Hi first of all - I'm new here but been ghosting for a while...

I'm thinking of adding sat nav into my 56 octy ambiente (so no maxidot or steering wheel controls or anything). I drive a lot, and often to new places as I work freelance so am fed up with tomtom battery lifes and cabling and things.

From what I've found online I can get a second hand mdf2 with current maps for £200-250 or a columbus for £500-600. I've used a columbus as my dad has one in his seat altea and I've borrowed it a few times, and generally was impressed (as is he) despite the postcode entry. Obviously I'm aware that the columbus is a much better unit - touchscreen, etc, but I'm on a tight budget and wondered basically a) how user-friendly the mdf2 is compared to the touchscreen columbus? with updated maps/software, how noticeable the difference of route calculation times, etc? c) any other factors?

essentially, is not being able to play dvds and not getting touchscreen worth twice the price when all I really want is the sat nav?

Cheers, great forum here. Sorry about the workhorse car, I'm working my way up: T reg felicia, 53 reg fabia, and now a 56 octy...octy vrs next I hope :p

With the old MFD2 I believe you had to have the map disc in the unit all the time for the unit to work. With the Columbus, once the maps are downloaded onto the hard drive then that is it, no need for the disc to be in anymore, though keep it in a safe place just in case you need it to reload maps after a firmware update.

Another advantage of the Columbus is that it has the integral 30GB hard drive, about 12 GB is used for map data but the rest is available for you to put music onto, if you spend a long time in the car saved you having to carry loads of CD's with you. The Columbus also has an SD card port if you'd prefer to keep your music on a separate data carrier.

Ian

One other thing, be careful if you do get the Columbus, if it has a later firmware( i.e. operating system software) installed then you may have to put in a later CAN gateway as there is a known issue with batteries going flat as the later firmware is not compatible with earlier CAN gateways, it will leave the gateway open, drawing current from the battery all the time and flattening it.

Edited 31 August, 201015 yr by countryboy

Cheers countryboy for the reply, I've got the CD changer, and I've fitted an ipod socket to the back of my stream mp3 (I assume I can still do this with an mdf2 or columbus - do they both still have the aux in input?) so the hard drive isn't too much of a worry - also my Dad quickly gave up on putting music on his Columbus complaining it was like using itunes feeding all your CD's endlessly into the car so I'm happy not to have to do that!

I didn't know that about the columbus battery issue - I'll watch out for that if I go that way.

I'm thinking the MDF2 is probably fine for me at the moment, anyone any thoughts on comparing the sat nav's? Also, I have assumed both still have an aux in and phone in as well as CD changer? I do really want to keep all 3 inputs as thats what in my car at the moment, any known issues?

Martin

Cheers countryboy for the reply, I've got the CD changer, and I've fitted an ipod socket to the back of my stream mp3 (I assume I can still do this with an mdf2 or columbus - do they both still have the aux in input?) so the hard drive isn't too much of a worry - also my Dad quickly gave up on putting music on his Columbus complaining it was like using itunes feeding all your CD's endlessly into the car so I'm happy not to have to do that!

I didn't know that about the columbus battery issue - I'll watch out for that if I go that way.

I'm thinking the MDF2 is probably fine for me at the moment, anyone any thoughts on comparing the sat nav's? Also, I have assumed both still have an aux in and phone in as well as CD changer? I do really want to keep all 3 inputs as thats what in my car at the moment, any known issues?

Martin

what about a kenwood dnx unit, its got garmin built in for about £400?

There's a Columbus available on here at the moment for £450.

If you're looking at in-built satnav, I'd recommend the Columbus over the MFD2. The graphical ability and standard of mapping are far superior - it's a more modern unit after all.

Steve

Hi first of all - I'm new here but been ghosting for a while...

I'm thinking of adding sat nav into my 56 octy ambiente (so no maxidot or steering wheel controls or anything). I drive a lot, and often to new places as I work freelance so am fed up with tomtom battery lifes and cabling and things.

From what I've found online I can get a second hand mdf2 with current maps for £200-250 or a columbus for £500-600. I've used a columbus as my dad has one in his seat altea and I've borrowed it a few times, and generally was impressed (as is he) despite the postcode entry. Obviously I'm aware that the columbus is a much better unit - touchscreen, etc, but I'm on a tight budget and wondered basically a) how user-friendly the mdf2 is compared to the touchscreen columbus? with updated maps/software, how noticeable the difference of route calculation times, etc? c) any other factors?

essentially, is not being able to play dvds and not getting touchscreen worth twice the price when all I really want is the sat nav?

Cheers, great forum here. Sorry about the workhorse car, I'm working my way up: T reg felicia, 53 reg fabia, and now a 56 octy...octy vrs next I hope :p

Look here Chief,

An Octy Ambiente is miles better than some of the old rubbish you see knocking about London roads on a 56 plate. If you are banging around London with Tax, insurance, AND both wings intact these days you are in the flashy top posh 25%. Be proud of your excellent vehicular choice

I'd advise you not to go for an MFD2. They are a bit long in the tooth now and certainly not as nice to use as the MFD3/Columbus. That said, they're not so at risk of being nicked either. Remember that your insurance is certainly not going to cover any retro-fitted OEM unit that's not on the original equipment manifest of your car.

I've just taken a 1Z0 Rev A out of my car and replaced it with a shiny new 3T0 unit and I STILL use my tom tom. I'm obviously an idiot. Having 20Gigs of MP3, SD card, and DVD MP3 discs is fantastic if you spend a lot of time driving. No mucking about with iPods. No half a dozen chargers littering your foot well. No batteries running out halfway through a long motorway drive when you forgot the 12v charger.

All I will say is if you are on a tight budget please don't be tempted into a 'too good to be true' bargain MFD3. There are a lot of them out there. Not all of them are hacked or stolen units. A lot of the ones on eBay probably are. That's not to say here aren't legit sellers there. A few early 1Z0 Rev A Columbus units - like my old one - were manufactured with borderline roms that just wont flash (Continental will never publicly admit though). They work perfectly on the firmware loaded during manufacture and can nearly always be restored to a working state with the correct firmware. Wade through all the posts on the forums here and check out VWNavi and My-GTI for horror story after horror story.

I'm 99.9% sure that if you see one for sale here you are in good hands. Only Freedom members can sell here and that involves paying an annual membership by electronic payment so they are not as faceless as eBay sellers (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that score).

If you really really want an OEM unit keep your eyes peeled for a Columbus. You can always ask folk here for advice on a particular unit you have your eye on (or a particular seller for that matter). Seriously, there is a lot of experience on this forum and a lot of folk here have a good nose for a bargain and some can smell a rat, even at a distance. Also nearly everyone is only too happy to help.

Edit> Take your time and bag the right bargain.

Best Regards,

Mark

Edited 31 August, 201015 yr by mrose

Thanks to you all for your replies - I take back what I said about the workhorse car Mark, I was a bit self concious as I'm aware this is quite a VRS heavy forum (both fabia and octavia)...to be fair, I'm only 25 and very happy with my car, 3rd skoda in a row and I've never owned anything else despite having hired and borrowed plenty of other makes and posher models of car - I work as a drummer and love the fact I can leave expensive drums and amps and stuff in the back and because it's a skoda no bugger will break into it, skoda badge is much better than blacked out windows! Actually that and the insurance are what'll keep me out of a vrs - looks too much like a good car...

I am aware of the ebay/stolen issues, as you say it's not all of them but I was pricing based on OEM retrofits website at £600, or a bargain found elsewhere that looks legit. I'm looking at anytime before christmas so am happy to wait for a solid bargain.

Wardy - thanks for the rec, that's basically what I was after, I've not used an MDF2 so wasn't sure what they were like graphically compared to the columbus - I like the columbus to use (wrote off my fabia just before christmas, had my dad's Altea freetrack for 10 days or so and really liked the sat nav, great maps and easier to follow than my old tom tom).

Mark - why do you still use the tomtom? mine's crap, but that is another option to get a better mobile device...I am just fed up of rubbish battery lives and the dashboard spaghetti - and also waiting for it to find a signal. Plus, I find in london my tomtom is getting increasingly confused in road-heavy areas, putting me on the wrong road and spending ages recalculating.

Skud - I've not really considered other units to be honest (looked at a pioneer avid one but thats £800+ so discounted), I thought oem because I'm not a big car buff and it'll slot in nice and easily! fitting messy ipod sockets is the limit of my car mod skills. will look into it, any other rec's anyone for alternative units?

Thanks so much, I'm so glad I finally posted - love this forum!

Edited 1 September, 201015 yr by supermartin