Hi,
I'm thinking of renting a car in the UK for a short bit of our Spring trip. Planning on a small automatic from Arthur Clarke. Can anyone tell me how likely it is for the car to have Apple Car Play which I can use to navigate from my phone?
Thanks so much
Hi, Katiecem,
There's a good chance that the rental car will not have Apple Car Play. However, if you just need a service for directions, almost all rental cars in Britain have the option of SatNav, which is just like American GPS. There is a daily charge for the SatNav option. I'm not sure how much Arnold Clark charges, but you could contact them or check their website to find out. Sometimes you get lucky, and the rental company forgets to take the SatNav off from the previous renter. I've had that happen a couple of times over the years, although I rely almost exclusively on paper maps.
Good luck and best wishes!
Mike (Auchterless)
Any car you hire nowdays will have a touchscreen with Apple Car play or Android Auto
Many will have apple car play but you may need a patch cord to connect (blue tooth seems to vary). For the cord, my recent trip showed that most new cars only have USB - C port. It is the standard for cords in the UK. I had to buy a USB-C to lightening cord there. Not expensive but easier to take one.
Thanks so much for your replies! I will definitely take a USB-c to lightning cord.
Katie, it will almost certainly have Car Play (or something equivalent) as others have noted. And in fact, I would confirm that with Arnold Clark when you pick up the car. They are VERY good at accommodating their customers, and will certainly let you know what it has.
And I second the rec to bring a USB cord with you. BUT I would have a USB-C and USB-A, just in case. Most ports used to be USB-A, but more recently, I'm finding USB-C ports in the cars.
However, you never know and it's a pain to have to buy one at the last minute. And of course the other end should be a lightning plug for your phone. 😊
Thanks, Mardee. That's reassuring. I also have these great little USB-a to USB-c converters. https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/cables-and-adapters/cables-and-adapters_adapters/78811214
We have rented cars twice while visiting the UK.
I found that renting a GPS with the car was an outrageous charge. My phone didn't work in the UK, so I had to ask for a navigation system on the car.
The nav system worked very well except for two locations, for some reasons. I. had to stop and ask for directions, so no problem.
You are wise to rent an automatic, since if you had to shift gears, you would have to do it with your left hand.
Driving in Britain was not so bad, except for the traffic around London. Brits tend to be polite drivers and not terribly aggressive like some on the continent.
Still, focus on turns at intersections, (stay on the left, my wife kept warning me).
And of course the other end should be a lightning plug for your phone.
Not necessarily true. All iPhones since the iPhone 15 in 2023 now use USB-C. This is at least partially because of a EU mandate that all charging ports be common.
Typo above. iPhone 15 came out in 2023.
Geovagriffith--I have T-Mobile which works really well in the UK (at least it has on previous trips) so I'm pretty sure I will be able to navigate from my phone if I have Car Play. I have driven in the UK before (in the distant past) and found it to be pretty easy to adapt to. I'm hoping this is still true.
Pharmer Phil--True but I have a iPhone 13 so that is still lightning.
