„Modern infotainment for BMW 3 Series E90 – E93“, is the verdict of German Car & HiFi magazine (02/2017) on ZENEC’s new multimedia navigation system Z-E3215 MkII, awarding it a „Highlight“ accolade.
Even though no more BMW 3 Series E90 have been built for some years now, there are still many cars of this popular model running on European roads. However, the factory installed infotainment technology of about 12 years ago is now out-dated. With the Z-E3215 MkII, ZENEC has a multimedia navigation system in its product range that can easily be retrofitted in the BMW 3 Series to provide modern infotainment. The German Car & HiFi magazine tested the new BMW sat nav in issue 02/2017, and awarded it the „Highlight“ accolade.
Like its predecessor, the Z-E3212 MkII has also been designed to fit perfectly in the BMW 3 Series: „The ZENEC has exactly the same dimensions as the original BMW head unit. Also included in the kit is a front panel that goes round the air conditioning controls. The original look of the instrument panel is therefore kept, with the orange button illumination matching the BMW color“. But praise from Car & HiFi is not just for the appearance: „The Z-E3215 MkII also works perfectly with the vehicle electrical system.“ The Z-E3215 MkII thus supports the BMW steering wheel remote control, and displays the data of the optical parking assist in combination with the image of the rear-view camera. The acoustic PDC connection is made with the internal buzzer.
That the vehicle integration of the ZENEC BMW sat nav is an all round success for Car & HiFi is also shown by the automatic booting of the Z-E3215 MkII on a CAN wake-up signal. In BMW vehicles, 30 minutes after central locking the power supply to the radio is cut, all personal settings are lost in the case of conventional naviceivers. Not so with the Z-E3215 MkII: „The Z-E3215 saves the device user data internally on an EEPROM. So when the vehicle is unlocked, the ZENEC reboots and reloads all settings.“
ZENEC’s new BMW sat nav impressed the testers with its comprehensive multimedia features: „As is usual with ZENEC, the BMW model also offers a full set of entertainment, communications, and information features.“ Beside the DSP assisted FM tuner, the media hub offers the option of connecting three USB sources, including iPhone. In addition, according to the testers, there is a „hands-free system with all the familiar functions for comfortable telephony“, and the option of transmitting music via Bluetooth.
The navigation system of the Z-E3215 MkII also picked up points with maps for the whole of Europe, and more than 6 million Premium points of interest: The graphical representation of the route guidance is clear with three-dimensional rendering of buildings and terrain, real junction view, and tunnel mode. Route guidance is supported acoustically with text-to-speech, including the announcement of street names.
„With the Z-E3215 MkII, ZENEC offers owners of older 3 Series BMWs a wonderful opportunity to get the very latest infotainment into the dashboard“, is the conclusion reached by the tech journalists of Car & HiFi, rewarding ZENEC’s new sat nav with the „Highlight“ accolade.
Keywords:Z-E3215 MkII, Zenec, BMW 3, sat nav, navigation, multimedia, test