Pioneer Avic-D3
MSRP
$999
What We Like
incredible price point, Great POI's
What We Don't Like
DVD-based navigation monopolizes single disc drive, quirky routing
Nav Features
Touchscreen, 12 million POIs with 271 categories, NavTraffic ready
Audio Features
50 x 4 max power, EEQ settings, 3 pair RCA preouts, front Aux input, 24 radio presets
Extras
DVD/CD player w/ DivX, AAC, MP3 and WMA capability, vehicle dynamics display, emergency mode display
What To Connect To It
optional cable for iPod and iPod video, backup camera input, optional XM and Sirius satellite radio, optional Bluetooth module, optional remote
The highly anticipated D3 brings a nav unit from a major player into a more affordable price range. It comes from the same gene pool as Pioneer's higher priced offerings, but doesn't provide the same fancy features, such as adaptive routing and voice command capability. Nonetheless, the unit impresses with quick routing and rerouting, not to mention copious and easy-to-find POI's.
The D3's GUI is intuitive with multiple soft keys on an accurate touchscreen. They've done good work on the map detail and all the menus are easy to understand. You can choose from five map views and customize up to five soft shortcut keys for your most commonly accessed features. For instance, we chose a route overview button that came in handy. Why did it come in handy? Because of the D3's often quirky routing.
Although the unit would always get us where we wanted to go, the routes it chose weren't always the most efficient. For instance, even though we chose "fastest route" in the preferences, the D3 would often take us on a slower path. Upon taking the known quicker route, the unit would reroute and actually adjust its projected arrival time to an earlier one. It basically acknowledged its mistake. This quirk happened quite frequently in our dense metropolitan area, but in a less crowded area with fewer options it probably wouldn't cause much consternation.
On the upside, we love the POIs. The intelligent search software will find your request in any part of an entry. You can search by city or do a vicinity search. For instance, if you type "library" for a particular city, you'll find all entries with that word in them as opposed to having to think of the exact name of the library. The database is current and there are many useful categories. Another plus is that most entries have a listed phone number that appears in a clickable scrolling bar. Despite the great POIs, they aren't infallible. At least one entry had the wrong address entirely and another had the location on the wrong side of the road.
The prompts are generally on time, but sometimes they aren't. Rerouting can also be slow, but this isn't due to processing. Instead, both problems stem from the GPS receiver, which isn't pinpoint accurate. It can find you several hundred feet from where you actually are.
The D3 has many multimedia features. Unfortunately, most of them are add-ons, which increases the overall cost. In addition to AM/FM, your primary source out of the box will be the DVD/CD player. But, since this unit relies on DVD-ROM navigation, you have no open drive to stick your disc in. Once you start navigating, you can remove the DVD-ROM and play a CD, but you need to put it back in to go somewhere else. CD playback is simple, and it plays multiple file formats.
If you primarily listen to AM/FM or an MP3 player through the mini Aux-Input, the AVIC-D3 is a satisfactory solution out the box. However, if you want to listen to anything else, you'll want to purchase several hundred dollars worth of add-ons, defeating the purpose of a low-cost in-dash navigation unit. - Brook Howell
Grade: B