Hi everyone

Total noob here so apologies if this has been asked and answered already

I’m about to buy a 2016 RRS HSE Dynamic after 10 years of Mercs. Took the car for a test drive at the weekend and absolutely loved it but the infotainment system leaves quite a bit to be desired! Not a surprise given it’s older tech and I’m coming from a 2020 model but I’ve managed to get a good deal so have a bit extra cash to upgrade it to something with apple carplay.

I’m not convinced about the unique auto developments option as that seems to use the existing hardware and I’ve read a few negative comments about speed and responsiveness

The 10.25” android unit seems to fit the bill - anybody had one fitted? Thoughts?

Is there a problem getting a more generic aftermarket headunit from the likes of kenwood or pioneer? I imagine the biggest problem would be losing any functionality that’s accessed through the original unit but the car I’m buying doesn’t have many “extra features” (as land rover call them) so I could live with that. Any other problems it might bring?

Any other thought, options or experiences would be very gratefully received!

Thanks

the Android units are your best bet, nothing else on the market (that I know of) that will retain all the OEM functions --
2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear
2015 Range Rover Sport Supercharged V8 HSE Dynamic



Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9
Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO
Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ

you might find this interesting from the fullfatrr forum...its for the l405 but i'm sure they do a l494 version,
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic60416.html

Thanks folks. Anyone had an android unit fitted to their car?

Update - spoke to a local bloke who specialises in aftermarket in-car tech. He reckons all non-branded android units are to be avoided and recommended a “box” to add carplay to the OEM system. I’m going to follow his advice and I’ll let you know how it goes….

did he say what 'box' and how much?

He didn't say which box but reckoned c£650

That’s the unit fitted

This is the thing - https://id-core.co.uk/product/land-rover-r...interface/

Zak from VTI Solutions in Perth charged £650 including fitting (which took a couple of hours)

Just had a quick play with it and am very impressed - quicker than the built in LR system. Only downside is that it uses the existing touchscreen so, obviously, it’s no more responsive. Overall though, v happy!

so tempting..thanks for the update.

If you have a moment please take the time to visit the thread of slaine “Android 10.25" Infotainment upgrade “ https://www.evoqueownersclub.co.uk/. A very forthright guy who clearly has a good understanding of the subject far beyond installing a dongle.

Hello Latto,

How did it work out for you after now one year of usage?

I´m looking at the same box to upgrade my system, however, I´ve read that you can suffer a loss of sound quality due to the fact that the sound is connected via av simple Aux connection.

Is that on all systems offered or are there different (better ones) in the market?

Thanks SW

Sometimes it is not enough to do our best;
sometimes we must do what is required.

2005 RRS HSE 2.7 TDV6
Now: 2016 RRS HSE DYNAMIC 3.0 TDV6

It was pretty good (have since changed cars). Didn’t notice a difference in sound quality but car had the standard system and I had the carplay unit fitted soon after getting the car.

More generally, the system worked well and I FAR preferred it to the standard. A few things to note tho…
- the sat nav works off your phone and you lose the use of the standard sat nav. In most ways it’s loads better but does use your data and, if you don’t have a mobile data signal when inputting your destination, it won’t work
- linked to the last point, I had to get a dash mount for the phone so it could ‘see’ satellites as it couldn’t otherwise
- you still use the built-in screen so it’s still as irritatingly unresponsive!

All in all though, as I say, much preferred it to the OEM system

For anyone wanting to retain oem but add CarPlay check here

https://www.dmpcardesign.com/for-land-rove...-mirroring

I have never seen car play in a car, so in simple terms, what does it do, in real life what do you actually use that the standard fit doesn’t do, and what are the downsides, there must be some? Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi

I have car play in my van and the only thing I use it for is Sat Nav. The car play needs the phone to be plugged into the USB port to work so it doesn’t work via Bluetooth so I don’t know if that’s the same for every vehicle fitted with car play.