Our Vans: Volkswagen T5 Transporter Kombi Sportline
22 September 2014: Most. Infuriating. Stereo. Ever.
The Details
| Current mileage | 3320 |
|---|---|
| Claimed economy | 37.2mpg |
| Actual economy | 34.9mpg |
There was a time shortly after I passed my test - it was the mid 1990s - that car stereos were all the rage. I remember as student being a big Kenwood fan and having a (what I thought was impressive) CD head unit that let you change the colour of the display. So I was able to sort of match it with the dials and switches in my 1993 Vauxhall Astra.
What was once a huge industry - I recall taking my Astra to a car stereo shop to have the thing fitted - seems to have largely disappeared with modern cars taking stereo and infotainment systems seriously. The vast majority of modern cars have integrated stereo systems that would put my £250 (which seemed a fortune at the time) little CD player to shame.
Or so I thought. Because when I ordered our Volkswagen Transporter Sportline I missed the bit with the details about the stereo. I knew it had a navigation system but assumed it would be a Volkswagen-own unit, like the ones fitted to posher Volkswagen Amarok models like the Canyon. Alas that is not the case. Instead our Transporter comes with an aftermarket unit. Made by Kenwood it's a lot more advanced than the units I had with a huge colour touchscreen, navigation built in, DAB, Bluetooth and even iPod connectivity.
In essence this sounds like an ideal unit. But the problem is, it's just so infuriating to use. I won't go as far to say it's the worst stereo I've come across, that accolade still goes to the awful unit Renault fitted in most things for years and years. But it's a close second. I have actually come across a similar Kenwood unit before, in a Mitsubishi Outlander Commercial, and I wasn't exactly impressed with it then.
Shiny not happy stereo people
I could partly excuse it in the Mitsubishi, but in a Transporter that costs more than £38k I expect better. So what's wrong with it? Well first off let's look at what's good. It does have DAB fitted and you can hook your iPod into it and control it through the screen. The navigation is the best bit - although the fact it's a Garmin helps. I'm a big fan of Garmin navigation systems, favouring them over TomTom. Having it built in means I don't have to use my own unit saving all those straggly wires. The Bluetooth is easy to set-up too.
But that's where it ends sadly. From here it's downhill. First is the screen which struggles in anything starting to resemble bright conditions. The picture at the top was taken using a huge shade while the one just above wasn't even on a particularly sunny day. On the move I'm often having to use my hand as a shade to see what's on the screen.
That's not too bad on the main screen shown above, but when you want to alter things like the overly complicated graphic equaliser (I just want to turn the bass up that's all...) or cycle through iPod tracks, it's hard to see on a bright day. And that's with the screen at its brightest setting. The DAB picks up a signal well enough but has a baffling display, rather than just a simple list of stations. As a result I stick to one station, BBC 6Music, rather than tempting fate by searching for any others.
Worst of all is the sound quality. Of course that's not just the fault of the stereo. The Transporter has terrible speakers located in the doors and with all the road noise from the back of the Volkswagen it's hard to hear. Plug in your iPod and it's even worse. The volume goes up to 35 (rather than a Spinal Tap-esque 11) and I usually have to have it on 30 to hear my iPod. The sound quality of the iPod is poor too.
I do question why Volkswagen doesn't just fit one of its own - and very good systems - in the Transporter Sportline. I think it would give the interior a more sophisticated look and certainly be a lot more user-friendly.
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