Hi

 

Two weeks ago i ordered a VRS manual diesal in black from my local dealer

 

i had a few options like sunset glass, heated seats etc.

 

I decided to have the free amundsen sat nav but kinda wish now i had gone for the columbus one, i am being told it is not too late to change my spec if i want to, but the columbus unit will put £1500 on my car.

 

Is it worth it?

 

 

My guess is that if you simply need a SatNav then the Amundsen should be just fine.

Can the Columbus do anything that the Amundsen cant?

Can the Columbus do anything that the Amundsen cant?

 

Only thing I can think of is that the apple connectivity is built in (so you don't need to buy a mitsumi cable) but possibly the new Amundsen (MIB II) supports this now too??

 

I have the Columbus & for me it doesnt do any more than a €150 TomTom or Garmin will do so its definately not worth 10x the price. (especially if you have the Amundsen already).

Can the Columbus do anything that the Amundsen cant?

Isn't there a possibility to load music CD's into builtin HDD on the fly? And you could watch DVD's when you are stationary :-D

But on the other hand you are using BT anyway. The only downsides vs the two I could say is the screen size and Amundsen CPU could be faster to load initial Sat Navigation data or something (route calculation and setting up a route in general). Otherwise there is no point...

Differences according to the brochure are:

Columbus supports MPEG, WMA, Divx, Xvid video formats and Flac audio format the Amudsen doesn't support

Columbus has a 64mb 12gb internal memory, plus a set of other features such as media library, voice control, image viewer, video player, grace note database.

Columbus is lovely and gives you some extra functionality (jukebox, better screen res and mapping detail, DVD playback, integrated MDI capability and 5.1 DVD audio if Canton is spec'd)....but christ do you pay a premium for it.

Id say if it were a choice of free Amundsen or paying to upgrade to Columbus (which makes me wonder if you end up paying full list for it) Id just take the Amundsen any day of the week.

I have Amundsen in my car and its good, Nav is really no worse than the TomTom One I also have and the TMC traffic announcements v occasionally prove their worth....the integration is also nice and really no different to the Columbus..

.Id say the columbus really is not a superior navigation unit its just a bit more bells and whistles with other functionality......and the 8 inch screen does look lovely I must confess.

Chances are you'll end up with a MY16 car anyway which will probably have the 2nd gen MIB Amundsen so built in Apple MDI capability (I believe), 6.5' vs 5.8' screen and better res.

And as others have suggested Columbus does support a couple more media formats such as FLAC....but I wouldnt be surprised if all the MIB2 units now support the bulk of available formats.

Isn't there a possibility to load music CD's into builtin HDD on the fly? And you could watch DVD's when you are stationary :-D

But on the other hand you are using BT anyway. The only downsides vs the two I could say is the screen size and Amundsen CPU could be faster to load initial Sat Navigation data or something (route calculation and setting up a route in general). Otherwise there is no point...

 

Yes this is true.

The Columbus processor is far from fast though.

Starting quickly from cold it can take about a minute before the navigation module is available & while running the map movement & zooming is often jerky & slow.

 

Putting it another way, if you'd just paid €1500 for an iPhone & it had this kind of performance, you would probably be giving it back & demanding a refund.

No built in sat nav is worth £1,500 PERIOD

Only thing I can think of is that the apple connectivity is built in (so you don't need to buy a mitsumi cable) but possibly the new Amundsen (MIB II) supports this now too??

 

I have the Columbus & for me it doesnt do any more than a €150 TomTom or Garmin will do so its definately not worth 10x the price. (especially if you have the Amundsen already).

 

Hi how do i know if my car will come with the new Amundsen unit? i didnt realise there was such a thing? 

 

I have been told my build week is week 22.

Hi how do i know if my car will come with the new Amundsen unit? i didnt realise there was such a thing?

I have been told my build week is week 22.

Bigger higher res 6.5' screen, will work with apple devices over usb and no CD drive. If its a week 22 build id envisage it'll come with the new infotainment. Not radically different just some improvements.....though not sure myself the removal of the CD drive is such an improvement at this time personally....lots of people still have CD's and typically they still sound a bit better than well ripped MP3's etc.

Hi

 

Two weeks ago i ordered a VRS manual diesal in black from my local dealer

 

i had a few options like sunset glass, heated seats etc.

 

I decided to have the free amundsen sat nav but kinda wish now i had gone for the columbus one, i am being told it is not too late to change my spec if i want to, but the columbus unit will put £1500 on my car.

 

Is it worth it?

Columbus doesn't add £1500, it adds £800, the difference between the cost of the Amundsen (which is not free in real terms) and the Columbus. I got the dealer to knock £100 off the upgrade, so got the Columbus for £700. It's still a little steep, but the 8" screen looks great and the added features, plus the easier updating procedures, soften the blow.

Personally I considered the Columbus on my O3 but the advantages of a larger screen I found pointless, I will be driving it and not watching it like I do for a TV. I'd love to get the upgrade that you get in the latest gen version of the Amundsent but I wouldn't see a point paying any more to get it.

 

Otherwise most of the features are either redundant in my opinion and here's my reasoning;

- Ripping CDs - I do this at home and it's much quicker with multiple CD drives and fast computers to do the encoding. Even a low end computer could do it faster than the Columbus would manage it. Plus you'd have to sit about in the car waiting to get it done which would take an age.

- Storing tons of music - IIRC £30 got me a 128gb SD card so I have more storage than you can shake a stick at in my car. I also added a 32gb sandisk ultra fit for £15 so I've got about 150gb of storage space on mine and I could upgrade those for more if I needed it so plenty of space to put files.

- Slightly improved mapping - I honestly would be hard pressed to see it as £800 of improvement as the stock one is more than suitable.

 

If it was me I'd save your money, keep the 2nd gen Amundsen and spend the money instead on another more desirable option. If you're going with buying cash or to own the vehicle I'd consider things that tick boxes on buyers 'I want' lists as when people look on autotrader etc they don't see upgraded Columbus sat nav, they just see sat nav but they do tick the boxes for GPS/sat nav and heated seats type equipment.

Edited 26 April, 201511 yr by Astec123

does the Columbus have speed cameras? Or the potential to add them?

It doesnt have them. But I believe they can be added as POIs.

Only you can decide if its worth it, it largely depends on how long you plan on keeping the car

 

For me Columbus and Canton was a must. 

It doesnt have them. But I believe they can be added as POIs.

  

does the Columbus have speed cameras? Or the potential to add them?

Speed cameras can be added as POIs, but there is no audio, just display. You have to download speed camera data from a website such as pocketgpsworld and then use the VW website to create the POIs. Instructions are on this forum somewhere.

How does Columbus Apple connectivity work? I was expecting to order an mdi for my elegance with Columbus satnav I use my iPod

How does Columbus Apple connectivity work? I was expecting to order an mdi for my elegance with Columbus satnav I use my iPod

It works pretty well when it works. You get album art, song info and naturally are able to control your playback via the touch screen and steering wheel controls.

 

Sometimes though I do get an "USB error" and have to reboot the unit. Hopefully the issue will be resolved by a software update. I'll ask for one the next time I visit the dealer.

It works pretty well when it works. You get album art, song info and naturally are able to control your playback via the touch screen and steering wheel controls.

 

Sometimes though I do get an "USB error" and have to reboot the unit. Hopefully the issue will be resolved by a software update. I'll ask for one the next time I visit the dealer.

Thanks, I assume it also charges via the usb too?

It does.

This topic is over two years old but i didn't find much else about the subject. I've been to a show room and played around extensively with the current Amundsen and Columbus. So far, both seem plenty responsive. Also tested with android auto and during a test drive. I've actually been to a few Skoda test rooms and talked to a tech savvy sales guy twice. Both didn't think there was a noticeable speed difference between the Columbus and Amundsen, at least as far as the late 2017 versions go. I think they may even have the same arm cpu inside. Anyway, I'm a huge geek but i decided to pick the Amundsen for my Octavia. I don't need a dvd drive, don't care much about the two extra inches of screen (at the cost of dedicated buttons) and a harddisk seems like a downgrade to me over an sd card. I'll use it for a few months and, if must be, try to get it upgraded to Columbus if i find the Amundsen to be laggy in any way that the Columbus isn't. But i expect the internals have grown much more powerful over the past years.

Edited 31 October, 20178 yr by PizzaMan
Clarified

No

I posted on this a month or so ago as I was undecided, but didn’t get any comments to assist me.  However, like you, I eventually settled for the (standard fit) Amundsen in my on order SE L over the £1000 extra for the benefits of Columbus.  We have the Columbus equivalent in our Audi and it’s certainly better, but not £1000 better in a £20k car.  However, be aware, upgrading subsequently won’t be an option so if you are really still unsure, pay the extra now.

Edited 1 November, 20178 yr by Falmouthboy