Infotainment Review: Subaru Starlink

The glossy presentation of the Subaru Starlink infotainment system fronts an offering that has some highs and lows in its deployment.

Although it's not as big as some, the 6.5-inch touch-screen itself is a vibrant, responsive, satisfying display that allows multi-touch gestures and uses clear, large fonts and icons to get across the information required.

Users can pinch, drag, flick and rotate many of the displays – in particular the map screen – in the same way they would use their smartphone.

The performance of the screen is very good and can be intelligently split between navigation, audio and telephone functions. The user interface does need some work though.

There are hard buttons for the Info, Settings and Map selections as well as voice control and steering wheel controls for most of the infotainment functions, but navigating the touch-screen interface itself is more complicated than it needs to be.

For example, changing a radio wave-band from the full map display requires far too many pokes than it should, requiring going to the Home and then Audio screens. This will cause first-time users some initial confusion and will take some practice to become comfortable with, no that this infotainment system is alone in this department.

The sat-nav screen itself is wonderful, with clever use of comic-speech-bubble-like street name designations and concise use of graphics to clearly deliver vital information.

As is Subaru's way, however, be aware that if you are not using the voice recognition controls for sat-nav destination input, you will need to enter these details while stationary as keyboard functionality is disabled when the car is in motion.

Starlink offers AM and FM radio as well as Bluetooth connectivity and extensive vehicle information options for the Subaru owner.

Speaking hands-free on the phone is fine, but we did get feedback on a conference call with the indicators activated, when apparently it sounded like a pantomime horse trotting in the background.

The system also integrates with Mirrorlink-capable devices, allowing access to entertainment apps. There are also specific options for the use of the Pandora music and radio streaming service as well as the Apple voice-controlled assistant Siri.

Unfortunately, while using Siri to find places to navigate to will be high on the list of uses, there is no integration with the Starlink navigation system to enable automation of the destination data.

The two USB connections for these devices is handily located below the dash in a spacious compartment. Connecting a hard-drive will allow the playback of MP3, WMA and AAC audio through the competent speaker system.

Thankfully, a smartphone can be both USB-connected and paired to the Bluetooth protocol simultaneously. This is a feature lacking on many systems.

Currently available in Subaru Liberty and Outback models, the Starlink system is a little awkward at times and can take time to operate naturally, but all the fundamentals of modern information and entertainment on-the-go are here.