If you feel like you’re missing out by not having a touchscreen or wireless Android Auto/CarPlay in your reliable yet ageing motor vehicle, the OneNav Classic adds just that for a reasonable sum. It's not perfect, but the downsides are pretty easy to swallow at this price. And there aren't even that many.
-
Display
-
Ease of use
-
Features
-
Value
You know those smart streaming sticks (or boxes) that breathe new life into old TVs, giving them the ability to stream modern content, play games, and generally operate better? Well, the same concept can be applied to your car. This is the OneNav Classic.
If you’re driving something from the era when touchscreen infotainment systems with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were reserved for cars four times the price, having a OneNav Classic fitted is an affordable way to get that functionality without springing for a whole new vehicle.
Internal automobile upgrade
The headlining feature of this double DIN unit is the wireless AA/CP, but this particular OneNav Classic offers several other features that could make it just what you’re looking for.
Regular old Bluetooth pairing is available for you to stream music directly from your device or answer phone calls. If you’re not worried about wireless connectivity at all, and simply want to pump your tunes loaded onto a flash drive, it can do that too. There’s also FM radio for when you’re really bored.
___________________________________________________________________________
Tech specs
- Screen 6.8in 1024 x 600 touchscreen
- Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4, USB-A
- Ports 4x 45W speaker outputs, 2x RCA AV inputs, 2x video outputs, USB-C
- Features FM/AM radio, Steering wheel control, Multi-Band EQ
- Dimensions 178x130x100mm
___________________________________________________________________________
The onboard DSP (digital signal processor) also offers a fairly comprehensive 12-band equaliser so you can enjoy your music the way you like it. Finally, there’s a 66W fast-charging USB-C port for when your mobile device needs a speedy top-up.
If you plan to use the wireless AA/CP function, there’s little needed after the initial setup. We’ve been using ours this way for most of the time it’s been installed in our 2013 Nissan Juke. And it fired up and connected automatically on all but one occasion upon starting the car (and that was a result of something we did).
Space for extras
The OneNav Classic also offers room for future expansion. If you’re interested in beefing up your car’s sound system with more speakers or adding a reverse camera or screens in the rear to keep the little ones occupied, there are slots and ports on the rear for those.
However, if you’re not already comfortable with stripping your dashboard, we recommend consulting someone who is. They’ll be able to tell you what the limits are and what expansion items will play well with your setup.
The audio specialists at Planetworld fitted our unit. In general, this was done well, and we didn’t find any scuff marks. There was one issue, sadly. We noticed the light for our passenger airbag was burning, indicating that it had been disabled. Sadly, no amount of manual reenabling solved the issue. We were advised to report to Nissan to sort it out.
All told, the unit provides a decent amount of functionality, but in this price category, there must be trade-offs. The 6.8in panel used here only boasts a 1,024 x 600px resolution, and touch registration can be finicky. Luckily, you probably won’t be doing crucial design work on this screen, and there are physical buttons for the essential functions, so you needn’t fumble with the touch screen if you need to skip an embarrassing song in a hurry.
OneNav Classic verdict
The OneNav Classic won’t seem revolutionary if your car already has a touchscreen. If all you’re missing from your in-car entertainment is wireless Android Auto or CarPlay, other, smaller devices cater to that need.
But for pre-touchscreen era vehicles, the tidy sum of R4,300 (or less if you shop around) can make the downsides pretty easy to swallow. Not that there are many. In our case, we lost the ability to play CDs (not that we ever did). And sure, the screen is just okay, but shouldn’t you be watching the road instead?
