Smartphones play an increasingly central role in communication, media use and as a remote control of electrical devices and systems. It features a slick touchscreen display providing access to a wide range of features – including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as DAB radio and even a reversing camera or dashcam (when fitted).

For example, in parallel to a USB memory permanently in the car, a smartphone can also be connected to the USB port while driving.

The 3 camera inputs can be connected to a front camera, a KENWOOD dash cam (DRV-N520 sold separately) and a rear view camera. If you're on the road and life is hectic, you can use Android Auto to be super productive -- or just to help you relax. This item has been Professionally Refurbished by us (KENWOOD) - Is fully working and may show signs .

Newer cars of course tend to have wired CarPlay already, so if you want wireless CarPlay in those you need a product like CPLAY2air which connects to your car’s USB port and acts as a Wi-Fi bridge to your iPhone. The voice control engines of many current smartphones that can be used with the Kenwood moniceivers are also particularly practical. It supports various audio formats such as AAC, FLAC, MP3, WAV, and WMA, providing flexibility for music playback.The USB cable is equipped with an interference-resistant plug-in connection and thus makes it easier to install during installation. Mechless means it does not have a DVD player (or cassettes for those older people), it’s just radio (including digital) and USB, Bluetooth or wi-fi connections to USB storage devices and phones.

We tested Sony's option a few years ago and, while Kenwood's isn't a like-for-like alternative (technology moves fast and that review's now three years old), it is more advanced.

The corresponding menu icon on the Kenwood device allows you to activate voice control of the smartphone and accept voice commands. Boot time from start up until it displays the very annoying and in reality useless Nanny State screen with the “I Agree” button is about 15 seconds. Just tell Siri or Google Assistant which apps you want to use, and let your Kenwood head unit do the rest. We find this more intuitive to use than the Kenwood's buttons but, if your car has steering wheel controls (our 2005 Toyota MR2 test vehicle doesn't) they can be connected to the media system.