What's your favourite factory fitted radio? Are you after quality of sound or ease of use?
My favourite for ease of use is a Ford 7000 as fitted to Mondeos 96-99 and Scorpios indeed any Ford radios of this era are an absolute doddle to master, very user friendly. A lot of thought went into this series but they don't quite have the same sound quality as VW/Seat's current crop. Mercedes have a very hollow sound on MW, although FM and CD sound quality excellent.
Most awkward to use? Renault with the tuner list nonsense. Very difficult use and to tune radio to your favourite station. Not user friendly at all. Also current Mondeo and Focus radios have lost the edge they used to have. on/off switch is recessed and volume up or down difficult to use.
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My '02 Mondeo Ghia X has excellent 6 CD in dash changer, has all the features, random play etc, the on/off is not recessed however the steering column mounted controls are not as comprehensive as on my wife's Clio. Only strange thing is that occasional crackles on MW can be solved by a tweak on one of the electric seat adjusters.
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I find the current Ford (i.e. Sony) stereo in my Mondeo to be excellent. And it has an AUXIN socket in the glove box so I can plug in the iPOD with no problem.
As for on/off and volume:
1. Press central nob and it goes off/on
2. Turn central nob and adjust volume
3. or use the stalk to change volume too.
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HAs to be the VDO units fitted to Renaults. 6 buttons on the front. Excelent remote control under the right fingertips with hands on wheels. Auto stores stations in the tuner list as it travels round the country, RDS and traffic reports work well, all in all perfectly designed for its job in a car.
Pity they feed it through recycled baked bean tins (still with beans in) as speakers.
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Yes the Renault remote controls are a work of art and work beautifully, much better positioned than Fords for example. But the current crop of head units are awkward to use IMO especially to tune radio.
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Oh one downside to the Renault units, no aux in for ipod et all.
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Since I've only got one, my favourite factory-fit radio has got to be my Ford 6006E CD RDS EON with 6 disc in-dash CD player.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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The standard fit HU-803 on SE spec Volvo S60, V70 & S80 is way above average for power and quality of sound. It has a built-in CD changer, nine speakers and a separate 4x50W amplifier. The RDS tuner also changes transmitters imperceptibly and it has finger size controls on both the dash and steering wheel.
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Anything with a knob that you turn to tune, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road to look for, e.g. 93.9!
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Clarion in the alfa, unit is good but mine has Bose sub woofer option in the boot! Came back from Essex last night listening to Foreigner 4 at ear bleeding level, that plus a good drive (any drive in the Alfa is good) put a smile on my face.
The other best in car entertainment is the V8 in the TR7, very little silencing.... Awesome!
Jim
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Svelte and Madux have it right.
The Volvo system is so easy its unbelieveable and the quality is second to none. Also it has a big knobs for volume and other controls as well as steering wheel controls as well.
Now my Volvo has gone its one of the things I really miss now I have my Scooby. The radio is poor and the volume control are buttons with no remote operation.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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The radio/cd/cassete player in my Passat is excellent EXCEPT the rotten thing will not get long wave. So if I want to listen to the cricket I have to go in the missus' car. Also when driving in France I can't get R4, cause I like to hear the news.
Does anyone know whether the new Passat can get long wave? Because I am not having another car without it!
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Quizman, I had the same problem in my VW Passat - the solution is t tune your MW to 720 as that is a relay for Radio 4 longwave - it saved my sanity many a time when I wanted to lsiten to the Cricket whilst driving, but alas - it's msotly on Five Live Extra (Digital Radio) - but yes I can't believe VW radio units don't include LW!
Although I do like VWs Gamma headunit as well as the Fords 6006 unit - both have a good solid feel to them and feel quite hardy - although why on earth did Ford design the 6006 with that piddly/fiddly little thin stick to remove? Thats just plain annoying!
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Thank you ihpj, I will try this. I have not heard of it before.
If it works I will be very pleased indeed.
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Really???!!!!
This has cheesed me off about the Passat ever since I bought it. Never known about the MW 720 relay though, and I ought to have found it before now - many was an afternoon I'd be driving home from work with the auto tuner searching the medium wave frequencies hoping that some other station would be covering the cricket too...
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Oh and the Radio/Cassette in my Dad's Focus was quite amusing. Think it was a 4500 or a 5000, can't remember.
The rewind button was loose, so if you rewound a tape right to the beginning the button would launch itself into the rear of the cabin as the auto-stop mechanism kicked it out. Driving a car full of friends around I could often score a direct hit on the centre rear passenger.
Fun and games ceased when it launched itself for the final time and ended up somewhere on the floor underneath the front seats, and was never seen again.
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Never known about the MW 720 relay though,
I live in BUCKS so mine caught it on the auto tune - if all else fails use manual tuning. There are two other relay frequencies depending on where in the country you are. I only remember 720 on the MW since that was near perfect reception and I only ever go South to London and back ;)
If I can find out more infor then I'll post the link ...
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I have tried 720 MW and unfortunatly it doesn't work.
Does anyone know if the new A4 or Passat gets LW.
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Definitely the HU-803 system fitted to P2 platform Volvos, as already mentioned. Simply superb. Tremendous frequency range, effortless weight, and terrific imaging, give a musical setup that wouldn't discrace a living room and betters most.
My brother has this setup in his V70 D5, but I paid the extra for the premium upgrade to Dynaudio speakers and 4x75w amplifier. Like anything, the law of diminishing returns (benefit for cost) kicks in, but it still takes in car hifi to another level. Wonderful.
BTW, if anyone is interested, the HU-803 head unit has extensive hidden menus, as detailed here: www3.sympatico.ca/p_bruno/volvo/AudioSystemHU803Hi...f
I used this knowledge to fine tune the settings of mine.
More potentially useful Volvo information here: www3.sympatico.ca/p_bruno/volvo/
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OK - this is for my fellow cricket lovers stuck with VW radios. Hope this frequency/relay guide helps!
BBC Radio 4 Medium and longwave transmitters:
Frequency (kHz)
Burghead 198
Carlisle 1485
Droitwich 198
Enniskillen 774
Lisnagarvey 720
Crystal Palace 720
Londonderry 720
Newcastle 603
Plymouth 774
Redmoss 1449
Redruth MF 756
Westerglen 198
May we all be able to relish in the upsurge of English Cricket - no matter where we are :)
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My nearest transmitter is Droitwich which is 198 which is on long wave.
So it looks as I will have to move nearer to some of those places which I have never heard of, or get a Volvo.
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The factory-fitted radio in my 1984 Capri 2.8i is excellent in its simplicity. Apart from drop-outs on one channel, it's still working fine, as is the cassette deck.
The factory-fitted Sony in my Golf is a pain, with so many fiddly buttons, all too small for my medium-size fingers.
The aftermarket Blaupunkt in the MB is OK, but again I hate the confusing array of minute buttons on one side of it.
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the standard CD player in my Corsa isn't bad for a cheapo car. The steering wheel buttons work well too
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That sounds like the legendary ECU1.
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i like the one on my avensis,02 reg, got the sat nav thing on it gives a very good sound only complaint is those steering wheel buttons, a cheap after thought they rattle and will end up going out the window its a matter of time as they are annoying me, only had the car a week...cheers...keo.
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