I love how the display copies the iPod control wheel. The screen isn't so great in bright sunlight though. Shuffle tracks is the best feature and about the only one I use. I never listen to Podcasts and rarely choose songs manually - although the shuffle albums is a nice feature too...
Love the interface overall.
My only gripe is that the speakers seem to be lower quality than the first xB's Pioneer audio system.
To let you know the connection is complete, a Scion logo appears on the iPod screen. Ford's Sync does the same thing.
Brian Moody, Road Test Editor
opfreak says:
12:47 PM, 09/25/07
wasn't there a blog just complaining about this?
ahh yes.
http://66.160.188.111/.ee9e260
seems like mr edmunds not so happy?
boxermike says:
01:00 PM, 09/25/07
Brian, you fail to mention that you can't scroll through anything when the car is moving. That alone is a deal killer.
briancam says:
01:33 PM, 09/25/07
Track up, track up, track up - hey, I like this song. That's the end of it for me.
billt9 says:
07:41 PM, 09/25/07
Ya you'd think a person would only put songs he likes on his personal iPod.
actualsize says:
09:18 AM, 09/26/07
Personally, I like to put Podcasts on my iPod in addition to music. Podcasts are episodic and vaired, so the ability to choose something specific is important. And I like to choose a specific artist or album, depending on mood. In-motion tuning is a must.
If an iPod Shuffle was enough for me, that's what I would have bought. But it isn't, so I didn't.
BTW, Click and Clack, the Car Talk buffoons, finally got some sense. Their weekly NPR radio program (the full version) is now available on iTunes for free. Good luck digging it out of your iPod in the xB while moving.
ateixeira says:
10:37 AM, 09/26/07
Sure there are 2 blogs, one from Dan and one from Brian.
That's the whole point, you get several opinions, more information overall, and can make your own conclusions.
I think this is very cool. You create a playlist and you're all set. It's really not that hard to plan what you want to hear, is it?
actualsize says:
12:02 PM, 09/26/07
Exactly. A good evaluation points out what a car does or doesn't do and how that relates to competitors. We can add our editorial opinion on top of that, but ultimately it is up to the individual to determine whether or not that particular level of performance is of importance to them.
boxermike says:
12:07 PM, 09/26/07
Ateixeria: For me, yes, it is. I might not be in the mood at 3pm for the playlist I created at noon. I need to be able to swap while on the go. It's why, before my iPod, I carried a 100cd case in my car instead of the portable 10 disc ones.
briancam says:
02:54 PM, 09/26/07
I'm about 30 seconds away from switching back to all CDs (except for air travel) I'm disapointed by the sound quality of most music purchased online and the xB's system isn't helping
You'd think I'd have only music I like on my iPod but I'm tired of so much of it - maybe satellite radio is better for me.
actualsize says:
10:34 PM, 09/26/07
I'm backing away from satellite radio. Too many commercials for iffy products, weak sound at times, blank spots and the audio equivalent of "pixelation" join with the fact that I still don't have a favorite station that I can stand for an hour's drive home.
And Howard was funnier when he was trying hard not to swear.
Nah. I'll keep my iPod, baby. As the well-know philosophers Devo once said, "Freedom of choice is what you need." (They also said "Freedom from choice is what you want," but who's counting.)
jriz says:
11:33 AM, 09/27/07
I didn't try it out, but apparently the new CTS' iPod interface is excellent.
actualsize says:
03:29 PM, 09/27/07
Yep. It works while rolling and has great menus. It will read songs off of a USB flash drive too.