The Pioneer Avic-D3 car navigation system presents a sleek and straightforward design, a departure from its counterpart, the Avic Z-1, which featured numerous hard buttons. The D3 opts for a cleaner aesthetic with a vertical arrangement of four buttons and a rotary push-button knob on the left side of its touch screen. While the 6.1-inch touch screen is slightly smaller than the Z1’s, it remains sufficiently large and bright for easy viewing of maps and media content.
The Avic-D3 boasts a wide array of media playback options, accommodating various compressed audio formats, iPods, satellite radio, and auxiliary input devices. Its navigation capabilities are equally impressive, offering turn-by-turn directions and real-time traffic updates. However, the system’s processor speed may feel sluggish when navigating menus or processing route information. The primary downside of the Avic-D3 is its single disc slot, forcing users to frequently swap between the navigation DVD-ROM and media discs to utilize all its functionalities.
Navigation Capabilities of the Avic-D3
The Pioneer Avic-D3 utilizes TeleAtlas maps, known for their clarity and distinct color-coding for different road types. When paired with the optional GEX-P10XMT traffic tuner and an XM NavTraffic subscription, drivers gain access to real-time traffic information, displaying traffic flow and incidents with color-coded overlays. Green indicates speeds above 40mph, orange for 20mph to 40mph, and red for speeds below 20mph. These traffic displays are notably more user-friendly than those found in factory-installed systems, such as the one in the 2007 Acura TL Type-S, thanks to flashing color overlays that enhance visibility. A convenient soft button on the touch screen allows users to access a list of traffic incidents, sortable by alphabet or proximity.
Programming the Avic-D3’s navigation is intuitive. Destinations can be entered via address, points of interest, or phone numbers, or selected from a built-in address book or destination history. Users input destinations using the touch screen, starting with the street number, followed by the street name, and then the city. A slight delay accompanies each step as the system processes the information, indicated by a disc whirring sound. One menu option requires users to pre-select the relevant U.S. region, a feature that may be less convenient compared to systems like the one in the 2007 Ford Expedition, which automatically defaults to searching near the vehicle’s current location. Once a destination is entered, the system calculates the route swiftly, displaying a bright green line to guide the driver.
During navigation, the Avic-D3 provides turn-by-turn voice prompts, including text-to-speech functionality, announcing turns and road names, which significantly aids in avoiding missed turns. For the initial minutes of a journey, a green floppy disc icon flashes, indicating route saving to internal memory. It’s crucial to have the appropriate DVD-ROM (one for the Western and one for the Eastern U.S.) inserted for route calculation and map display at zoom levels closer than 25 miles. Removing the DVD-ROM, for instance, to play a CD, switches the Avic-D3 to “memory navi mode.” This mode restricts access to only the last entered route, disabling new destination input or route editing. Therefore, Avic-D3 users must keep the navigation disc readily available for new destinations or route modifications, or opt to leave the navigation disc in and forgo using the disc slot for media playback.
Audio and Video Entertainment
When the navigation disc is removed, the Avic-D3 becomes a versatile audio-video player, supporting CDs, MP3, WMA, AAC discs, DVD audio, DVD video, and DivX movies. For digital audio playback, the screen offers user-friendly options for folder and file navigation. When playing MP3 or WMA discs, the system displays comprehensive ID3 tag information, including folder, album, artist, and track details. Additional information like genre and year can be accessed via an information button. Large soft buttons for play, pause, and skip are readily available, and a List button displays tracks within the current folder six at a time for quick track selection. When playing DVD audio, the LCD screen showcases browsable still pictures (BSPs) accompanying the music.
The Avic-D3 incorporates a built-in MOFSET amplifier delivering 50Wx4 channels. A three-band parametric equalizer allows for audio customization, alongside preset EQ configurations like Powerful, Natural, and Vocal for optimized sound across different audio sources.
Similar to the Sony CDX-GT610 UI, the Avic-D3 includes a standard intelligent iPod dock connector. Connecting an iPod enables touch screen control for track searching and playback. Like compressed audio discs, iPod tracks display ID3 tag information, and tracks can be browsed by playlist, genre, artist, album, or podcast. A virtual wheel, mimicking the iPod controller, appears on the screen, though its functionality is limited to skipping within a track. Track navigation requires selecting search parameters and scrolling through alphabetized lists displayed six at a time. While the Avic-D3 features one-touch scrolling, unlike the Dual XDVD8182, it lacks track name display during scrolling, making precise track selection challenging. iPods can also play video on the Avic-D3’s LCD screen, though video file selection must be done directly on the iPod.
For video disc playback, the Avic-D3 supports DVD video and DivX formats. With a DVD loaded, users can control playback via an optional remote or touch screen soft buttons, which include a title bar with playing time and chapter information. A Search button facilitates direct chapter navigation. The 480×234 screen resolution results in video quality that is not exceptional, particularly in color depth and picture reproduction. Brightness, contrast, color, and hue settings are available to optimize the visual experience.
Optional add-ons for the Avic-D3 include satellite radio (requiring separate XM or Sirius tuners) and Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming (via the CD-BTB100 wireless module). With the Bluetooth module, the Avic-D3 can manage calls using the touch screen, and phone numbers can be stored in the system’s phone book.
Conclusion: Feature-Rich but Flawed
The Pioneer Avic-D3 is an entry-level, all-in-one in-car system. When fully equipped, it offers a user-friendly navigation interface with real-time traffic and text-to-voice guidance. As a media receiver, it provides an impressive range of playback options, and its standard iPod connector is particularly valuable in today’s digital age.
However, the Avic-D3’s single disc slot significantly hinders the user experience. The constant need to switch discs between navigation and media functions makes operation cumbersome. While the Pioneer Avic-D3 is packed with features, this hardware limitation impacts its overall usability, a crucial factor for any in-car system.
