Infotainment

A very useful modern feature in the latest cars, smartphone mirroring on the central display, is not available in many of the new ones, although the car can handle it – the first owner simply did not pay for it. How big of an obstacle is it if you have dropped a slightly used car? I am testing the additional activation of the Smartlink system in a year-old Škoda Scala.

One of the most useful functions of new cars, smartphone mirroring using the Android Auto or Apple CarPlay application, is often a part of standard equipment in cars today. However, this was not the case until quite recently. If you buy a “young” used car for a year or two, it may happen that you come across a piece that has an “App” button next to the display, but when you press it, instead of instructions on how to connect a mobile phone, something about a service visit is displayed.

Skoda Scala infotainment

My mom decided to buy a one-year Škoda Scala. Its equipment is not completely “social”, but what the first owner saved a few thousand on was the support of the Smartlink function, as Škoda calls the mirroring of a smartphone on the central displays of its cars. It would be a shame to have a new car without this new convenience, so we asked the seller whether, how and at what price it would be possible to activate the function in the car.

“Activate” because in recent years car companies have a habit of building a car with full electronic equipment, but only making available in it what the customer has paid for. It is the possibility of smartphone mirroring that is, at least in the cheaper cars of the Volkswagen group, a relatively common element locked in this way, and access should therefore be easy.

After a while of searching, the seller announces that the price will be approximately 5,700 crowns and that, although it is software, a unique activation code is needed, which the car manufacturer will deliver within a few days. The activation is firmly linked to a specific VIN, it is not possible to “take” it to another car if the mother decided to sell the scala and buy another Škoda instead.

So, the order is placed and we are waiting for a message when Smartlink will be ready for activation. It will be necessary to come to the service center; the activation code will not come by e-mail directly to the customer, or perhaps by post on a USB drive that would be inserted into a slot in the center tunnel, with the recorded special program taking care of everything.

Less than an hour in the service

A few days later, the service calls that everything is ready. So we arrive at the agreed time and the technician connects the scala to the diagnostic device. The activation code came in the box along with instructions on how to get Smartlink working in the car; so the technician works with the computer for the next few minutes.

Skoda Scala infotainment

According to the service, it is not that common for people to have Smartlink retrofitted to their Škoda. However, entering the activation codes – in fact there are three – succeeds, and before long, after restarting the car, after pressing the “App” button, instead of the sentence “The function is unavailable”, an instruction appears on the display that the mobile phone can be connected to the mirror with the correct USB cable.

I try the connection with both Android and iOS and everything works like clockwork. So, one thing – with a brand new car, the need for a cable connection could be a minor inconvenience, but this scala is only a few months old and does not have a wireless phone charger or wireless mirroring.

Skoda Scala infotainment

Is it worth the less than six grand? This is what I ask my mother, who before this scala exclusively owned cars without a modern central display, after a few weeks of use. The answer is quite clear “again”. He says it’s more pleasant to use a map app this way – this particular scala doesn’t have built-in navigation – or the phone itself. “It’s just too bad Siri only speaks English,” Mom concludes.

2023-08-18 16:54:00
#Škoda #mirror #smartphone #feature