Rear Entertainment Poor Design
 

Finally got my new '08 from its 2 week repair for a defective sensore (see prior posts) and am happy to be finally enjoying the vehicle. Really love most aspects of the SAV except for the rear entertainment system, which is surprisingly poorly designed for a german engineered car. Although the screen is big, unlike my former car where the screen folded into the center console when not in use, this screen stows by folding down on top of the center arm rest. I find that my and my passenger's elbow either rest on it or smack back into it, and you obviously can not open the center console with this down. The only option is leaving it up which then leaves the screen exposed to damage when not in use.

The system really looks like and operates like an after market system. Really only complaint on this beautiful and fun SAV.

I`ll second you. I was also surprised to see this and well, now keep it permanently in the up position. Would of been gret if it could submerine down into the console. Did you also notice the IR headphones are not standard...!

Cheers,

I noticed that they also do a roof mount DVD unit in the accessories brochure now. No use if you have panoramic roof though. I will be exploring head rest monitors from an after market supplier but as I have ordered comfort seats that may be an issue.

Yes for '08 they "lowered' the option price by $100 by deleting the headphones, which is crazy. Luckily my dealer gave me 2 as part of the deal.

Will the soundtrack of the DVD only play through the headphones or can you also listen to it through the audio system's speakers?

I agree, the monitor should fold down into the center armrest. I cannot keep them up since I'm also concerned with possible damage to the monitor, having 2 kids in the back. They should have just gone with the headrest system. My kids cannot even watch DVD's when they're sitting in the 3rd row seat.

Yes, you can also listen through the cars audio system. Nice if you're watching regular movies. I don't recommend it if you have kids. I pretty much listen to Disney sing a long all day since my 18 month old likes to eat the headsets :rofl: