Ford Ranger vs Volkswagen Amarok vs Toyota Hilux: which one has the best infotainment system?

By Chad Lückhoff

We compare the infotainment systems found in the Ford Ranger WildTrak against the Toyota Hilux and the Volkswagen Amarok and rate them out of 5.

 

Ford Ranger 3.2 Double Cab WildTrak 4x4 Auto – R655 900

3.5/5

The Ford Ranger employs the latest SYNC3 infotainment system which uses a rather bright 8-inch touchscreen interface with a grid-like look and feel to the menus. The lower section of the screen offers regularly used shortcuts and the home screen displays several functions simultaneously, including navigation, radio and connected device/telephony. A bank of tactile buttons rests a short distance away from the screen, offering rotary dials for volume/power and radio tuning. And eject and track skip buttons sit between the dials.

The SYNC3 menu system is much easier to use than in earlier versions with fewer sub-menus and a more logical approach. Our one criticism is the theme colour for daytime use; The light grey and blue theme is just too bright for our liking and setting it to night mode presents much better, tying into the blacks and dark greys of the interior better.

SYNC3 accepts CD, USB, AUX and has Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling. Ford's voice command is also rather good, recognising natural speaking commands for common functions such as call dialling, navigation (when equipped). Steering wheel controls are standard and easy to use with clear icons.

 

Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 4x4 Raider 6AT - R637 500

3/5

The Toyota Hilux is fitted with a large, touchscreen infotainment system with SD card-based navigation. This unit, called the Toyota Display Audio plumbs the sound through six speakers inside the cabin and accepts USB, CD/DVD and has Bluetooth connectivity.

Then the unit is devoid of any tactile buttons, opting to use touch-sensitive buttons for the basic controls. These flank the sides of the unit and access functions such as audio source, track skip/tune, play/pause, phone, power, volume up/down, menu and a home button. While this gives it a clean, uncluttered look, not being able to feel a button requires you to take your eyes off the road to locate the touch area – not ideal in our opinion.

You can access basic functions from the steering mounted controls, allowing you to adjust the volume, skip tracks and the likes.

The menu system is relatively easy to use and will only require a few minutes to get accustomed to. Submenus are kept to a minimum and the home screen offers up several displays, showing a combination of radio, phone contacts and navigation/map on one screen for quick access.

 

Volkswagen Amarok 2.0 BiTDI Highline Plus - R647 400

4/5

Volkswagen uses several standardized infotainment systems in their cars and the model fitted to the Amarok Highline Plus is designated the MIB-2 but you may know it as the Discover Media Plus system.

It uses a somewhat smaller touchscreen that measures in at 6.3-inches, but it benefits from an intuitive and practical bank of push-buttons on either side of the screen. These control menu shortcuts and basic audio controls as well as the various source inputs for the system. These include BlueTooth, AUX, USB (iPod-capable) and the system is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-equipped. The Highline plus derivative benefits from satellite navigation as well.

While improvements have been made, we found the menus to still be rather complex with certain functions and settings tucked away in obscure locations. The updated, tiled home screen does help navigate through vital functions though. It's worth noting that the Amarok is fitted with a voice assistance system that uses the microphone to plumb conversation from the front of the cabin through to the rear. This can help rear passengers hear what is said up front, but also causes an 'echo' in certain conditions.

 

Don't forget to check out some of our other Ford Ranger articles:

Which Ford Ranger is better, petrol or diesel?

Which Ford Ranger trim holds its value the best?

Ford Ranger vs Toyota Hilux vs Nissan Navara: Which one is the best value for money?