Infotainment, Android Auto and CarPlay
Volkswagen (VW) pulled the wraps off its updated Passat at the New York International Auto Show in September. The update included minor visual tweaks, new driver assist technologies and, most importantly, VW's second generation, modular infotainment system (MIB) that brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into the fold.
As I wait for the new 2016 Passat to become available for a detailed review, VW drove through Washington (the state) for a regional media tour with a well-equipped Passat SEL Premium packing the 1.8-liter, turbocharged power plant. I was able to spend an hour with VW and the updated Passat, testing the new infotainment system and driver assist technologies.
Infotainment
The Passat SEL Premium I tested out features the latest VW Car-Net App-Connect infotainment system with integrated navigation, or MIB II. VW offers the same system without native navigation functions on lesser SE trim levels, too.
Previous Passat models offered two choices of navigation: the RNS 315 and RNS 510. I've spent quite some time with the RNS 315 in multiple cars, and it was one of the worst infotainment systems available in a modern car, thanks to its 5-inch screen with a resolution of 400 x 240 pixels and lack of basic USB ports. The optional RNS 510 infotainment system wasn't as bad, with a sharper display and better graphics, but I've only spent 5 minutes with that version.
Fortunately, the VW MIB II infotainment system is a significant upgrade to previous solutions, at first glance. The 800 x 480 screen resolution may seem low in the world of 4K and WQHD smartphones, but the graphics look clean without jagged edges from the driver's seat.
VW claims that the MIB II has a glass, capacitive touchscreen with multi-finger touch, which is typically glossy with plenty of glare, instead of the traditional, plastic resistive touchscreen (single-touch). However, the display employed in MIB II has the smooth responsiveness of capacitive touchscreens combined with a matte coating and feels more reminiscent of resistive touch panels.
The result is a touchscreen that responds well to my touch, but doesn't suffer major glare from sunlight.
While the 6.5-inch display may seem small when the Kia Optima offers an 8-inch display, VW employs a proximity sensor to maximize the available screen real estate. Take the native navigation display, for example. When you're looking at the navigation screen, it takes up the entire display, so you only see the map.
If you bring your hand closer towards the screen, the proximity sensor springs into action and brings up on-screen buttons for additional functions, like address input, POI search and other navigation tools. It seemed annoying at first, as I would rather see the on-screen buttons at all times.
But thinking longer on it, this shouldn't be a problem if the Passat is your daily driver and you are accustomed to the layout. I got used to the proximity sensor quickly, despite my brief time with the Passat.
The biggest usability upgrade with the MIB II is standard USB ports. Previous VW infotainment systems had a proprietary media digital interface (MDI) that typically included a 30-pin iPod dock connector, which hasn't been used by new Apple devices for many years. MIB II adds two USB ports: one in the front and one for back seat passengers.
Only the front USB port supports CarPlay and Android Auto. However, the rear USB port isn't just for charging. Rear passengers can plug-in their own iPhones or USB flash drives loaded with music and let the driver select music from the rear port.
I measured power output from the front USB port using my trusty Drok USB power meter, an iPhone 6S and Nexus 6. With the iPhone 6S, the device was able to pull up to 1.0 amps but stayed around 0.9 amps for charging. My Nexus 6 hovered around 0.8 amps. While the iPhone 6S should have no troubles charging with the car's power output, power-hungry Android phablets will charge slowly if you're out of juice.
Apple CarPlay & Android Auto-ready
VW is smartphone agnostic when it comes to connectivity. Passat buyers will get access to CarPlay and Android Auto as soon as they purchase the car. There's no later availability for either via an update, like the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima with CarPlay, or the latest Hyundai Tucson with both features missing, fortunately.
When a supported smartphone is plugged in, CarPlay or Android Auto does not start automatically. Instead, you have to manually launch the CarPlay or Android Auto app on the infotainment system to activate the user interface.
I got to experience CarPlay with an iPhone 6 in the Passat. The VW representatives had a phone prepared for the demo ahead of time.
When a new phone is plugged in, you're supposed to get a pop-up confirmation in iOS 9 to accept the connection, but that didn't happen when I plugged my own phone in. I'm not sure what the exact problem is, but there wasn't much time to troubleshoot with the short demo window.
Functionality is straightforward, with a familiar 4 x 2 grid layout of supported CarPlay apps and an on-screen home button in the bottom left of the display. Your phone, music, maps, messages and all other apps work as they would on your iPhone.
It's essentially mirroring your phone display but not allowing access to most of your apps. There wasn't noticeable lag while swiping through the available apps, but it was an uninspiring interface. Audio is sent to the car via the USB cable, so quality is as good as your source file, unlike the Bluetooth audio streaming used by Android Auto.
Speaking of which, Google's in-dash interface offers much better functionality than CarPlay, thanks to Google Now. I plugged in my Nexus 6 into the MIB II system and accepted the accompanying prompts on my device. I find Android Auto much more usable with Google Now because it integrates with my Google-owned life.
Since Google knows where my home is and has access to my search settings, it makes sending addresses to the car simple. I can search for an address via Google Maps on my desktop, hop in the car, connect the USB cable for Android Auto and Google Now gives me an estimated time to the place I just searched for.
From there, I can select the location via the vehicle's screen and use Google Maps to navigate. It shows my calendar, Hangouts, estimated time to places I frequent – all in the familiar Google Now interface.
I found Android Auto performance as smooth and responsive as with CarPlay. I'm not a fan of audio over Bluetooth, since the quality is never able to match a wired connection, but that's Google's problem – not Volkswagen's.
Don't have the latest and greatest? Try MirrorLink
MirrorLink is the last trick up VW's sleeve in regards to phone connectivity. This is not something that was demoed or a tested feature, since my Nexus 6 does not support it.
The technology is based on virtual network computing and predates CarPlay and Android Auto. MirrorLink sounds just like the name implies: it mirrors your phone display with access to supported apps only, like CarPlay and Android Auto.
Samsung and HTC support MirrorLink with the latest Samsung Galaxy S6, Note 5 and HTC One M9. I'm not sure why anyone would bother with MirrorLink when all Android phones made in the last year or two that support it also run the Lollipop operating system or better, which is Android Auto compatible.
MirrorLink is quite popular in Europe, supposedly, but aside from those rocking older Symbian-based Nokia phones, you're better off using Android Auto.
Driver assists and our early verdict
Prior to the refresh, VW did not offer any driver assist technologies on the Passat. The fresh 2016 Passat steps things up with available adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane-keep assist, a blind spot monitor (BSM), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), a hands-free easy open trunk and park assist.
I'm a big fan of ACC in cars, but the Passat's implementation is disappointing because it isn't a full-speed range system with stop and go. Unlike the Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata or Subaru Legacy, the Passat's ACC cannot stop or hold the car for you when traffic comes to a stop.
It works like all other ACC systems wherein you turn on cruise control, set a speed and select one of the four following distances. Where it differs is what happens when traffic starts to slow down. When traffic drops somewhere below 19 mph, the LCD display in the gauge cluster tells you to apply the brakes and the cruise control disengages.
You can adjust the acceleration speed in the LCD gauge cluster display, too. VW has three settings labeled Normal, Sport and Eco – one of which should theoretically match your driving style. I set it to Sport during my testing, and found it to accelerate not overly aggressive, similar to when you push the gas pedal all the way down and spin the tires, but it's not painfully slow, either.
If you're going on a road trip or cruising along an empty highway, the Passat's ACC wouldn't be too bad. For those of us that are stuck in stop-and-go traffic for daily commutes, it doesn't help relieve the stress of awful traffic at all.
Lane-keep assist
Despite the mediocre adaptive cruise control implementation, VW's lane-keep assist technology actually helps keep the car within the lane markers. It's an active system that can nudge the car back into the lane if it detects the car approaching the lane markers.
The system only activates at speeds above 40 mph and isn't a semi-autonomous steering assist system, as used in higher-end Audi's. However, the lane-keep assist system in the Passat is good enough to keep inattentive drivers from veering into cars in other lanes.
I tested lane-keep assist on the highway without too much traffic and can report it works. It's a bit unnerving to let the car approach the lane without correcting it, but once the Passat approached the lane marker, the car gave audible, visual warnings and applied corrective steering action to prevent the car from leaving the lane.
You can fight the corrective actions, though. The amount of torque applied is minimal, so you can theoretically fight the system and change lanes without signaling. Lane-keep assist is inactive if the turn signals are on.
Lane-keep assist systems gives the Passat a slight lead on its competition, since most midsize sedans rely on warning systems that only notify you when you're leaving the lane without signaling.
The best of the rest
VW's blind spot monitor places a notification indicator in each of the side mirrors. I didn't get a chance to thoroughly test this feature, as there was a limited amount of time. From the few times I got audible and visual alerts while driving, the system was very conservative. It alerted me when there was about a car length between my car and the car in the next lane.
Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) is not a feature I can safely test yet. When I can devise a way to do so, other than asking a friend to run in front of a car, I will definitely force it to work. However, the system in the Passat seems to only detect vehicles that are in front of you – it does not seem to be a pedestrian-detection system.
VW's system simply warns and then applies the brakes if the car in front of you stops quicker than your reaction time to reduce the likelihood of impact. You can adjust the sensitivity of the AEB system in the LCD gauge cluster display.
The hands-free, easy-open trunk on the Passat doesn't always work. When the car is locked, you can walk up to the back of it and wave your foot beneath the rear bumper to trigger the trunk release. This doesn't always work and sometimes it leaves you looking silly trying to perform karate moves to get the trunk to open.
When the sensor catches on and releases the trunk, the easy-open trunk lid quickly flies open without the need of a motor. VW employs hydraulic trunk struts for that purpose, which is something we wish other car makers would use.
The last driver assist feature the Passat offers is a park assist system that helps steer the car into parallel and perpendicular parking spots. Park assist needs to be manually triggered by pressing the button located next to the shifter when you want it to scan for parking spots. One press of the button tells the system to search for parallel spots the car can fit in and two presses searches for perpendicular spots.
The system is easy to use, and once it detects a suitable spot, you just put the car into reverse, let go of the steering wheel and control gas and brake functions while the car steers itself into the spot. Occasionally the car will ask you to shift into drive to correct itself, but the entire steering process is automated.
I always find park assist systems very cool, and the Passat is no different. The car is parking itself using a series of sensors, but it can only scan for parking spots at speeds of under 25 mph per hour. This shouldn't be an issue if the drivers behind you are polite and patient, but if you're driving through a busy city and need to pull into a parallel parking spot front-end first to claim it and then park accordingly, it isn't too useful.
Early verdict
Volkswagen's new Passat brings a lot of welcomed changes and additions to a car that originally debuted for the 2012 model year. The new MIB II infotainment system is an improvement that brings universal smartphone connectivity for iOS and Android users.
Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and the native functions are backed with a fluid user interface and a responsive touchscreen. Unfortunately, the 6.5-inch screen size is small compared to competitors that offer 7- and 8-inch screens.
I appreciate that VW added all the driver assist technology, but adaptive cruise control is disappointing, since it can't stop the car completely. The odd thing is the AEB system can apply brakes to stop the car and lessen the impact force, but it can't combine the full braking capabilities with the adaptive cruise control. In a tough segment where hungrier competitors are offering full-speed stop and go ACC systems, the Passat feels ancient.
Lane-keep assist on the Passat works well and can save split-second inattentiveness from veering into another car. It's not a substitute for attentive driving habits, but provides an extra layer of safety.
While the park assist feature is cool and works, in theory, I've yet to encounter many situations where I need the car to park itself. I personally prefer 360-degree cameras that let me see the entire car so I can park it myself.
Nevertheless, the VW Passat is better than ever when it comes to in-car technology. But when it comes to driving tech, this German sedan falls behind the tough American, Japanese and Korean competition.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1m9f51w
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