokia E71, which is actually very good. If you really want your iPhone to work (and are prepared to lose out on the great features of the inbuilt car kit), then I would recommend the Bury CC 9060. It works perfectly with the iPhone, and you can also get a VAG loom adapter which makes fitting relatively easy.

Bagpuss.

Regarding white Superbs and depreciation: what colour are most taxis......................

Regarding the white depreciating faster - I can believe it on a Superb. White is great for performance japanese cars and Octavia VRSs, it's not for large, luxury cars.

But, we should always remember that the colour of the car is ALWAYS an opinion, never a fact....

We already have one white new superb, and I think that color suits very well for it. :P

Cheers Bagpuss

I am a Mac user too, used to live in Liskeard, but found the London commute too tough..

Lummox told me he had tried his iPhone in a Volkwagen with the MDI iPod connector and it worked fine.

Depending on whether I can get my new company to buy a car kit, I may just use an old Nokia 6021 I have lying around and put a PAYG and forward my iPhone to the Nokia when I am in the car. Doesn't make dialling out very effective though.

I was wondering if I could clone my work SIM card and put it in the unlocked Nokia 6021, switch my iPhone to Airplane mode while I am in the car.

Am I right in saying that when the ignition is turned off, the carphone part turns off too?

How much are map updates for the VAG maps? I am worried that they will be really silly prices.

Also, does the Nav system have a library of Safety Cameras.

Test drove a 2.0l PD TDI DSG today, it seemed a bit sluggish compared to my Octavia 2.0l DSG l&k estate. Not a problem the car is a foot longer than mine but, it seems 200lbs lighter. I'm getting the 1.8l FSI 160 bhp so that should goose it up a tad.

I am a pretty staid driver so none of this is particularly worrying to me.

Anyway, definitely looking forward to it, even have the wife poring over the brochure :-)

Hopefully the delays are over and I will get it in 6-8weeks:easter:

Cheers Bagpuss

I am a Mac user too, used to live in Liskeard, but found the London commute too tough..

Yep. Been a Mac User since the first versions of OSX came out. Never did get along with MacOS classic, but felt right at home when Apple went to BSD as the base platform. I'm still commuting about once a week to Camberley. It's not too bad, especially now I've got the Superb.

Lummox told me he had tried his iPhone in a Volkwagen with the MDI iPod connector and it worked fine.

Strangely enough, I tried my iPhone in a Tiguan with MDI this afternoon, and it worked perfectly.

Depending on whether I can get my new company to buy a car kit, I may just use an old Nokia 6021 I have lying around and put a PAYG and forward my iPhone to the Nokia when I am in the car. Doesn't make dialling out very effective though.

I was wondering if I could clone my work SIM card and put it in the unlocked Nokia 6021, switch my iPhone to Airplane mode while I am in the car.

Your first option is what I initially tried, but I got fed up with people not answering when they didn't recognise my PAYG number. Cloning a SIM card is possible, but your current SIM would need to be at least 5 years old, otherwise the security features on it will mean you can't read the data to be able to clone it.

Another possible option (depending on your network), is to ask for dual SIM functionality. This is where your network officially provide you with two SIM card, both of which map to the same telephone number. This was a facility provided by the networks to allow previous generation car phones (which had a SIM slot) to seamlessly activate when you got into the car. I know that Vodafone do this, but I think there are some limitations to it. It might be worth asking. You could then put one SIM in the iPhone, the other in the Nokia, and your outgoing calls would be coming from the correct number.

Am I right in saying that when the ignition is turned off, the carphone part turns off too?

That's right. It all switches off the moment the ignition is turned off. It usually takes your handset several minutes before it reconnects to the network, but that's about it.

How much are map updates for the VAG maps? I am worried that they will be really silly prices.

Not sure, as I've not yet had to pay for one. The v3 disk (current version) came with the car. From speaking with others, I think the v3 disk costs in the region of £125 from a dealer. I've seen the disks go for between £80-£100 on eBay.

Also, does the Nav system have a library of Safety Cameras.

It doesn't, but you can build a custom DVD which does. This is what I've done, using data from the PocketGPSWorld speed camera database. You can find more information here:

http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/columbus-mfd3-rns-510-custom-poi-tool-available/109775/

Hope this helps,

Bagpuss.

Cheers Bagpuss, much appreciated.

Now just got to wait for the new Superb to arrive.........