Infotainment
Which multimedia system is best for music, sat-nav & connectivity?
Peugeot 308 GTI Connected 3d navigation standard Key features: Reversing camera, phone tech
PEUGEOT offers a 9.7-inch touchscreen as standard, with DAB, sat-nav with Tomtom traffic info, three years’ connected services for features such as details of nearby fuel stations, and lots of smartphone tech.
This newer system was updated for the revised 308 and now brings Apple Carplay and Android Auto, which is useful, because while the nav is good, the processing capacity of the unit could be higher. It lags behind your inputs when doing the simplest of tasks.
However, the smartphone connectivity doesn’t resolve one of the Peugeot’s main problems. The climate control is integrated into the touchscreen unit, so if you want to change the temperature or the fan speed, you have to come out of what you’re doing with the display, which is frustrating.
Otherwise, the graphics are acceptable and the screen size and positioning in the dash are good.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Discover Navigation Standard Key features: Online services, phone tech
THE standard eight-inch touchscreen in the Golf is great, with a bright, vibrant and sharp display that responds much more quickly to inputs than the 308’s.
There’s lots of kit, too, with Apple Carplay and Android Auto included as standard as part of VW’S Car-net system, which also offers three years’ online information for traffic data, fuel prices and more.
On top of this, the GTI gets VW’S 12.3-inch Active Info Display as standard, replacing the Golf’s regular analogue dials with digital instruments. It’s highly configurable and means you can display the satellite navigation map in front of you, so you don’t have to glance down to the centre of the dash to view it.
The beauty of the set-up is how easy it is to operate, though. The menus are more logically laid out than in the Peugeot and it’s quicker to process your demands, making it much easier and a lot less frustrating to use.
Skoda Octavia VRS Amundsen sat-nav Standard Key features: Wi-fi, Carplay, Android Auto
SKODA’S eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system is based on the same unit as the Golf, with Skoda’s own design when it comes to the visuals.
It means the systems are closely matched, offering a similar level of response and functionality, including a Wifi hotspot, sat-nav, Bluetooth, DAB, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, and some online services, although the free subscription is only for one year here, so is more limited than VW’S 36-month offer.
The unit also has the same drawbacks as the Golf in that the glossy screen picks up fingerprints easily. The infotainment display is better placed in the dash than the VW’S, although it’s still not perfect.
The Skoda lacks one impressive standard feature of the GTI; it only gets an LCD display in between the standard dials, because the digital 12.3-inch panel isn’t available even as an option here.