Would appreciate some help/advice on upgrading display, particularly navigation, on my 2013 Yeti which, does not have the Smartlink option

I seem to have two choices.

1. Replace with other manufacturers unit

2. Replace with a later Skoda unit which has the Smartlink option.

   I suspect 2 could be cheaper but as I intend to keep the car any advice on which or any other option would be great

Just my thoughts but I also have a 2013 Yeti with the Bolero, a car I'm very attached to but at the end of the day now coming up for 12 years old. I assume there must be other reasons why you want to upgrade as I believe map updates for inbuilt sat-navs are usually both expensive and often not terribly up to date. Having has an integrated (and out of date) sat-nav on a previous car and now a standalone unit I feel the latter has the advantage in that I can have it where it's easy to see without looking away from the road but that's just my preference.

I recently faced a similar dilemma. My elderly Garmin sat-nav with integrated dash cam is becoming unreliable. I looked at the replacement model and it was over £400 and security updates were only guaranteed until July 2024 - yes, the middle of last year! So I've opted for a Nextbase dashcam (£180 fitted including SD card) and when the Garmin finally gives up the ghost I'll either buy a sub-£100 sat-nav or, more likely for the small number of times a year I actually need a sat-nav (other than to give me a more accurate measurement of my speed), give Google Maps, Waze or one of the other apps a try.

Hopefully some of the more technically minded members will be able to give you the advice you are looking for.

Thanks for help Paul. I’m going to keep the car for as long as I can. Although I’m the second owner it’s a v low mileage elegance model and the versatility and spec ticks every box for us except the Admunsen navigation system is now outdated.

I’ve been using google maps via a dash mounted mobile and wanted to get that mirrored onto the bigger, main screen as my aged eyes would prefer it. I don’t think that at the moment anything beats google maps for precision and real time updates and mirroring the phone seems to be the way everything is going or gone for navigation and infotainment.

It seems Skoda saw this trend coming and around 2015 introduced a Smartlink code that allowed you to mirror your phone on the built in unit. So you still had everything else too parking sensor image etc.

I thought that swapping my unit to a 2015 or later Smartlink enabled could be an option and was wondering if any had done it.

You’ve given me an idea that installing an additional larger screen Sat nav could be an option especially if it has google maps.

Thanks

26 minutes ago, Bandyb said:

Thanks for help Paul. I’m going to keep the car for as long as I can. Although I’m the second owner it’s a v low mileage elegance model and the versatility and spec ticks every box for us except the Admunsen navigation system is now outdated.

I’ve been using google maps via a dash mounted mobile and wanted to get that mirrored onto the bigger, main screen as my aged eyes would prefer it. I don’t think that at the moment anything beats google maps for precision and real time updates and mirroring the phone seems to be the way everything is going or gone for navigation and infotainment.

It seems Skoda saw this trend coming and around 2015 introduced a Smartlink code that allowed you to mirror your phone on the built in unit. So you still had everything else too parking sensor image etc.

I thought that swapping my unit to a 2015 or later Smartlink enabled could be an option and was wondering if any had done it.

You’ve given me an idea that installing an additional larger screen Sat nav could be an option especially if it has google maps.

Thanks

Not directly answering your question, but we bought our latest Yeti last year and 'downgraded' from our 2015 models built in Sat nav, to one with SmartLink compatibility only.

It then cost £170 at Skoda to enable it (others do cheaper but we wanted some backup), but once you work out which order you need to switch on / select SmartLink icon / plug in phone, it's been fine.

My other half uses it most and says you get the Google maps via your phone and if you scroll across the touchscreen to the maps icon, you get all the satellite mapping, traffic jam colours etc.

Edited 24 March, 20251 yr by Prezafab

Thanks P

Appreciate some more info on what unit you installed and where you got ie as it sounds exactly what I’m after.

ie something that exactly replaces the factory unit, has Smartlink mirroring and keeps all the other functions parking sensors etc.

Idea of total approx cost be helpful too if poss.

Thanks

Bb

I fitted a Chinese head unit, only £80 on Ebay.UK because it was a returned unit, the satnav is ok but has its foibles, after a couple of years they crash at the worst moments and display a Windows error message box containing a Chinese sick note!

A new data card with the latest Satnav pre-loaded is only 2 or 3 Euros delivered, cheaper than the cost of the data card.

I've fitted a reversing camera which works really well, the drawbacks with the cheaper Win operating system is that its out of date and no new development is being done, also you cannot mirror your phone to it or at least I have not found out how to.

I would like an Android Auto one but they cost a lot more, I think Waze on the phone is far better than Google Maps, the awfull mispronunciation of French words by the American voice (which cant be changed) triggers me like crazy, Waze seems really really well thought out and I would love to be able to use it on the bigger screen of the head unit, that said the screen is unreadable when the sun hits it at the right angle whereas the phone wedged just underneath with its brighter screen I can still see.

Thanks JR

This forums brilliant. I didn’t know about WAZE but will definitely give it a try.

Thanks for info