Review: Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT and Alpine iXA-WF07 In-Car Head Units

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So Cash for Clunkers comes and goes, but you did not have a clunker to trade in. Like most of America, your 2004 four-cylinder Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, or Ford Ranger did not qualify for a rebate because it did not use enough gas. Moreover, it was worth way more than the $3,500 Uncle Sam was offering; it had plenty of life left in it.

In fact, you just took it to the mechanic who recommended changing the timing belt and said the car should be good for another 60,000 miles with regular oil changes. There is no reason to splurge for a new car, but you have been secretly lusting over all the cool new technologies out there. After all, you can get a new Ford with SYNC and get iPod integration and Bluetooth connectivity. Or how about an Acura with navigation and XM Traffic to alert you where the trouble spots are? 

Looking down you are only greeted with a CD player and the most exciting function available is a ‘random’ button. It can’t even read MP3-encoded discs! Don’t throw out the car- it’s just time to pimp your dashboard and retrofit your ride with the latest tech.  The aftermarket is here to help, armed with technologies you thought were only reserved for Mercedes’ new E-Class. But instead of paying $50,000 dollars (and that is just a start) you can spend under $2000 and get even more functionality!

The centerpiece of any mobile multimedia system will be the head unit (a.k.a., your radio). Luckily, a lot of vehicles that are a few years old share the same double-DIN-sized cavity (where the radio fits in your dash). To take advantage of these vehicles, car electronics manufacturers have been making their premium offerings in this size range. Even if you do not have this size opening in your dash, a competent MECP-certified installer can massage these units into vehicles where they may be a tougher fit.  Two companies that are offering high-end in-vehicle multimedia stations (they ain’t your average CD player!) are Alpine and Pioneer. Let’s take a look at some of the features that you can add to your 2004 ride with 2010 tech.
Pioneer’s AVIC-Z110BT is the manufacturer’s flagship model. 

The basic rundown includes audio and DVD video entertainment, navigation, iPod/iPhone integration and Bluetooth on a 7-inch touch panel motorized display.  When you fire up the unit, it goes into a GUI (Graphic User Interface) touchscreen that you can easily modify so you can get quick access to frequently used features.  I mean, no sense in having an XM Satellite Radio icon appear if your subscription is with SIRIUS (and, the Pioneer is one of the only head units that can access both services provided you pay the two subscriptions, offering even more entertainment than the ‘Best-Of’ packages). To control everything, there are hard keys on the bottom of the unit, the touchscreen and voice recognition that work pretty well.  

Instead of pulling over to input a point-of-interest, you can just tell the unit to “find the nearest gas station” and it will automatically populate a list of choices, closest one first.  Icons are automatically populated on the nav screen and popular places (such as Chevron or Starbucks) are represented with company logos. Want to really be impressed? Hook the unit up to the optional MSN Direct tuner box and it will display the price of the gas so you can find the cheapest station! The optional MSN feature will probably have you see more movies than usual, as it provides movie times and theater locations right on the screen.

You can hear a radio preview for the new Christian Bale movie and the AVIC-Z110BT will direct you to the theater just in time for popcorn before the show. If you use an iPhone, the possibilities are staggering with using the AVICFEEDS app.  Not only can you route your trip on the iPhone so all you have to do when you get in the car is drive, but it can even read geotagged photos and it will navigate you back to them.  Find a great hidden bar?  Just take a photo- the iPhone will send the coordinates to the AVIC-Z110BT and then take you there so you can concentrate on your date!  Even though the Pioneer’s retail price of $1,600 is not exactly cheap judged by other car stereos, it includes more tech horsepower than competing units all in one box. It certainly will not be obsolete anytime soon.    

Alpine’s iXA-W407 was optimized for the iPhone and the iPod.  The first thing you notice is this screen takes up a lot of real estate in the dashboard and will have a Lexus-like effect on your Toyota Corolla dashboard. The 7-inch screen uses a similar technique to navigate through menus. Instead of a clickwheel, you simply slide-and-touch through menus. Parrot Electronics has been a leader in Bluetooth technology and Alpine has combined forces with the company to create the first Alpine head unit with built-in Bluetooth (in other words, no other black boxes are necessary to have the phone pair with the head unit).

To program the unit, your vehicle must be in park and a sequence with the emergency brake activates menus Alpine does not want you looking at while driving. It really is a good idea to prevent driver distraction, but sometimes it would be cool if there was a passenger bypass so he could pair a phone while underway. And why would a passenger want to pair a phone? To take advantage of streaming Bluetooth audio on their device, of course!

Even though Bluetooth and Bluetooth audio are built-in, navigation is not. However, Alpine is marketing this head unit with the Alpine NVE-M300 navigation drive for a total suggested retail cost of $1,100.  Coupled with the iXA-W407, you now have a complete Audio Video Navigation system.

The NVE-M300 features assistive mapping that shows you off-ramps and one-way streets with clarity.  It can be easily customized and has access to over 6 million points-of-interest across North America. My advice is if you are thinking about it, buy the NVE-M300 navigation module from the get-go. The module can be easily tucked behind the dash at the time of installation, reducing labor costs.  However, if you never use navigation, you can buy the iXA-W407 a la carte for $800.  

Alpine is a name that is synonymous with sound quality.  One very cool option for the iXA-W407 is  the PXA-H100 IMPRINT audio processor.  This device really has to be heard at a dealer in a demo vehicle to be appreciated, but with some decent quality speakers, this is an awesome $180 upgrade. It makes your ride sound more like a live music event and less like a car stereo. 

Overall, here are two options for pimping your dashboard that will add the latest technology and bring your ride beyond tomorrow compared to some OEM multimedia systems.  If your car is running well, there is no need to clunk it, just tech it!  Moreover, if something comes up and you must sell your ride, you can always take your cutting-edge electronics with you for your next vehicle. EG