In-car infotainment systems have come a long way in just the last decade. Gone are the days of these bland, uninspired LCD interfaces, with rudimentary graphics, little colour and not much to control outside of navigating the radio and your CDs (even with aftermarket options).

As time progressed, the vehicle’s systems grew more integrated, and the interfaces used to access them more advanced. With today’s systems, a car owner can, with a few taps on the screen, make calls, access vehicle cameras for easier parking, control air conditioning, even speak commands for the car to execute and this is just a bit of the ever-growing list of features being added to the modern-day infotainment.

But let’s face it, you can’t just purchase a new vehicle every time there’s an advancement in your favorite model’s infotainment system. So, if you’re like me and you own a vehicle with support for a double DIN head-unit, you’re in luck, as there are a slew of aftermarket solutions available to make your car feel new again.

I’ve searched Amazon and compiled a list of the most popular solutions available based on customer reviews. However, before jumping into the best-of list, it must be noted that these aftermarket solutions will NOT offer control over interior elements such as controlling the Air-Conditioning etc. However, they will offer features such as:

1. Android Auto/ Apple Carplay Support
2. Bluetooth Capabilities
3. Inputs for Reversing Camera
4. USB Ports
5. Touch Screen Capabilities (just to name a few)

 1. Pioneer MVH-1400NEX(…more)

The MVH-1400NEX key features include:

• 2-inch (800×400) capacitive touch screen
• Multi-touch gestures like that on the smartphone
• Apple Carplay which allows the unit to provide a safer and smarter way to use your iPhone in the car. Once connected via USB cable, a user can enjoy an intuitive way to listen to music, make calls, read messages and use Siri voice control through the Pioneer receiver’s controls.
• Android MTP Playback allowing a user to control and play stored music files in various formats from the phone through the receiver.
• Smartphone Charging via USB port
• Variety of Music Options – Apple Music Radio, Spotify
• Integrated Bluetooth for taking phone calls and streaming music from a maximum of five Bluetooth compatible devices simultaneously
• USB & AV Playback
• Rear-View camera input
• Support for OEM steering wheel controls

 

2. Sony XAV-AX200(…more)

The XAV-AX200 key features include:

• 4-inch responsive touchscreen with full-color display. It offers Gesture Control to allow performing common operations by swiping the finger in preset direction on the screen.
• User-friendly interface that lets you customize it with wallpapers, aspect ratio, dimmer and picture EQ settings.
• Remote Controls – Unit features IR remote control and has support for OEM steering wheel controls
• Apple Carplay and Android Auto for taking control of your devices
• Three-external camera inputs – which allows the driver to view imagery from three connected cameras
• Three high-voltage pre-outs for easily expanding your car’s system with power amplifies to drive speakers and subwoofers
• Great sound optimization with 10-band equalizer to provide easy and effective frequency adjustment for various listening environments.
• Support for CD-audio and DVD-video discs
• Built-in Bluetooth for hands-free communication and wireless audio streaming

3. Pioneer MVH-2300NEX(…more)

The MVH-2300NEX key features include:

• 7-inch WVGA Display (800 x 480) that offers plenty of customization options
• Compatibility with an array of media files (Supports FLAC, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV audio files and MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, DivX and WMV video files
• Siri Eyes Free – a simple touch on the screen lets you command Siri through a microphone and you can easily listen to the information through car speakers to be able to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the steering.
• Apple Carplay & Android Auto Support
• Built-in Bluetooth for hands-free & audio streaming for up to five mobile devices. This includes the ability to browse the devices music library on the phone storage or apps wirelessly.
• Expandability with iDataLinkMaestro – This allows expanded functionality to be displayed on the head unit screen, such as climate controls, gauges, distance sensor, temperature controls and more.
• USB input, AUX input, composite video output, wired remote input and back-up camera input for expanded functionality.

Overall

Personally, the Pioneer MVH-2300NEX has to be my choice, as it offers a vast array of features for a reasonable price and let’s not forget Pioneer’s reliability (seriously, their head units are usually built like tanks). Let me know which infotainment system you prefer. Also, there are quite a few other great options available that might not have been included in this post. If you’ve come across or are using any major ones, do let me know by posting a comment down below.