Aftermarket Integrated Sat Nav for the XC60

[Bonnie-Sunshine]

Run-run, you obviously don't need it, but why would you believe your view should convince others of what they do, or don't need, or that you should even question other's wishes. Each to their own. It works really well for me.

[run-run]

Ups!

I think you dind't understand me.

I'm not questioning anybody, just wanting to know if I just want to get the navigation system I need all these components.

Thanks!

[Bonnie-Sunshine]

Run-run, I apologise if I misread your post. I find on these forums, people are too often ready to gratuitously criticise other's ideas unnecessarily. Way too many people have their own agenda to push.

Now to answer your question. I'm no audiophile, but before I had the Kenwood unit installed, I did quite a bit of research and it appears with the XC60, a number of factors come into play. These are:

1. The relative newness of the vehicle, meaning lack of "after-market" fascia options;
2. The unintuitive interface, the software limitations and expense of the OEM Volvo unit;
3. The current audio set up;
4. The lack of room in the dash for a deep double-din single unit;
5. The size of the aperture in the fascia or where the OEM unit belongs;
6. The sparsity of quality 6.5/7" gps units;
7. The need for "touch-screen" controls so as not to interfere with the existing dash set up and providing for an intuitive interface;
8. Quality hardware which does all the things you desire such as clarity of picture, night-time mode (dimming) etc;
9. The desire for reliable, quality navigation software, such as Garmin, Tom-Tom etc, with good mapping which covers, the buyer's region (Europe, U.S.A or in my case Australia).

Taking into account all of the above, there appears to be few options for the XC60, apart from the Kenwood, which was designed for exactly this purpose.

It's a stand-alone unit which does not interfere with the existing audio set up. The unit has a 7" touch-screen of good quality and uses Garmin software. Because the unit is modular, you can have as many or as few options as you want. You can integrate your iphone/ipod or phone to play your music using the unit's interface playing through the OEM audio. You can incorporate bluetooth if you desire. A reversing camera. If you choose you can play videos through your iphone/ipod or through a DVD player. All of these are able to be added onto the KOS-V500 and controlled through the touch-screen.

Anyway, it's for these reasons, I went for the Kenwood unit.

[Sandy379]

I am about to order an XC60 SE D5 but cannot stretch to the satnav system. My current car, Alfa 150 SW, has a double din Pioneer AVIC system providing (a very good) radio / ipod / bluetooth and touchscreen satnav in one central unit, which I had fitted after purchase.

Although I have read the various posts, I am not clear as to what the 'art of the possible' is as far as a 2010 XC60 model is concerned - what options do I have particularly if I want more than just satnav (and would prefer an integrated rather than modular system) other than ticking the box for an expensive factory installed option.

Grateful for any advice.

PS - thanks to Bonnie-Sunshine for advice above but wonder if anyone else has any other experience in after market fits.

[Sandy379]

I’ve have not been impressed with the Volvo OEM factory fit satnavs (function and price) and I have looked extensively at the various options available. This thread has already shown that an independent touch screen monitor (Kenwood / Alpine type) can fit neatly into the XC60 recess, linked to a separate black box satnav unit, which can be neatly hidden. Cost – approx £1200 +/- fitted for a decent, top of the range unit. Smart solution and very effective. Bluetooth would be extra.

I have also seen a very neat fit using a Pioneer F500BT hybrid unit (Pioneer’s first standalone satnav and bluetooth unit) but the unit itself does not have a particularly good reputation unlike many of the Pioneer double din satnav units. But the bespoke finish was very impressive. Cost – about a third less than above depending on the final price of the base unit.

I finally decided on a solution based on tried and tested technology but at an affordable price, with a Garmin 1490T portable system and a Parrot 3000 series. This Garmin has a 5” screen (the widest available): a very good touch screen unit offering all of the latest satnav guidance technology including speed cameras and lane assistance, easily updated with excellent graphics.

Although the Garmin has an in-built bluetooth function, I needed something that can be wired into the car audio system in order to produce a better function to cope with background noise, particularly at higher speeds, hence the need for a parrot system which combines good, reliable in-car technology with a very broad range of phone and IT computability. (Ipod connection option comes with the Parrot 9000 series if required.) With full car audio muting, the parrot system took seconds to setup with both Iphone and Blackberry – simple to use and fully compatible with phone books etc.

I found a fitter who has hard wired both of these into the car (Chris at Chorley Car Audio - highly recommended), based around a flush, bespoke unit, to give a professional OEM type finish. The pic shows fitted satnav alongside the parrot – the mounting and finish is outstanding. The two units switch on and off with ignition and, for the satnav, I will sacrifice portability for permanence. The Garmin took minutes to master and it works a treat.

I didn’t face the any of complexities of trying to replace the existing audio system (complicated by the floating dash design hence the problem of trying to fit a conventional double din unit) and I didn't fancy a do-it-yourself solution (which I would probably mess up!).

The final price was considerably lower than the OEM equivalent (and less than the above two options) and the functional output, in my view, is much better. I am delighted with the end product!

[mas66]

Looks really smart !!

Out of interest how easy is it to remove (or connect to) and update the SatNav unit ?

Cheers

[coco123]

actually, i just got mine from China
http://www.xcaraudio.com/Shop/HDGPS/Index.html
But now i got problems about the GPS.
I don't know where to get the map which is based on Windows CE
I Tried so many map software , but can't work,Anyone could help?
Thanks

[polles]

Originally Posted by coco123

actually, i just got mine from China
http://www.xcaraudio.com/Shop/HDGPS/Index.html
But now i got problems about the GPS.
I don't know where to get the map which is based on Windows CE
I Tried so many map software , but can't work,Anyone could help?
Thanks

Have you tried Navigo or iGo? They both should work.

Did you order your unit from Jessie at xcaraudio.com?
How much did you pay?
I have planned to test this system as well and I'm very interested to hear how it works.

[coco123]

yes i ordered 1 pcs for XC60
about the gps, she will send me a link to downlaod the map
and try, hope it will work
cheers

Originally Posted by polles

Have you tried Navigo or iGo? They both should work.

Did you order your unit from Jessie at xcaraudio.com?
How much did you pay?
I have planned to test this system as well and I'm very interested to hear how it works.

[polles]

Originally Posted by coco123

yes i ordered 1 pcs for XC60
about the gps, she will send me a link to downlaod the map
and try, hope it will work
cheers

Ok, thanks.

Have you installed the unit already? How is the looks and feels?
How is the user interface?
Are you able to post some photos?

Greets