What head unit?

This isn't very GRM, I know.

When buying a car, if you're not going to buy new and put in an order, you're stuck going with the cars you can find. I want navigation and my latest car is the third time in a row that I've taken the thousands in savings over factory navi.

At this point, I have a car that I mean to hold for at least five years, so I'm willing to spend a bit to do this right. I have no fear of trim, electronics, or electricity. I'll be doing the install myself.

What I want is the best possible integration. I don't want buttons that don't do anything to be left over from the factory system. I'm a little intimidated because this car does come with some phone integration from the factory, and it's strewn across the dashboard.

So, the car is a 2013 Honda CR-Z EX. The EX has Bluetooth phone integration. That means the driver instrument panel (the screen that provides the odometer, specifically) shows calls information and the steering wheel has a call and end button. The head unit mutes during phone operation, controls hands free volume, and displays a Bluetooth logo when a phone is connected.

The steering wheel also has a volume up and down button, channel up and down, and mode control.

I have a factory back up camera, but it's integrated into the rear view mirror, and I don't feel I have to move it.

I can fit a double din unit.

I'd like the new head unit to be able to take advantage of my factory sound system as much as possible. It sounds plenty nice. I'd like it to integrate closely with my phone - I'm using Windows Phone now, but my contract is up in a month, and I'm comfortable with Android and iOS, and will go where I get the best results.

Here's what I've started considering on my own:

I'm considering going iPhone and Pioneer Appradio 4. This looks like the slickest UI available right now.

Second place is one of the many off brand Android head units. Pumpkin seems to be trying to stand out as selling decent products, and the reviews have been okay. The problem is "no name Android" doesn't fill me with confidence. It's about half the price of the Appradio, and could be set to pick up my podcasts using built in wifi, and would run Waze natively.

Third, I could try to get factory navi bits, but this seems to be the priciest choice, and it yields the weakest feature set. I'm not clear if I'd have to replace any parts beyond the head unit, or if everything else is the same.

Id call crutchfield. They have always been able to get me exactly what im looking for, if it exists.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Id call crutchfield. They have always been able to get me exactly what im looking for, if it exists.

Yup. they are the experts and very helpful.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Id call crutchfield. They have always been able to get me exactly what im looking for, if it exists.

This was my first thought, those folks are excellent all around.

The only thing you're looking to gain is navigation? Is it too much to use a separate nav unit or to mount your phone in a convenient location and use the nav features on it?

If the factory system does everything you want except nav and you're satisfied with the sound I don't see it as worth ripping it out to replace it with an aftermarket system.

Some of the newer phones and head units can link up by Bluetooth or cable to use your phone's navigation. Pretty sure this will kill built-in nav in both the aftermarket and OEMs in a few years. I'd be looking into that more than anything.

EDIT: There are a few ways to do this, but I think the major player is Mirrorlink.

Actually, this is very GRM if you install it yourself. I would go with a stand-alone navigation system that mounts on the dash or the windshield. It's not the most elegant solution if you make bags of money, but it's the simplest solution.

Edit: Oh, and new head units are the 2nd most practical upgrade you can do to your car (after tires), especially for cars 5+ years old; You can keep the factory one and swap them out when it's time to sell if desired.

I would also go with a stand-alone nav unit (or a smartphone).

I replaced the head units on 2 of my previous cars (one of them twice) and I was never really satisfied with the end result: it always seemed like I had introduced more rattles, or the interior panels didn't quite fit right after I took them out, or I lost some other feature from the car that I didn't know I was going to lose (ex. 1997 Civic had keyless entry as part of the stock radio). Now granted I may be a bit ham-handed (or maybe a lot) but all those parts were from Crutchfield and they make it sound like anyone can install anything they sell. Since all that I've vowed to buy the best factory radio available so I'm not tempted to upgrade.

dculberson wrote: The only thing you're looking to gain is navigation? Is it too much to use a separate nav unit or to mount your phone in a convenient location and use the nav features on it? If the factory system does everything you want except nav and you're satisfied with the sound I don't see it as worth ripping it out to replace it with an aftermarket system.

Rig up a nice dash or windshield mount and pick up a used smartphone (less than $400) to leave in the car that auto-starts navigation when it starts seeing a charge(or another trigger of your choosing). It will be better than any head unit navigation and you don't have to deal with trying to make sure all the other nice DD controls play nicely with an aftermarket head unit. I used to install my own stereo in my 90's cars that were single DIN, but it is such a PITA in newer cars.

Or if you're really determined http://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/1ujlp3/i_installed_a_nexus_7_in_a_bmw_e46_this_weekend/

I put an Alpine W900BT in my Transit Connect, my wife's 2013 Subaru Legacy has the factory navigation in it. The navigation on our IPhone 5C's is better and easier to use than either of the in-vehicle units.

I have been waiting a year for updates to the Alpine. Every time I call they tell "in a couple months". I don't have any idea if updates are available for the Subaru or how to get them either. Guess I need to check with the dealer.

Biggest problem I have is that a couple local interchanges to I-70 that I use frequently have been changed recently. One was just some ramp changes but the other one was moved a mile down the interstate with new streets into town added also. Neither of the built-in units can find the interchange that was moved and freak out when you don't turn off into the field where the interchange used to be. The IPhone was up to date a month after the new interchange opened.