Infotainment

Which multimedia system is best for music, sat-nav & connectivity?

Toyota Corolla

Smart Connect+ | Features: Wireless CarPlay

ONE of the key changes inside the latest Corolla’s cabin is a slick new infotainment system. The 10.5-inch touchscreen’s response to inputs and the loading speeds are great, while the high resolution offers sharp graphics to match the processing power.

The menus are logically laid out, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are fitted. Also new is a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display. The buttons on the steering wheel are unchanged, but because there’s now more scope for changing displays, they’re not quite up to the job, so making adjustments is fiddly.

Standard kit included

LED headlights, 18-inch alloys, keyless entry, 10.5-inch touchscreen display, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, satellite navigation, wireless smartphone charging, reversing camera, traffic-sign recognition

What we would choose

Only the colours can be changed for the GR Sport. The black contrast roof is £300, and we think it looks quite smart

ECONOMY Mpg figures for previous journeys can be displayed in simple-to-understand bar graphs

Honda Civic

CONNECT | Key features: Eight-speaker hi-fi

AT nine inches, the Honda’s touchscreen is marginally the smallest here. The interface is neat, and there’s a logical main menu made up of two rows of shortcut icons. If you’re used to previous Civics, it’s a huge improvement, but it’s still not quite a class-leading system.

Up against the Corolla, the Honda’s system doesn’t load quite as quickly. It’s great that Honda has kept some physical shortcut keys along the base of the screen. All three of these cars still have physical buttons and dials for the climate controls, too.

Standard kit included

LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, satellite navigation, wireless smartphone charging, reversing camera, traffic-sign recognition

What we would choose

Both the illumination packs and optional wheels are pricey, so we’d stick with what comes as standard

MODES Colour-coded graphics of car appear when you switch through the driving modes

Kia Ceed

Navigation | Key features: 7yr online services

WHILE the Kia’s touchscreen is almost the same size as the Toyota’s, it has a much wider aspect ratio; think cinema-like to the Toyota’s squarer shape. As with the Civic, the Ceed can’t match the Corolla for resolution, and its loading times are the slowest here.

Some functions also take more button presses than seems necessary; plotting a navigation route, for example, needs to be confirmed on a couple more pages than many rivals’ systems require. A row of shortcut keys beneath the main display make the main functions easy to find.

Standard kit included

LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, blind-spot collision warning, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, reversing camera, JBL premium audio system, heated front and outer rear seats

What we would choose

Beyond the range of colour choices, what you see is what you get with the Ceed, so it’s fairly straightforward

ASSIST Driver-assistance menu looks fussy; we’d prefer a plain menu to adjust the settings