Thank you for your email dated 11 March 2010, regarding the navigation system software on your car.

I can confirm that if you have the latest software as provided by your Retailer then we are not able to upgrade this with a

different version. The Factory is aware that the UK has a different post code system and is investigate what needs to be done to

accommodate this and I would suggest that you keep in touch with your Retailer as any upgrades will be cascaded to the network.

Thank you for contacting Skoda Customer Services

Kind Regards

Edmund Good

ŠkodaAuto Customer Services

[email protected]

08457 745 745

www.skoda.co.uk

Looks like a polite "sod off, we're not interested" message to me :S

Whilst I acknowledge that the integral sat navs have several nice features other than navigation (especially the Columbus) - and neither is this a criticism levelled just at the Skoda units (having had unrewarding experiences with Saab, Honda and Vauxhall navigation systems too) - but I do find it somewhat incredible that so many of these devices lack the basic functionality of a sub £100 TomTom/Navman/Garmin!

Looks like a polite "sod off, we're not interested" message to me :S

I think the cynic in me was expecting them to say exactly that. It's a shame but I'm not at all surprised.

I quite agree. I had an MFD2 in my Octavia and got rid of it. Sound quality is nothing special and the nav function is poor. I cannot believe the price of a new MFD3 - incredibly bad value for money.

My BMW has their 'Profi' level sat nav, and again its beaten by a Garmin or TomTom. I use my TomTom 520 for all navigation now - and as a bonus the maps are (very!) cheap and easy to update and I can easily add speed camera and POI's.

I once did a long trip in a rental Vectra with the integrated sat nav and my TomTom running side by side. The TomTom was so much better it was unbelievable.

After an iDrive BMW Sat Nav (Prof I think) I will never have an integrated sat nav again.

The thing is, no matter how inferior the MFD3 is to Tom Tom etc, I will always use it.

Because it's built in.

I don't have wires and cables trailing anywhere.

I don't need to attach it to the cigarette lighter for power.

It is always there and always ready to go.

It does what it needs to do, it has never failed to get me anywhere and has features such as lane control etc.

To me, tidyness always wins.

The thing is, no matter how inferior the MFD3 is to Tom Tom etc, I will always use it.

Because it's built in.

I don't have wires and cables trailing anywhere.

I don't need to attach it to the cigarette lighter for power.

It is always there and always ready to go.

It does what it needs to do, it has never failed to get me anywhere and has features such as lane control etc.

To me, tidyness always wins.

Same here, the MFD3 has never failed to get me anywhere across the whole of Europe. The lack of wires is the key thing for me.

Same here, the MFD3 has never failed to get me anywhere across the whole of Europe. The lack of wires is the key thing for me.

I think even a £50 Binatone satnav will get you places. Its a bit like saying a £40 car stereo from Aldi will play your music OK. Well, yes, but there is the whole issue of performance and functionality. There is also the matter of routing algorithm, which was brought home to me when I ran the TomTom and Vauxhall in-car unit side by side. The TomTom took me a slightly longer route, but it was much quicker. It was also much quicker to re-calculate when I turned off route. The Vauxhall unit was truly appalling. For £1000+ the VAG units are also staggeringly poor. I got burned with the MFD2, I couldn't believe how bad it was, hence getting shot of it. I travel quite a bit and need speed cameras and a good range of POI's that I can add myself. I also need to keep up to date with maps. I currently have a Feb 2010 map on the TomTom. The bonus is that when I go overseas and pick up a rental car I take my TomTom, plug it in and I have already programmed in the route etc at home. Not only that, but with pedestrian mode I can also use the TomTom on foot too.

All of this, plus a saving of about £1000, is well worth the incovenience of one wire to the unit.

My BMW has their Profi system, which is fiddly to use, slow to input destinations and has poor functionality. Updated maps are also stupidly priced (I don't know how on Earth BMW justify their prices when exactly the same data is available to stand-alone sat nav users at a fraction of the cost).

I think the in-car sat nav makers need to up their game in a big way. I note that VAG are dropping their current supplier and going to Samsung (or was it LG?) in a year or two's time. Hopefully they can come up with something better and charge more realistic prices.

I travel quite a bit and need speed cameras and a good range of POI's that I can add myself

Rubbish !

I think even a £50 Binatone satnav will get you places. Its a bit like saying a £40 car stereo from Aldi will play your music OK. Well, yes, but there is the whole issue of performance and functionality. There is also the matter of routing algorithm, which was brought home to me when I ran the TomTom and Vauxhall in-car unit side by side. The TomTom took me a slightly longer route, but it was much quicker. It was also much quicker to re-calculate when I turned off route. The Vauxhall unit was truly appalling. For £1000+ the VAG units are also staggeringly poor. I got burned with the MFD2, I couldn't believe how bad it was, hence getting shot of it. I travel quite a bit and need speed cameras and a good range of POI's that I can add myself. I also need to keep up to date with maps. I currently have a Feb 2010 map on the TomTom. The bonus is that when I go overseas and pick up a rental car I take my TomTom, plug it in and I have already programmed in the route etc at home. Not only that, but with pedestrian mode I can also use the TomTom on foot too.

All of this, plus a saving of about £1000, is well worth the incovenience of one wire to the unit.

My BMW has their Profi system, which is fiddly to use, slow to input destinations and has poor functionality. Updated maps are also stupidly priced (I don't know how on Earth BMW justify their prices when exactly the same data is available to stand-alone sat nav users at a fraction of the cost).

I think the in-car sat nav makers need to up their game in a big way. I note that VAG are dropping their current supplier and going to Samsung (or was it LG?) in a year or two's time. Hopefully they can come up with something better and charge more realistic prices.

As I said before.

I'm more than happy to accept the shortfalls of the VAG unit in favour of the fact it's fully integrated and there are no messy wires.

With the exception of the roads my VAG unit doesn't know about - I highly doubt the route decision between it and a Tom Tom will vary very much.

I've owned an RNS510 for nearly as long as I've owned my vRS and it has NEVER failed to let me down.

As a device that does what it says it can do, has never let me down and most importantly is integrated and tidy - I'll rate it in my eyes along side any other unit out there.

My last vRS had an MFD2 that I installed myself, new vRS was ordered and I didn't even consider an MFD3 for it for more than a few seconds. I now have a Garmin 1690 and it squats all over the MFD2. There are some great features in it, for instance if I see something on Google maps that I want to check out (pub, restaurant, beauty spot, dogging site), I can just click within Google maps and select 'send to my Garmin' and then Garmin wirelessly sends the new POI to my Garmin the next time it is powered on. Not forgetting the customisation options, like I have just loaded the Good beer guide onto the Garmin, next time we're out on a day out we can quickly find a quality pub etc etc. Built in cellular comms ensure I get real time traffic info, cheapest fuel, speed cameras (yeah yeah I know) and all updated without the need for bluetooth pairing or a data plan, it works right across Europe, too - no roaming costs.

I like tidyness in the car too, the Garmin doesn't need power if the journey is under 3 hours or so I think, but I plan to put a power output into the top dashboard box on the Octavia, so no wires will be on view.

I estimate that integrated Sat Nav needs to cost somewhere below £500 to make it a reasonable option, not £1500 or whatever it is. My Garmin 1690 cost me £250 and it's near top of the range. The cherry on the top is that the standard Bolero in the vRS is a decent bit of gear.

I've owned an RNS510 for nearly as long as I've owned my vRS and it has NEVER failed to let me down.

I also did this and was told by the same advisor that they didn't know anything about the software and that the postcode is something that the factory was investigating. I got fed up with this and sent an email direct to the factory in Czech Republic, it took a long time to get back but they asked Skoda uk to respond which they did eventually, I quoted the response in a thread in the ICE, security and insurance forum, basically the postcode is a known thing and there are no plans to change it. on the software issue I said that I had the 1024 version and the response came back that this was the most up to date version in the system.

Ian.

As I said before.

I'm more than happy to accept the shortfalls of the VAG unit in favour of the fact it's fully integrated and there are no messy wires.

With the exception of the roads my VAG unit doesn't know about - I highly doubt the route decision between it and a Tom Tom will vary very much.

I've owned an RNS510 for nearly as long as I've owned my vRS and it has NEVER failed to let me down.

As a device that does what it says it can do, has never let me down and most importantly is integrated and tidy - I'll rate it in my eyes along side any other unit out there.

Having used vearious Sat Nav devices in the last 8 years I can confirm that the routing can be very different between the units, and in my opinion TomTom has the best routing, followed by Navman and Garmin. Everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I always seem to go back to TomTom even though the rest of it's features aren't that great. Sat Nav is about getting from A to B and anything else is a bonus.

Is there anything where Skoda UK could be challenged on Sale of Goods Act...

In the UK we use a 7/8 digit postcode system; their device claims to have postcode functionality; yet does not support the UK postcode system as recognised by sorting offices across the country e.t.c.

I'm all for getting litigious! Replying to Consumer Direct on behalf of ESP vehicle owners as we speak.

Failing that; as suggested before; any way we can pay a smart kiddie somewhere to develop us a software update?

Brimma what do you mean by rubbish?

I NEED safety cams too which is why I use an Origin B2 - we're not going to have some nonsense over "well if you don't speed you shouldn't need one" are we?!!

The only reason you need them is because you break the law - QED

Brimma what do you mean by rubbish?

I NEED safety cams too which is why I use an Origin B2 - we're not going to have some nonsense over "well if you don't speed you shouldn't need one" are we?!!

OK - well I'll say it in as many words then.

Why could you possibly NEED safety cams?

I mean, I'm 36, been driving since 3 months after my 17th birthday and so far I have 0 points on my license - ever.

So me, probably pretty average intelligence (I don't know, refuse to blow my own trumpet on that) have managed to stay point free for 18yrs - I'm sure you could do it if you really tried.

Or do you need somebody to tell you when not to drive off a cliff, in front of a moving train, etc?

Is there anything where Skoda UK could be challenged on Sale of Goods Act...

In the UK we use a 7/8 digit postcode system; their device claims to have postcode functionality; yet does not support the UK postcode system as recognised by sorting offices across the country e.t.c.

I'm all for getting litigious! Replying to Consumer Direct on behalf of ESP vehicle owners as we speak.

Failing that; as suggested before; any way we can pay a smart kiddie somewhere to develop us a software update?

no, they aren't advertising a 7-digit postcode system, just a postcode based system.

I don't know what the fuss is about in all honesty, I've only ever found tomtom based devices to be of any use. I've used navigon and Garmin devices as well as a navteq based in vehicle system (on a vauxhall astra) and the navteq based devices all insist on sending you down very narrow country lanes in order to save 30 seconds driving time.

I'll save my 1500 quid and just use tomtom on my iphone

Who actually makes/manufactures the MFD3 units?????

Would it be worth getting in touch with them

Edited 18 March, 201016 yr by skippy41

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automotive/themes/passenger_cars/interior/multimedia/rns_510/rns510_en.html

Email sent

Email sent

You're persistent, I'll give you that

You're persistent, I'll give you that

Like a terrier around a postmans legs

I also asked them to include speed camera locations with warnings , and built in bluetooth on any future models :