Blaupunkt Madrid BT200 – Product Review

Look, I don’t mean to sound like a grumpy old man here, but I’m going to. Modern car stereos are an assault on the eyes. They’re bright and quite literally flashy. It’s like these companies have competitions to see how many buttons, beeps and twinkles they can incorporate into the design. But we don’t need all that. I don’t know about you, but I tend to be looking at the road when I’m driving, not pretty lights blinking at me from my centre console. But what’s the solution? Have an old stereo converted to boast modern features? Possible, but very expensive. If only there was something simple, something cheap and something that works as a stereo. Something like, say, this Blaupunkt Madrid 200BT.

The Product

If you don’t know about Blaupunkt, or ‘Blue Dot’ to use the translated name, where have you been? Blaupunkt is a household name these days, having made stereos, TVs, blenders, shavers, and of course, car stereos. To have a Blaupunkt in your classic BMW, Porsche or Mercedes-Benz was the sign of a not insignificant win. They’re great, great stereos. As it happens, I also have a Mercedes-Benz. However, it was not fitted with a Blaupunkt. It just had a truly awful factory unit in it, which now lives in the bin. But what to replace it with? The car cost £9, so I wasn’t willing to spend hundreds. A quick search brought this up. The Blaupunkt Madrid 200BT. A compact, single DIN, mechless unit that boasted good sound, Bluetooth connectivity and plug and play fitting. The best bit? It came in at under £80. At that price, it’s obviously not the company’s heaviest hitter, but it’s still good.

The Test

The test came in two parts: the fitting and the using. The fitting was easy, and took a couple of minutes. The stereo is light, it comes with a securing cage that fits into the dash and the plug on the rear is a standard ISO, so the loom from my Mercedes-Benz clicked right in. I did have to change a wire or two to get ignition live, but that’s because of the car, not the stereo. Once in, the pleasing, simple, design looked instantly at home. There is no doubt that this stereo suits an old German car to a tee, but it would look just as at home in anything from the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s. It’s simple, clean cut and boasts just enough buttons. It’s simple to use, has a built in EQ, radio presets and memory, bass boost, USB and AUX connectivity up front, and of course, Bluetooth.

The Result

Pairing to my phone was a doddle, and the sound quality is exceptional. The speakers in my Benz are factory, but the Blaupunkt Madrid 200BT makes the most of them. Also, despite the fact the microphone is small and mounted in the front of the stereo, I have had no complaints when using the head unit as a hands free device. And all for under £80, brand new. Astonishing. The functions and customisation settings are easy to use, as are all the menus and so on. I would suggest going into the volume settings and turning the beep function off, as it gets annoying when it honks every time you press a button. It really is a great, great bit of kit though. I’d have one in any of my other cars in a heartbeat.

The Verdict – 5 out of 5

Does what it says on the tin with aplomb, sounds amazing, takes minutes to fit, looks fantastic, is easy to use and all from a famous, trusted name. Honestly, at £80, can you afford to NOT have one?