Hyundai’s ix35: fine car, good sound system, but no DAB digital radio

Editor’s Blog on the switch to digital radios

IT’S surprising how quickly you become used to certain items as standard: I was on the way down to Southampton over the weekend to drop my son Matt back at university.

We were driving Hyundai’s excellent ix35 compact SUV which I have for road test assessment. A very good car it is, too, with a very fine sound system. But as the miles went on, the ability of the radio to hold our chosen station started to fade badly into broken fuzz. As ever, on a track you really like.

A quick search found there was no DAB radio to extend our listening. A shame. You sort of expect it on a new car.

DAB digital radio is certainly a feature of my Audi A6, not a car in its first flush of youth admittedly. It’s a wonderful addition because it extends the availability of stations you can listen to.

There are issues: it’s digital, which means it’s either on or off. Hit a digital black spot and your radio reception disappears instantly. There is such a black spot close to the Business Car Manager offices just at the roundabout where you join the beginning of the M3. Inevitably, you hit the black spot right in the middle of a news piece you’re really interested in.

But that said, overall DAB is a really useful addition. And as we head towards ‘the digital deadline’ they will become more than useful; they will become critical.

I was talking to Andrew Leech about this yesterday over the phone. Andrew is the boss of Midlands based fleet management company Fleet Evolution, and Andy is keen for businesses to ensure that all new business cars have a digital radio as standard.

“The digital revolution won’t be forced upon motorists until 2015 at the very earliest,” Andrew explained to me. “But many vehicles ordered today will still be in use when the old analogue signal is switched off. Unlike home television, a simple