pioneer or kenwood nav?

[pipspeak]

I'm narrowing my choices for an in-dash nav system and seem to be down to two units that (I assume) will be a straight replacment for a non-JBL HU in a 4th gen (I currently have a Scion HU in there) -- the Kenwood DNX5120 and the Pioneer AVIC F700BT.

I want to keep it at around $600, which is why I'm not considering other models/manufacturers. Anyone got any feedback on the two above?

The biggest con I've read for the Kenwood is its crappy UI, while the Pioneer gets poor marks for overall sluggishness, freezing etc., although I did read that updated firmware was supposed to have improved things.

Is the Kenwood's Garmin nav any better or worse than the Pioneer nav system?

Any comments appreciated.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

I would get the Kenwood.

 

[car-whore]

I have the Kenwood DNX 8120 and I really like it. Pioneer makes a good product but I have heard quite a bit of negative feedback on the Avic F series. I think the F Series will be amazing once they get the kinks worked out, but right now I think it blows! Go with the kenwood; I can assure you that you'll love it!

 

[Mike07SE]

The Kenwood units have supposedly the best system with the Garmin setups. The GUI isn't as flashy as other brands, but works the best. The Pioneer F-Series has been getting a lot of negative feedback. Go look over on the AVIC 411 Forum for more information. Maybe Pioneer has resolved their issues, but it has already left a bitter taste.

 

[pipspeak]

I checked out the new Pioneer F-series units at Best Buy and three things struck me...

Firstly, response to any command is slooow, although I don't know if the units I played with had the new firmware that's supposed to improve general responsiveness. Secondly, the screen look kinda washed out even in a store, which means it'll potentially be very washed out in sunlight. Finally, the screen is designed to be "touched" with a stylus so if you use your finger you have to hit it quite hard to get a response. I could find nothing in the settings to change screen sensitivity, either.

Shame, because they look nice, have one of the best map systems from a visual point of view, and have built-in bluetooth, which is $200 more for the Kenwood units. But the kenwood units have far better screens and general responsiveness from my brief experience.

 

[Mike07SE]

Check out the DNX8120. It has pretty much everything built in.

 

[Elusive]

I have had the DNX8120 for about 2 months now, and i just love it. The Garmin interface has been terrific and my wife raves about it and always wants to take the truck now. In all it is a terrific unit.

I would suggest waiting a bit longer and saving some more cash and getting the 8120. I bought mine from an authorized seller (6th ave electronics) for $1000 due to a great coupon they had at the time. After installation parts including ipod cable i spent 1100.

 

[pipspeak]

The 8120 looks nice but is way out of my price range, unfortunately. I can stretch to $800 if I do the install myself, otherwise $600-700 is tops.