Ozzie's mini review of the Pioneer AVIC-D3 in his Focus ZX3 (pics included)

I finally got around to installing an aftermarket system in my '05 Focus ZX3 after doing lots and lots of research with different double-DIN head units. I decided on the Pioneer AVIC-D3 for several different reasons:

1) the actual unit itself looks great in my car. it almost looks like it came in there from the factory. I like that.

2) this unit has lots and lots of features with the ability to "add on" extras like multiple A/V inputs, XM and Sirius satellite radio, iPod control, Bluetooth comfort for both cell phone and Bluetooth audio. there leaves hardly anything left for me to desire.

3) I love the feature that allows you to import a JPEG picture and use that as the unit's wallpaper so to speak. that's cool, really cool.

*okay. now that I have that out of the way, on to some pics:

-here's a pic of my car which of course I just had to use it as my unit's wallpaper:



-a quick pic of the 10" sub along with my Clarion amp in the rear. I didn't need any of that massive "boom boom" stuff because I grew out of that stage back in high school, but I still enjoy "clean" music:



-here's a shot of the AVIC-D3's main menu screen:



-this is what the unit looks like w/o any details on the screen. just my car and the bare basic info:



-a shot of the Sirius radio in action. I must admit that the sound quality kicks the butt out of regular radio. it's well worth the $13 monthly fee:



-the next four shots are of the navigation feature which is pretty good. I have a couple of small gripes but nothing worth noting:







-this shot doesn't show much on mapping because it's in a developement that's barely broken ground so therefore there's no information on the mapping DVD yet:



*more in the second post due to picture limitations on one post.

-here's the navigation sub menu that allows you to view the maps in different formats. it also allows you to see the vehicle's real-time speed and the option of switching to the rear-view camera at any time. the camera does turn on automatically when the car goes into reverse:





-rear view camera mode. this is actually pretty handy when you're parking in that tight spot. very nice:



-a shot of the FM preset stations:



-these next two shots are of the Bluetooth feature coupled to my cell phone. I love this feature. I think it should be standard in all cars for safety sakes:





-and last but not least is a shot of the Bluetooth audio feature which is very nice as well. my cell phone (Samsung Blackjack) supports the A2DP feature which allows stereo listening via Bluetooth which is great. I use my Blackjack phone as an MP3 player through my car stereo. all this is done wirelessly:



*so in closing I will say this: Pioneer has really hit a home run with the AVIC-D3 because it has plenty of features "as is", but it then really shines when you buy the optional goodies as well like the Bluetooth and the Sirius modules and of course the rear-view camera. my friends have seen my new system and they all say "wow! now that's cool."