[luky_13]

Hey Ankit, congrats on the 1.6. I feel Polo is most appreciable in this color. I have been gunning for the RNS 510 for a while now, you have opened up a whole new range of options. Good work!! Did you buy the Hu directly from Witson, their website doesn't seem to have an online store. Some more info on the purchase would be helpful and appreciable.

[AnkitPrashar]

@architect, methecupid, hillram,blackasta,krreddy,PlatzdaTurbo,neoonwheels: thanks a lot guys!

@Chethan B G: sent you the details

@yogiii: I am using a 1st gen ipod touch, sadly it doesnt support album arts

h@r$h@l: No replacing the HU doesnt not void the warranty as long as you are not cutting any of the wires. This HU came with standard connectors which made the installation an easy plug-n-play operation.

theragingbull: I put the rear view cam on the number plate at the lower bumper. Again, the VW guy provided me a coupler, which allowed me to power the cam using the reverse light, without having to cut any wires! Will post the pics later

@wildon: yes it does require an external antenna(provided with the unit) for proper reception. I installed it on the windshield right next to the rear view mirror. Will post some images later.

@EssYouWe: yes they did check that, but didn't find anything worth bothering.

[alexkrish]

Congrats Ankit! Your Polo looks great, and with the new ICE unit, it looks just awesome! The price seems to be reasonable at 16k. Do post your experiences as you spend more miles on ur Polo.

[AnkitPrashar]

Here are some details about the ICE HU

Its a VW integrated HU made by a Chinese company called Witson W2-D723V.
Witson makes integrated HU replicas for almost all major automakers. They also take part in most of the major electronic shows worldwide, the latest one was held in Hong Kong around 11th Oct.

Here is the link
VOLKSWAGEN SAGITAR/MAGOTAN----ZHUHAI WITSON INDUSTRIAL CO.,LTD.---Professional Car DVD Player Manufacturer

There is also another similar model; D9215V but i am not sure if that is a direct fit for polo but more importantly, i haven't heard much about that unit so cant comment on its reliability

Here is the cost breakdown:-

HU + Shipping by EMS- $330
HU + Shipping by DHL - $410
Rear view Cam - $22

Payment via paypal; add 6%
Payment via wire transfer; add ~ $22
Send money via Western Union; no additional charge

My order:- HU+ Rear Cam+ DHL Shipping+ Paypal Payment= $458

I underquoted my shipment to 15K and paid a duty of 4.5k
The final total was 24K

So you can pick and choose and get it cheaper than what I paid and if you have someone pick it up in china you can get the system for as little as 16K.

You need to contact them directly and buy from them. They don't have an online store. That is why i made the payment via paypal just to be sure!

I made the payment on a Friday morning, they shipped it in the evening and by Sunday morning, it had already arrived at the Delhi Airport. I would recommend shipping by DHL even though it costs a bit more.

So the system looks and feels awsome and everything works. But please keep one thing in mind:- I AM IN NO WAY ADVISING ANYONE TO BUY THIS UNIT. Witson has no A.S.S. in India, and if anything goes wrong you would have to ship the unit back to china and bear that shipping cost.

In the end it is a Chinese product and in no way can i guarantee you that you will receive the same quality of product without any bugs. I am just posting my experiences and no matter how much i like the system, i cannot comment on its reliability. All i knew was that this particular unit was being sold for the past 2 years and was being constantly improved. In the end, i am completely surprised by what the Chinese can provide!


So people BUY IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!

posting some pics of the rear view cam, the gps adaptor and the unit running MMI

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Polo. The white polo with dark tints will be drool maal. The ICE looks very good.

Do enjoy many more miles with the 1.6 Polo.

[methecupid]

the HU is probably one of the most well-integrated aftermarket i have seen. and ofcourse it being a replica, it apes the color combination of the dash perfectly. my two cents on it though, have never been a fan of chinese tech (though wal-mart may swear by its standards), but keeping the fingers crossed, the HU should serve you well.

I see two pin holes of the system, one each on the top-left and bottom-right corners; are those the mics?

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by methecupid

I see two pin holes of the system, one each on the top-left and bottom-right corners; are those the mics?

Top-left must be Mic (Unfortunately designed for left hand drive?). Bottom-right must be for the system reset.

That reminds me - Ankit, how is the audio quality while making phone calls? Does your voice echo? Are you using external Mic also? If so, where have you placed?

Sorry to bother you with so many questions!!!

[h@r$h@l]

Hi ankit,

Thanks for ur response. One more thing I wanted to know is how is sync of the system? In the sense when u playing a song and a call comes in? Or when listening to music u get direction updates from the NAV system?

I agree with your concern of quality of Chinese products but over the years things have changed. Pls keep upadting your experience with the polo as well as the OEM HU.

[superboy44]

hey ankit,
congrats on getting the polo, nice choice.
also i am really impressed by the HU, looks every bit worth the money spent.

[Vik0728]

Hey Ankit congrats on your latest pick dude, its really a Looker!!

It's just so amazing how much TBHP benefits all the car enthusiasts irrespective of their needs. You have probably started a trend now for the Polo owners with that latest import on the OEM music system.
I'm sure you are prepared now to get bombared with PM's, Posts, Queries, Mails, etc for sourcing in those Gadgets!! LOL

Rev Hard and Drive Safe.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

You have probably started a trend now for the Polo owners with that latest import on the OEM music system.
I'm sure you are prepared now to get bombared with PM's, Posts, Queries, Mails, etc for sourcing in those Gadgets!! LOL

+ 100 on that!!

Ankit has taken the risk to import it and fit it on his car - Even without being 100% sure about it's compatibility. The best part is, he has shown courage to sell-off his OEM-HU, even before getting a replacement!

This has shown the way, to most of us. Hats of to him!!

[amitk2kin]

Ankit Congrats, the polo looks awesome. For 24k, upgrade is worth every penny and i sure you will be the first in India do have this done! Cheers mate!

[Motoringlover]

Excellent work mate, Truely confidence inspiring, my favourite bit has been your reserach process and then making the 24K plunge actually work for it. Personally i feel Polo is a great car (1.6) and the only sore spot was the ICE, but i guess you just found a cure for it, do you think any reason this should not work for the vento.

All the best and Happy Motoring.

[alexkrish]

Ankit,

Thanks for link and the information regarding the ICE. I was just trying to read the reviews of this HU and i hit youtube.
Some guy has posted a full 16-part review of this unit. Here is the link.

16 Episode of Witson W2 D723V

Hope its helpful for others who are planning to buy this ICE unit.

[AnkitPrashar]

@luky_13: Before buying this, i too had a look at RNS-510 and RCD 510 and i had almost made up my mind on buying the latter. However in my case atleast, both these units were available through ebay and were mostly 2nd hand units. Moreover, if anything did go wrong, there was absolutely no sales support or service center and VW would definitely not entertain them.
In-fact, the VW showroom guy did tell me that they ordered a RCD 510 (65K) for a polo customer but in the end could not connect it properly. I wouldn't be happy if i had spent 65K! The RNS-510 on the other hand is way too expensive and trust me installing it is even more difficult than the RCD-510.

@nkrishnap: coming soon!!

@methecupid, Chethan B G: yes the top-left is the Mic;Bottom-right is for the system reset. There have been reports that the integrated mic on the unit was basically useless and people could not hear while talking. Hence Witson had provided an external mic which i think you can run through the a-pillar interior panel and place it near the sun visor. In my case, the integrated MIC works flawlessly and i did not need the provided external MIC.

@h@r$h@l: When you are listening to music and a call comes, the music gets muted automatically and you can take the call. When the call ends, the music resumes and the volume increases in a gradual manner to your selected level.
In case of navigation, you can turn off the navigation voice and enjoy uninterrupted music. If the navigation voice is on, then the music mutes for a few seconds until the announcement ends. All of this happens smoothly with no lag whatsoever.

@superboy44, Vik0728, Chethan B G, amitk2kin: Thanks a lot guys. Frankly speaking i was about 90% sure that it would work. The internet truly is a wonderful thing! Since i am an automotive designer, i wanted something different, something which hasn't been tried yet and at the same time it should go with the overall interior. The ICE is just the beginning, I do have other things in my mind, when they work out you all will be the first ones to know!

@Motoringlover: I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work since it uses the same OEM HU as the polo. VW should team up with Witson or someone similar and provide this unit as an accessory!

@alexkrish: I did go through that video series and it indeed was very helpful. One thing i would like to point-out is that, in those videos some bugs were reported but the unit which i received, all of those bugs had been sorted out!