The Super Radio

One of the best things in the new car is the VW wonder Radio.

First, I would need to step into the car, here is a look at the inside.

A slightly more frontal look at the dashboard.  The wonder radio is the big screen right in the centre.

When you turn on the radio, first comes a nice friendly welcome.  This generates good feelings about all the fun about to come your way. After this start up screen, the radio pops up with all touch controls.  The station you are on is in the centre of the display, and all the presets and menu options are accessed with touch controls.  Its pretty cool.   The hardware buttons along each side do the following:

• Radio – switches to the normal radio mode.
• Media – switches to media input from an external source.
• Phone – activates the integrated hands free phone if you have it (we don’t) or mutes the radio so you can use your non-integrated phone.
• TIM – the Radio automagically saves traffic reports as they are broadcast.  If you press this button, you can go back and re-listen to any of the saved traffic reports.  This feature is amazing.
• TP – When enabled, this will make radio broadcasts with a special “TP flag” override any external media (Mp3, dvd, etc) that you may be using to have the radio instead.  Things like traffic reports or emergency broadcasts would be tagged this way so you could still get urgent news while listening to DVDs for example.

• Setup – configure the radio.

Aside from the awesomeness of having a touch screen to choose all the stations and such, the key to its amazingness for me is that this car came with the “media in”option.  I can directly connect my iPod into the car’s media system.  I did have to buy a cable, but it was well worth that tiny expense.  Once connected, the iPod is receiving  a battery charge as well as the link to the radio.  It all gets tucked away out of site in the centre arm rest.

       Once plugged in, the iPod resumes playing whatever you last had on.  In my case, the Radio play of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy which I received for my birthday (thanks!)What I think is especially great is that you have access to the complete menu structure of the iPod, it is not so simple as to just make you play what was already playing.  I can use it just like I was directly accessing the iPod normally.  Play lists, artist, podcasts, it is all there.

Although there are more reasons to enjoy the new car than the radio, the radio is a particularly awesome feature that I really like.  Good one Volkswagen.