Has anyone got a Skoda with the "Columbus" satnav with TMC + hard drive? How do you find it? Responsive? Does what it says on the tin? Is there a bluetooth option with this? The only way i can find to spec bluetooth so far is to get a DSG gearbox (which i dont really want)?!
What about the Bolero system? How does it seem in daily use?
Kind of related question, although i can find this out 2moro when i call: Can you spec Xenon's on the Octavia Ltd Edition models? It doesn't seem like you can configure these models at all?
For all Skoda do right (inc. beating Audi's A4 by 7k for the 2.0 TFSI engine), their website is *not* one of them.
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I find the Bolero unit gnerally very good. Excelent sound, well featured and its MP3 plyback caapability knocks spots off some other cars installations i'd looked at (e.g. Fiat's blue&me or Hyundai's). The main criticism is that using a large SDHC card with, say, 8GB of files, navigating around directories is tediously slow, takes a long time to display the root directory if there's a lot of directories in it. It's not a disaster and much better than fiddling with CDs, but a nuisance all the same. There's lots more about this on the Briskoda forum, including some interesting workarounds using playlists which I've not tried yet. But if you wanted the Bolero it might be best to stump up the extra for the MDI (at least is was extra on the Elegance), I believe USB's work better. Or with a bit of luck there might be a firmware upgrade one day. Also scrolling through your directories could be made more user friendly, doing it via the touch screen is rather fiddly.
About Xenon's, I've no idea. However I find the standard lights on mine are outstanding, even on dipped. Had Xenons on the C5 which I traded in and find I hardly miss them.
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IF the Skoda Columbus system is similar/same as Audi's nav/TMC/HDD, I'd say it's not perfect. You get a good quality 7" colour screen - bigger and better than most. In terms of response time, I'd say it's very fast, but there are several other issues.
1. It does not accept full postcode - this is a real pain and means the average £100 unit beats it in this respect
2. It does not include speed camera warnings or display true speed - again beaten by cheaper units
3. There are a couple of software issues with the Audi unit, which dealers can't currently fix - voice commands that sometimes contradict screen instructions (the screen is always correct) and a failure of the FM radio to track station frequencies and update them during a long journey, which can result in TMC information being lost. Several owners (including me) are moaning about this on the VW/Audi forum.
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I've got the Bolero, good unit, nice sound easy to use and a big display. SDcard is fab, can easily fit 6 or more cd's onto card. searching on the card isn't instant but not too slow neither. The columbus is an expensive upgrade. I've bought a Garmin sat nav, which can be moved to other vehicles. I made a holder from mouldable plastic that sits in the cubby on the top of the dashboard.
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I am familiar with most of the VAG ICE units from driving my own and customers cars.
The basic units like Stream and Bolero are OK, decent sound quality etc.
I am less impressed with the higher level MFD2 and MFD3 (Columbus). You can get better navigation for under £200 using a stand-alone system like a TomTom or Garmin. The updated maps from VAG are very expensive, whereas you can update TomTom maps for much much less.
This goes for most factory fit sat nav. My BMW has their 'Profi' navigation system, but I usually use my tomtom instead.
The only real advantage of the built-in systems is that they are neater than having something stuck in the windscreen and they also continue working in tunnels and covered car parks.
If you want an upgrade we recently fitted an all-in-one radio/DVD/GPS for one of our customers. It was labelled as a TID_7501 (?) and apparently he bought it new off ebay for £350. We installed it and it seemed to be excellent. It runs Windows6 and he is going to install TomTOm on it. It also had a digital TV receiver in it which even worked! It was shaped to fit exactly into an Octavia II and was plug and play with the FAKRA connector.
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Bolero is mainly excellent. I mostly use the radio but the SD card system is OK, but I use a smallish capacity card. Too many options and I'm not convinced about the various brightness settings which mean display is too bright in the day time or too dark at nigh time.
Mainly OK and instinctive to work.
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Many thanks for the replies guys. Really glad i posted now. DieselFitter i feel better about not going with the Audi now too :-)
Looks like the columbus unit is out - if i change my mind i can buy it for the same price as the option to factory fit from skodashop, then ebay the standard bolero unit and pocket the difference.
Although with WT's suggestions -- www.timelesslong.cn/Simplified/ProductList.asp?Sor...4, -- looks like that would be streets ahead (!)
k9dan, i might take some brave pills and hide the TomTom wiring (mines has a *long* wire for TMC) up the inside of the A pillar or something, and just use that instead.
In case it helps a future BR reading this -- appears that there are two factory bluetooth options (this is *not* clear in the website, get the brochure), the one with the DSG gearbox is out if you use an iPhone (i do) because iPhone 3GS doesn't support RSAP (remote sim access protocol) yet (Feb 2010). There is a cheaper option from skoda (dealer fit) which works like a parrot kit @ £130. Will need to see how it looks fitted to see if it's worth the extra over an aftermarket kit.
Thanks again guys. This 2.0 TFSI engine is *brilliant* btw.
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Well done for finding that link. I have never heard of timelesslong and it wasnt marked on the stereo it just said TID7501 Made in China.
The actual unit we fitted was this one:
www.timelesslong.cn/Simplified/ProductView.asp?ID=...2
It certainly seemed good, although the customer got it from Ebay, not from China.
p
Yes, the TFSI engine is very very good, probably just about the best 4 cyl petrol out there. Although I do have a loiking for Subaru 2.5 tubo too. But the TFSI is greatly more economical.
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