[R2bee2]

Hi all.
I took deliveryof my Design model Astra in Carbon Flash black last Thursday and I'm very impressed.
It's a company lease car so I won't be making any changes to it but the amount of functionality it has as standard (DAB, touchscreen, Bluetooth, Android Auto) is impressive.
I added the front and rear parking sensor option on which work brilliantly. The large diagram on the main screen is really helpful and goes into just the right amount of distance detail. I did manage to run into a very low tree stump and put a chip in the bottom of the front bumper on the first day though, so maybe the sensors are aimed a bit high!

My main gripe with the car is the lack of armrest which makes my long motorway driving less comfortable. I'm looking to add one in soon though to fix this.

Other minor issues are the bumper ride than my previous car (a Passat), the seats being a bit uncomfortable, Android Auto being temperamental (which may be down to my old phone, so it may improve when I get an upgrade in a few weeks), steel wheels, and quite a lot of external/road noise.

Apart from that it's a really nice car.
Looking forward to learning more about it through the forum.

 

[joe.bloggs1]

I have the SRI in carbon flash. Does the design not come with an armrest? The black paint is real nice! When its washed, dried and polished it looks great in the sun!

 

[Proph]

With the android auto did you need to download the app from the play store with the same name, lots of reviews of the app seem to show it hardly ever works correctly?

If you could record a video connecting to android auto, using a few of the apps etc and post it via YouTube that would be a great help

 

[MarcR]

With the android auto did you need to download the app from the play store with the same name, lots of reviews of the app seem to show it hardly ever works correctly?

If you could record a video connecting to android auto, using a few of the apps etc and post it via YouTube that would be a great help

Proph, Android Auto won't work with your car yet, as a software upgrade is due in April(?) to enable this on the Nav models.

 

[1900sr]

Android auto can be a bit iffy (yes you need the app), I've found the most reliable way to connect is to put the key in the ignition, then connect the phone, and start the car. If I do it this way everything seems to work reliably, I did find that using MD player for music playback was more reliable than the standard music player.

I use it to play music, Sat Nav via Google Maps, and occasionally for hands free on the phone. I do like being able to have texts read out to me, and to be able to reply to them by voice (as long as you've got a decent mobile internet).

 

[Proph]

Yeah I know MarcR, just checking for the upcoming update. Currently so many of the features seem available without android auto like reading text out loud, playing music via Bluetooth from Spotify etc.

 

[1900sr]

I think the biggest advantage of Android auto at the moment is having the phone display on the car screen, but if you've got Nav that's less important, and being able to control it from there. Hopefully as time goes by the app will get cleverer and allow you to do more. Mind you, I've not been able to work out how to stream my music library from my phone via Bluetooth, so the app works for me.

 

[R2bee2]

I think part of my problem was the Samsung cover on my Galaxy S4 telling Android Auto that the screen was off.
In the past few days, as long as I have my bluetooth/GPS turned on and the cover completely off it starts up fine every time.

Are parts available yet? As in could I go to a parts centre and ask for an armrest, or does it take a while to be available?

 

[1900sr]

The parts department should be able to source the arm rest for you, my local parts department got me a cap for the dog guard? fitting in the C post.

 

[R2bee2]

The parts department should be able to source the arm rest for you, my local parts department got me a cap for the dog guard? fitting in the C post.

Thanks. I'll take a trip at the weekend and report back on luck/prices.