If you can’t stand having wires running all over your dashboard to connect your MP3 player, listening to your Apple iPod tunes through your car’s sound system calls for a direct link. Some head units can be adapted but, if yours can’t, it could be time for an upgrade. Some new set-ups operate via the iPod’s own cable and a USB socket, while others use their own lead or adaptor. At less than £100, Pioneer’s DEH-50UB was impossible to beat. Using a USB link, it controls all the player’s features via a great-looking display and large multifunction control.