I was in my local vw dealer today and I saw one of these units fitted in the service manager's mk6 GTI. Looked very good.. :yes:

They are currently running a promo on these too at £866 fitted including the ipod hookup.

I'm seriously tempted as my tomtom is on its last legs and I had already decided to replace..

Its either a Garmin 3760T (the one that looks like an Iphone) and pay someone to run the cable through the dash and out of the dash-top box, or spend a little extra and get this.

Should I get one? Or stick with a dash-top unit?

Thoughts?!

BTW - I searched and found NickP's thread showing his install. Nick, if you read this - any further insight now you've had it in place for a few months?

Edited 16 May, 201115 yr by rob_e

I didn't get one because....

Only front USB, no rear meaning you cant totally hide your ipod/hard drive/usb stick without unplugging it evertime you leave the car.

USB connector is front right and you are forever catching it when you try and operate the head unit while you have something plugged on.

Cheers

Lee

I have to agree with logiclee - I fitted an aftermarket stereo to my missus's Nissan X-Trail last weekend. When all was done, the only regret that I had was with the front USB for the iPod. I should have got an Alpine unit with a rear USB and ran a wire to somewhere a bit more discrete.

I still think the unit above looks way more smart than my own Stream unit though and I am tempted.

Is it a possibillity to change the Blue lighting to Green?

Having read Nick's thread i think it is possible to change the backlighting colour.

I asked the question today about Ipod connection - helpful chappie there said the ipod connects in the back, not the front, so just like my MDI.

Can anyone (who has one) confirm this is the case?

Nice unit, shame it doesn't integrate with the maxidot though.

For me, I would only put it in my car if it definitely had an iPod connection at the rear, I wouldn't want the cable sticking out the front.

If you've got money burning a hole in yer pocket rob you could always lend me a few quid!

I'm still pleased with it, however I'd say overall, the Columbus is a nicer unit in terms of the user interface and integration with the car. The kenwood does sound better though and is a better base for a full upgraded system if you're going to change speakers and add amps. The rear USB socket isn't usable for playing music / videos from sadly. Having to use the front one isn't so bad with a tiny USB memory stick like a Sandisk Cruzer, but is slightly irritating with the ipod cable. I'm strongly considering modding it to add a proper rear USB socket.

The built in Bluetooth works well, including with IPhones. You can make the illumination any colour and change the boot logo etc. I've got my illumination set to a dim white which looks smart, rather than the green. I did a nice custom Skoda boot logo for it.

What about the Zenec 2010, they can be had for much the same price, with these you get climatic and parking sensor display, and maxidot intergration.

I think the Zenec looks good. Seems to have come down in price a bit in the last few months?

I like the Zenec too, in fact i think it looks better than the kenwood and almost as good as the bolero and columbus

Can't seem to see a pic of the rear of the Zenec online anywhere.

Zenec looks a good bit of kit and cheaper too

Edited 16 May, 201115 yr by zeffania

What about the Zenec 2010, they can be had for much the same price, with these you get climatic and parking sensor display, and maxidot intergration.

God that's brilliant! For non-OEM I'm massively impressed, and I have Columbus. Does it have a hard-drive too?

Wouldn't touch Kenwood stuff with a barge pole. All their stuff is cheap and nasty IMO.

Alpine (or OEM upgrade) everytime for an aftermarket HU.

So, what's that then...?

:wonder:

The Alpine

INE-S900R ?

So that's a grand basically.

I also looked up oem retrofits - used columbus at 600 quid but then 70 quid fitting and they want me to pay their mileage from bradford (180 miles!) so that it a no go either - it adds to nearly a grand too and you've only got a second hand unit.

Given the lack of enthusiasm for the Kenwood i think i'm leaning back towards my original idea of the garmin fitted in the dash box.

:S

Get the Zenec 2010, only heard good report on these and they offer all that you need - bluetooth, igo sat nav, ipod connection, intergrated maxidot etc. all in for £750

Fitting is a simple job, just plug and play. Buy some trim removal tools from ebay for about £10 (good for other jobs too)

PDF of overview here My link

The ipod can be mounted anywhere using the interface kit like the Factory fit MDI unit

Thanks for all the input chaps.

Decision made!

Given that I already have the MDI and Fiscon plugged into my existing Bolero and I'm happy with the way they work, and lack of integration with the car from the kenwood (ie maxidot and climate popups / parking visualisation) I'm just going to go for the cheap option for now ie get a garmin and make the effort to fit it nicely in the dash top box with hidden wiring.

Good news is since I started the thread the price on Amazon has dropped, so its only £195 now.

Is this easy to fit?

Slightly less trivial than an RNS510, but trival none the less . There's an extra box and bit more cabling than an OEM nav to hide away behind it. It's still a very quick easy job to fit.

Slightly less trivial than an RNS510, but trival none the less . There's an extra box and bit more cabling than an OEM nav to hide away behind it. It's still a very quick easy job to fit.

i got the kenwood dnx 5220bt which is similar to this in my other car for 3 years now, it does everything including bluetooth for phone and music, dvd on the go,ipod lead is £20 if you dont want bluetooth, only thing i dont like is map update is £120ish a year

For about £800 you could get a fleabay Columbus and the AV interface and freeview. I must have spent about 700 on mine in total to get DVD, Freeview and full integration on the move!