Infotainment

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

BEST TECH

Vauxhall Grandland

PureConnect Multimedia Nav | Key features:

IN last year’s Grandland updates, Vauxhall introduced a heavily revised infotainment system. Both the 10-inch touchscreen and the 12-inch digital instrument cluster look sharp and colourful. But if you turn on the headlights, the screens dim quite dramatically; this is fine at night, but they’re hard to read during the day. We struggled to find a way of changing this in the settings, just one thing which evidenced that some of the sub-menus and functions aren’t very logically laid out once you dig into the system.

We found it easier to use the standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto instead. Vauxhall deserves praise for sticking with physical climate controls; the temperature knobs are quite small, but are still less fiddly than touch-sensitive keys.

MENUS

Main menus are fairly logical to use, and physical shortcut keys help. Sub-menus can be confusing, though

Standard kit included

LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, tinted rear windows, contrasting black roof finish, front and rear parking sensors, satellite navigation, digital driver’s display, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning

What we would choose

The GS trim is well equipped, so we wouldn’t see much need to stretch to the top-spec Ultimate. The optional Winter Pack (£600) adds a heated steering wheel and front seats.

VS Kia Sportage

12.3-inch display with Nav | Key features: Seven-year Kia Services

THE Kia’s dashboard is topped by a pair of 12.3-inch displays. The central screen controls all of the infotainment functions, and true to Kia form, the Sportage’s set-up doesn’t have any outstanding glitz, instead prioritising a system that is logical and neatly laid out. The main menu page displays two lines of shortcuts that are simple to fathom, and while touch response and loading times aren’t class-leading, they’re very similar to the Vauxhall’s.

Some functions are a little more cluttered than they need to be: the driver-assist page, for example, combines a regular menu with a graphical layout of the car’s exterior and the safety functions, while route plotting needs more confirmation presses than necessary, but it’s easy to get along with otherwise.

DISPLAY

Ultra-widescreen layout in the Sportage displays both main menus and more niche functions logically

Standard kit included

LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, tinted rear windows, front and rear parking sensors, silver roof rails, part-artificial leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, cruise control, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display

What we would choose

If you can do without some of the gadgets of 3 trim, then 2 costs a whopping £4,200 less. Based on matching terms to the three-year PCP in the Costs section (page 44), it’s a saving of £100 per month.

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