Easy link 9.3: first review (1/3)

March 28th, 2019
GPS R-Link

Friday morning, in a studio north of Paris I discovered the Clio V. Here is a review. I tried to take a maximum of screen shots.

Part 1: Global presentation

Part 2: Navigation

Part 3: Smartphone replication, settings

 

Part 1: global presentation

 

More precisely 2 Clio V: Intens in Orange Valencia and RS Line in Iron Blue. Both vehicles are equipped with the large size Easy-Link: a 9.3-inch screen. On the side of the cluster, this time we have the small size: 7 inches. The 10-inch version will not be available at launch unlike the needle version that has never been seen.

I will not dwell on the vehicle in general, many sites will probably do much better than me.

Let’s take a look at this GPS that stands in the middle of the dashboard. The screen has a slight curved effect pleasing to the eye. The screen is bright, has a beautiful definition and a level of contrast very satisfactory. It’s clear, and the colors are very beautiful.

Here are the figures that I was given:

Brightness: 300 cd / mΒ² (7 inches) and 1000 cd / mΒ² (9.3 inches) .

I must check the figures of contrast, I will update the article.

On the lower part of the screen we have shortcuts:

  • Power: turn on the screen / turn off the audio.
  • Menu: the main menu (Navigation, Media, Phone …)
  • Home: return to the home screen.
  • Volume – and + to adjust the volume. I still regret the rotary wheel for the volume which is for me a simple solution, effective and especially universal since it is found in a lot of vehicle (even Peugeot has retained).

Here is the start screen. Then we come to a screen that reminds us that the system uses data (it must be activated to take advantage of all features). The system is connected to the internet via a 4G chip.

Then we come to a screen with several pages where we can place widgets. A system very similar to R-Link 2.

Before discovering the system we had a global presentation of the vehicle and multimedia possibilities. A lot of work seems to have been done to simplify the use of the system (with the name Easy-Link, complicated to do otherwise).

This simplification work was done to reduce the number of clicks needed to make an operation. R-Link 2 is a very bad student in the field for example. But this work of simplification also passes for example on the updates. Cartographic updates will be automatically received in the vehicle via 4G. A simple pop-up will ask us if we want to install the update or not. Difficult to do easier, obviously we will see in practice.

The 4G connection will be offered during the first 3 years as well as the cartographic updates on all levels of equipements.

The overall interface has adopted a sober style with a lot of gray, the use is quite pleasant when the we navigate in the menus. I never had the impression to lose myself as it could be the case with R-Link 2, we manipulate the system quite intuitively. The use of tab at the bottom of the screen contributes to this simplicity.

At the top of the screen there is always a shortcut to the navigation, the phone and the audio part. I do not know if the top of the screen (especially in large size) is the most appropriate to put the shortcuts used as frequently as the universes of navigation, audio and phone.

On the home page you drag the widgets, but then you can enlarge them by taking the corners.

Regarding the audio part, for the radio I note a big news (for Renault …): the logos of the stations! At least it’s very visual to select one. To book a favorite, simply click on the star, as we would naturally on our smartphone. We always have the 3 classic views: Frequency, List (sorted in alphabetical order) and Presets (Memories).

Part 1: Global presentation

Part 2: Navigation

Part 3: Smartphone replication, settings

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