RNS510, Should I?

[Magooligum]

I currently have a standard VW radio system installed in my Passat and was considering getting an RNS510 installed while it's in the shop having it's mecharonic unit replaced.

But... it seems really expensive, can anyone with an RNS510 already installed give me some reasons that they can't live without theirs as 2-3K is alot to drop.

[nivek]

Apart from the obvious Sat Nav, the hard disk for music is a nice to have... although if you have the RCD510 you can pretty much have the same functionality with an SD card.

Having an always ON satnav is very useful though. Not just for finding your way to a destination, but also to find alternate routes quickly if you get caught in a jam.

[tryingavw]

I currently have a standard VW radio system installed in my Passat and was considering getting an RNS510 installed while it's in the shop having it's mecharonic unit replaced.

But... it seems really expensive, can anyone with an RNS510 already installed give me some reasons that they can't live without theirs as 2-3K is alot to drop.

Yes it aint cheap...BUT;
1. whatever you spend will help with the resale or at least the desirability of the car for the buyer. so you'll get some back.
2. i currently have merc, tried bmw and by a clear margin vw RNS510 is the best performing/ easiest to use. Mainly the scale in/out separate button + the touch screen is just terrific.
3. one feature of the rns510 is you can "drag" the map via the touch screen ( eg to see whats up ahead and possibly off the map in the scale you want). BMW +Merc dont have this and it gives me the SH*ts after using the VW. BMW ( even the latest) is particularly lame in many ways.
4. as stated the rns510 includes the hard drive so you can dump your favourite music onto it. Its 20G or something. The merc has a hard drive and i cant work out how to put music onto it! lost interest trying. guess i could read the manual . VW it almost did it itself .
5. If setup you also get the reversing camera/guidlines ( maybe wagon only?)which are excellent for backing ( dont even use the rear view mirror)

[Spilledprawn]

Check out ebay if you dont want to spend 2-3K!

[J-P]

Yes it aint cheap...BUT;
1. whatever you spend will help with the resale or at least the desirability of the car for the buyer. so you'll get some back.
2. i currently have merc, tried bmw and by a clear margin vw RNS510 is the best performing/ easiest to use. Mainly the scale in/out separate button + the touch screen is just terrific.
3. one feature of the rns510 is you can "drag" the map via the touch screen ( eg to see whats up ahead and possibly off the map in the scale you want). BMW +Merc dont have this and it gives me the SH*ts after using the VW. BMW ( even the latest) is particularly lame in many ways.
4. as stated the rns510 includes the hard drive so you can dump your favourite music onto it. Its 20G or something. The merc has a hard drive and i cant work out how to put music onto it! lost interest trying. guess i could read the manual . VW it almost did it itself .
5. If setup you also get the reversing camera/guidlines ( maybe wagon only?)which are excellent for backing ( dont even use the rear view mirror)

I don't disagree but just to play devil's advocate:
1. Yes but in 10 years we'll have heads up display for sat nav and the RNS510 will seem like ancient technology. A 10 year old mac or PC is next to useless now for example. Even 5 years is a long time. With a portable one you can upgrade when it's out of date. It could actually detract from resale value if it will need to be updated. So resale is not the reason to get one.
2. Can't comment
3. Don't try it while driving. It's easier to see and navigate a portable that in your line of sight rather than having to look away from the road.
4. Yes but you loose 6 CD changer and RCD has SD Card slot anyway.
5. Camera needs to be fitted anyway and is available without RNS now.

Look at it for what it is, cool technology for today with a nice big screen which you'll no doubt love but would you pay the same price as a big plasma TV for it?

[mugwomp]

MDI as well as SatNav

For me the 20GB is not much chop. However, with the MDI in the glovebox and a 128GB solid state drive, I have my complete music collection with me. I love it. Extra money for the drive and MDI though.

After using several windscreen mounted SatNavs, I find the RNS510 to be brilliant to use. Very responsive, quick to calculate route changes and very usable. I love the integration with the in dash display and often run off that and leave the RNS display on media. The negative is that there is heaps of lag between maps being updated and them being made available for the RNS510.

[Leagle]

I ticked many options when I ordered my CC and many of the gadgets that I love the most I can probably live without (eg dynaudio and the wow factor self park system).

Conversely there are two gadgets that have become indispensable to me in day to day use while travelling in my car: Premium Blu Tooth (Kufatek) which means I can use my phone seamlessly hands free, and... yes RNS 510 GPS.

As I have posted elsewhere, the RNS 510 is a great bit of kit. It has a beautiful high resolution touch screen which absolutely shames any portable device out there (and most other in car GPS units that I have seen). It does have some annoying limitations that my previous portable Tom Tom had such as the ability to check for traffic cameras and lacks traffic information.

But now that I have used it for the last few months, there is no way I can go back to using a portable device. The problem with portable devices is:

1. Assuming you don't want someone to break into your car to steal them, you have to keep installing them (usually via suction cup and connecting to lighter). This gets extremely tiresome over time.

2. Even where you finally get around to using it, no matter how good they are, there is always the dangerous potential of it becoming literally unstuck and bashing onto your dashboard. At best its annoying. At worst its potentially life threatening.

3. Though my Tom Tom was a decent touch screen, it was still hard to see in bright light. It was small (even as a widescreen) and I never quite knew where to mount it. I used to mount it high (near my sun visor) to avoid glare but I understand that may now be illegal.

As a result of the above, I often found myself not using the portable Tom Tom that I had unless I absolutely needed to. It used to take up glove box space most of the time.

The RNS510 is a well integrated solution. If you are playing your music too loud, it will down the volume so that you can hear instructions. It has lane assist feature and importantly, it also gives secondary key instructions through the MFD so you can quickly glance to get critical instructions. Glare is NEVER (and I mean never) an issue whether viewing instructions through the MFD or the RNS510 screen.

Having an always "on" GPS system also means that you can constantly view the compass through the MFD and can always get critical information on distances, estimated time to travel etc. There is the ability to reroute if you encounter a traffic jam, obstacles etc.

Most importantly, I now use GPS far more often, saving me aggravation, time and (ultimately) money!

Compared to the crappy in-car GPS solutions offered by other car makers, I reckon the RNS510 is actually good value.

And yes, I love the HDD for music too!

BTW as for comments that it will become out of date (eg when HUD becomes available), this may be true. But for me its pretty useful NOW and I honestly cannot see how a HUD (or topographical display etc) can really improve it. Probably the only things that I would want in the future is the traffic feature to work and traffic camera warnings.

Get it!

[team_v]

OEM PLus is doing a gropu buy on vortex for the RNS510 system.

Priced at 1650USD which is the cheapest you will find imho.
It is also tyhe most up to date system (C I believe) and runs the new firmware.

[guest12345]

i didn't pay the 3k for the RNS510, but it came with the car i bought. It really is an amazing sat nav system. i've had other factory sat nav systems for different cars, and this is by far the best.

A little hard and takes a long time to install music, but once it is done, its like having an ipod in the car... the sat nav is very good and precise, the touch screen is awesome, watching dvd on it was pretty good as well. overall can't complain...

BUT 3k is alot of money for what it is... if you do the math...

how much is a top of the range portable sat nav?? 400-500? ipod is like 300? So functionality is worth around 800, the screen probably worth 500, so you are paying 1500 for the convenience of it being in the car and no cables, plus alot of that also goes to VW, if you get it installed at a VW dealer, as you can get just the machine for more than half the price.

[arbour]

cnet video

If you want a bit of background into why VW has such good cabin tech check out this cnet vid (they do great car tech reviews) from 2006 it shows what they were working on back then and is a good indication of where things are headed. I agree that VW have some the best cabin tech around I just drove a friends car with the latest BMW idrive and my CC is heaps better laid out and easy to use.

http://cnettv.cnet.com/vw-does-gps-nav-you-could-love/9742-1_53-18693.html

Cheers

[n3mi]

Mate, just bought one for around $800 on eBay. Got VW Bayside to install it this morning, they charged $286.

Works like a charm!

I currently have a standard VW radio system installed in my Passat and was considering getting an RNS510 installed while it's in the shop having it's mecharonic unit replaced.

But... it seems really expensive, can anyone with an RNS510 already installed give me some reasons that they can't live without theirs as 2-3K is alot to drop.

[team_v]

Mate, just bought one for around $800 on eBay. Got VW Bayside to install it this morning, they charged $286.

Works like a charm!

Jesus Christ!
You can do the install yourself in 10 minutes for free, and then it's a few vagcom changes = $50 at your independant service provider or a 6 pack for a local member.

[n3mi]

Jesus Christ!
You can do the install yourself in 10 minutes for free, and then it's a few vagcom changes = $50 at your independant service provider or a 6 pack for a local member.

Thats ok, this way I got warranty on installation.

[Retro]

I upgraded my new R36 with the RNS510 today. Observations:

1. The sound is much, much better. The RNS has much better base sound, and much better sound presence/stage compared to the RCD. I was comparing the same radio station on the same freeway to and from the installation, so it was a pretty good test.

2. Both RCD and RNS are overall pretty similar to use, that is, quite easy.

3. The UK eBay seller that has the RNS510 on for around $999 including postage - was very reliable, packed the unit very well, was very fast to post and used fedex for delivery (which I love as you can track exactly where the package is at). Only took a few days to arrive.

4. Matt from Camdengti (the Golf Loon) and his team were excellent, highly recommend them for installation ($250). I realise lots of readers on this forum can do this stuff themselves, but many of us can't risk a blemish on the wife's new wheels ..... If you are anywhere in Sydney's south he is the way to go. And he has brand new premises.

5. The RNS 510 satnav is very easy to use and so far is very quick to pickup signals - much better than my garmin nuvi.

Overall I would recommend spending the money to upgrade.

[ian]

I upgraded my new R36 with the RNS510 today. Observations:

1. The sound is much, much better. The RNS has much better base sound, and much better sound presence/stage compared to the RCD. I was comparing the same radio station on the same freeway to and from the installation, so it was a pretty good test.

2. Both RCD and RNS are overall pretty similar to use, that is, quite easy.

3. The UK eBay seller that has the RNS510 on for around $999 including postage - was very reliable, packed the unit very well, was very fast to post and used fedex for delivery (which I love as you can track exactly where the package is at). Only took a few days to arrive.

4. Matt from Camdengti (the Golf Loon) and his team were excellent, highly recommend them for installation ($250). I realise lots of readers on this forum can do this stuff themselves, but many of us can't risk a blemish on the wife's new wheels ..... If you are anywhere in Sydney's south he is the way to go. And he has brand new premises.

5. The RNS 510 satnav is very easy to use and so far is very quick to pickup signals - much better than my garmin nuvi.

Overall I would recommend spending the money to upgrade.

Yes Matt programed mine, but i uninstalled the old unit RCD300 myself and he only charged me $80 for coding, if you had of been a member of the forum before seeing Camden GTI he would of given you a discount for the installation.
What version RNS510 did you get i got a 2010 version C 2760 FW and cost $950 delivered from Lithuania