Which Sat Nav...RNS-E or Kenwood DNX-5220BT ?

[pjmspeedy]

Hello All,

Please Help! I've been thinking about buying an RNS-E for a while now but I remember reading another thread a few weeks ago (on a different forum) Sorry! and someone said that if they were to purchase a sat nav unit now they would go for the Kenwood DNX-5220BT instead of the RNS-E.

The RNS-E is roughly going to cost ~£500 off a well known auction site and the Audi Bluetooth is ~ £395.00 however the Kenwood is £665.99 and comes with bluetooth built in and it also plays DVD's direct from the unit itself it is also a touch screen and a double din unit. I know the RNS-E will look like it's been fitted from the factory but it is a few years old now and things have moved on. Do any of you have the Kenwood unit or know of anyone who has and what do you/they think of it ? or should I buy the RNS-E ?

Your comments would greatly be appricated.

 

[Slinger]

My car was factory fitted with the RNS-E and I have continuously sung its praises, that was until last week. I had to drive to Liverpool and it got me making all kinds of wrong turns in the city centre as it was giving me the directions too late. I am using the latest disc (2008) with the latest software installed. Personally, if last week was anything to go by I would do some serious research before splashing out. A Tom Tom might be on my Christmas list now.

 

[pjmspeedy]

Hi Slinger - I'm glad you've told me that as I only live the other side of the water from Liverpool! A few of my friends have the RNS-E in their A4's and yes like you they have sung it's praises but I am tempted by the Kenwood and if I did go down this route I would also save £230.00. The Kenwood unit uses Garmin sat nav software so I don't know what this is like compared to the Audi and Tom Tom versions!

 

[SteveTDCi]

Depends on what you want, I had an A4 courtesy car yesterday and it had RNS-E and i did use it, I like the way the street names and directions appear in the DIS also it looks erm .. factory !!!

However the Kenwood system I had a play with at the motorshow, ok its not oem but it looks like it would fit in quite well. Also the SAT NAV is supported by Garmin so you can add points of interest and download speed camera information, bluetooth is available and you have much better support for ipod and if you want to watch DVD's then you can do so. The display can be matched to your das as well.

There are lots of different versions of this unit so make sure you get the right one, i'd also reccomend www.caraudiodirect.com i've purchased from them before and there service is great I think they have the NAV system without BT at £579 at the moment, your other option would be the Pioneer 900BT which looks a good system.

The kenwood would give you better scope for upgrading and RNS-E would give you better control especially over the BT fucntion if you have the MFSW fitted, for me I would go for the Kenwood.

HTH
Steve

 

[pjmspeedy]

Hi Steve, Thanks for your input, I shall look into the Pioneer as well. I don't have the MFSW at present but I would like to add the flat bottom one in the future as a friend at work has just put one on his B7 and it looks the dogs!

 

[andyccr]

We sell loads of DNX-5220BTs and every person has liked it with no problems at all. Obviously the Kenwoods and Pioneers have touch screen where the RNS-E is starting to look a little bit dated compared to these now.

Regards,

Andy

 

[SteveTDCi]

yeah I forgot andy was in the trade

 

[pjmspeedy]

We sell loads of DNX-5220BTs and every person has liked it with no problems at all. Obviously the Kenwoods and Pioneers have touch screen where the RNS-E is starting to look a little bit dated compared to these now.

Regards,

Andy

Hi Andy,

So what would you consider buying if you were in the same position ?

I've also been considering buying the Digital TV tuner at a later date to go with either the Kenwood or the RNS-E. Have you any thoughts on this / are they any good and where do you hide the aerials ?

Can you let me know how much you can supply the Kenwood unit for me ?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[andyccr]

Wouldn't waste my money on a freeview tuner, reception still isn't strong enough in a lot of areas to give a consistently good signal. Also if you have tinted windows with a metallic film content then they won't work. However, if you do decide to buy an RNS-E, you could use the Kenwood freeview tuner with an AV input box as its also a standalone unit.

I do like the look of the RNS-E as its obviously factory, but its starting to look very dated compared to the aftermarket offerings that are obviously around now, no touchscreen, average look graphics, no DVD playback, no MP3 playback, no decent iPod control....

We have done a few DNX-5220 units now into varying cars with double din holes and if it wasn't for the fact that it says 'Kenwood' and 'DVD DIVX' etc etc printed on the front I don't think you would have cause to not say it was factory fitted.

The bluetooth module in the Kenwood works really well, with full touchscreen control of the 'parrot' internal module (For 2008 Kenwood have licenced the used of the Parrot technology for bluetooth) so the bluetooth works really well.

I would have said to look at the new 2008 Pioneers BUT there have been delays in production and software issue too. Last years AVIC-D3 was good, but its not as upto date as the Kenwoods.

If you do fit a MFSW then there are adaptors so the Kenwood will work with it in the future.

As for the pricing of the units, well my price would just be the same as all the other mail order / internet prices as there is very LITTLE margin on these units at the moment !

Also bear in mind that if you decide NOT to keep the audi at least the Kenwood can be fitted into god know how many newish cars now. Just for example if you changed to a 2005 E class you could fit it into this easily (just goto connects2.com to see how many double din fitting kits there are).

If you have a quick jump over to www.audizine.com and do a search for pioneer AVIC-D3 etc you will find plenty of install pictures of double din aftermarket units fitted to B6/B7 units.

Hope this helps with your choice !!!

Regards,

Andy

 

[pjmspeedy]

Thanks for your help Andy!

I've had a look over on audizine and they do look good fitted. I would still like to see the Kenwood fitted in a B6/B7 just to compare though. I had a search for it on there as well but couldn't find one. I'm still a little unsure which one to go for !

 

[JohnboyC]

Well, I am very happy with my RNS-e & integrated bluetooth.....looks the part, and when I sell my A4 I will replace the concert stereo and sell RNS-e & bluetooth as a complete system on e-bay...
Has not gone wrong at all, and the 2008 map DVD is great.......just miss the steering wheel controls.......

As for a DVD player - I do agree with having a system that can drive a couple of head rest displays for the kids in the back.....but I think DVD playback on the head unit is too dangerous and too much of a distraction........

 

[gjwell]

Hi does anyone know the partnumber and the best place to buy the 2008 DVD for the RNS-E, or do I just go to a Stealer? Also what the price is roughly.


Thanks

 

[pjmspeedy]

I'm pretty sure Audi charge £70.00 for the latest (08) maps. I've also heard that you can copy them as well.

 

[s8craig]

Try £250 for the latest DVD

 

[gjwell]

£250 d'oh does that include free upgrades after, or is it another £250 when the next version comes out? is there much difference between the 2007 and 2008 versions?

 

[andyccr]

GJWELL - I think you find out that its £250 PER VERSION !!!!

Oh and I'm sure that 'cabriolet' only has one 't' in it !!! - check your sig !!!

Regards,

Andy