Mazdas are a great cars to drive, so test drive it however try to get extra time with it on the test drive. That was my mistake, I did not sit there and scan the stations etc. It sort of unexpected a radio not working 100 percent. Mazda may have fixed it with the later versions of the MZD.
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By the time Iām ready to purchase a Mazda 2 maybe any issues with the DAB radio will be sorted out
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And Bluetooth apparently. There was a great episode of Reply All where someone wrote to them saying the podcast 99%Invisible caused MZD Connect to freeze and eventually reboot itself.
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Great podcast. If I had of known this I would of considered sending my problem to them. But they sound US based so no DAB to test 
. Its very similar problem. 9C is fine, yet 9A/9B had issues. But sometimes 9A was ok, but it was mostly not good. . Did I confuse you? I have a lot of theories but difficult to prove. It was too technical for the folk at Mazda. They were more focus on the aerial wiring than the software. The software they donāt really have control over.
Itās not often car radio reception improvements are touted as an improvement in car model updates, but itās the case here with the newly refreshed Mazda6
āApple CarPlay and Android Auto are also rolled out across the range, and the audio system now pulls in FM radio signals through a secondary antenna for improved reception and sound. According to Mazda, this second antenna cancels out noise from the VHF signals being bounced off buildings and other solid objects.ā
From here:
https://www.motoring.com.au/price-hike-for-updated-mazda6-diesel-dropped-118668/
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Good find. Would be nice if there was similar focus on receiving DAB+ and for those in the country, AM.
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Yes interesting. I assume they have now fixed the dab radio. 
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Iāve seen a demo Mazda 2 Maxx for sale on Carsales ,2019 model with DAB radio,around $20000 .Wish I could afford to buy itš
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Plenty more depreciation to go, itāll be cheaper by the end of the year for starters. Hang in there.
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I manage to sit in a CX5 today and swapped the station to SWR the performance was not as good as the kia. Around the Hoxton park area my car radio in the Kia Carnival no obvious issues (I often drive down that way), the Mazda was unlistenable at a set of traffic lights at Cowpasture Rd and North Liverpool Roads. Also some issues in patches around Marsden Park.I never listened to SWR in my old Mazda 3. I only became a regular listener for about 1 year. So the secondary aerial sounds like its needed. To be fair, it might have been interference from the dash cams etc. The driver normally listens to KIIS. It seems to have no issues. The real test is always tuning into community radio.
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Any recommendations for a car radio to replace my stock cassette era one?
Iāve been looking at the Sony DSXA416BT, donāt need it do anything fancy other than FM radio and bluetooth.
Itās a shame that manufacturers have stuck with the same designs for decades.
Same with GPS units that havenāt seemed to have left the previous decade (I admit because navigation on phones have succeeded them but thatās a legal no-no for L/P platers like myself).
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Does your dashboard have a double DIN slot?
You could then get one with an LCD display and run Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
They do cost a bit more though.
Yeah but it seems as though NSW law prohibits its use (for L/P platers) under its blanket āany function of a mobile phoneā.
https://www.whichcar.com.au/car-news/are-you-breaking-the-law-using-apple-carplay-and-android-auto
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You can actually purchase a head unit with all those features (via USB or SD card) for less than $20 (yes, thatās right - $20) these days, which I quite frankly find astounding.
From what Iāve heard, they actually have very good sound quality (though performance on AM is pretty poor). In the late 90s, Blaupunkt actually was somewhere between Alpine and Pioneer. Oh, how the mighty have fallen (they sold the name to a Chinese corporation which pumps out junk).
Another option might be an Android head unit (not to be confused with Android Auto), which is a device which runs a completely independent Android system as its operating system. You can find various models (with the typical Chinese brand quality) online.
These are NOT illegal to use as a P plater in NSW because they do not have mobile phone functionality - they only use cellular data for stuff like GPS or streaming music. Youāll need to purchase a separate 4G USB modem for it to work (any USB cellular modem will work in general), but they will fit the bill.
I personally prefer Android Auto head units because they are usually more stable (and these Chinese head units usually have certain quirks and bugs), but if youāre stuck with no other choice for getting a GPS head unit with music streaming, Iād recommend something like this:
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Iām pretty much set on getting the Sony unit if going for a standard head unit. It has AM which is bonus.
I looked at the double DIN units running Android themselves but obviously put off by the unknown quality. If I go that route Iād want to for navigation in Google Maps (or Android Auto not needing the phone if they support it). I wonder if they support getting internet from another android phone using tethering (instead of creating a wifi hotspot)?
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They probably would support it, but technically that would go against the law for P platersā¦
And yes, itās pretty wise being wary of the unknown quality of these head units. Mine did have a few annoying quirks which needed sorting out, and certain apps ran really strangely because they didnāt support the horizontal orientation properly.
I looked at a 2016 Mitsubishi ASX today and took it for a test drive,it does have DAB radio and I was listening to Smooth FM ,If I do end up buying this car(subject to finance approval of courseš)I think I will be listening to DAB radio all the time while driving.
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Yep I listen to DAB in the car 100% of the time here in Brisbane.
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Not all ASXs have DAB radio I noticed,any manufactured before 2016 didnāt have it, Iāve looked at a few on Carsales website . I know itās a big vehicle for just myself but I feel very safe driving it ,and itās cheaper to buy this one than a newer Mazda 2
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Donāt worry if vehicles are big just for you, buy what you feel comfortable with - if that is the ābigā choice out of your short list, go with it. Gut instinct is usually right.
Good to know the cut off for digital radios installed in them.
Mitsis are usually cheaper on servicing and parts than Mazda who are often closer to Honda territory for such costs.
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