This new customer contacted us out of hours by WhatsApp on 01332 332546, to ask for a good solution for his stunning Land Rover Defender 90 2015. He wanted to have a good navigation solution and reversing camera. After sending links to our Instagram account of previous Defender upgrades, he loved the look of the Alpine Halo9 with wireless Apple CarPlay
This fantastic 9 inch hi res touchscreen offers excellent iPhone connectivity with wireless Apple CarPlay, which allows him to;
Use navigation apps such as Apple Maps, Google Maps & Waze
Use music apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal & more
Respond to messages legally by Siri while driving
Make and receive phone calls legally while driving
This can be done wirelessly, or plugging into the cubby box on longer journeys (to charge his phone while driving)
Other options are available which relocate buttons elsewhere on the dash, to give a flush finish, but as this is a limited edition Defender, we felt the floating screen approach was better suited, could be installed quickly and didn't require removal and permanent modification of the dash. Acess to the buttons requires pulling the screen down to access the buttons behind the screen (the bottom screw mount is a hinge pivot on the Alpine screen). This also allows a larger screen
The Alpine Halo9 supports reverse and rear view camera, and also front and side cameras if desired. This customer wasn't bothered about front and sides, but wanted better rear visibility while reversing, and also the option to see behind while driving forward, especially useful when lining up a trailer for towing. The Alpine can use the same camera for reverse (selects automatically when you engage reverse gear) and rear view (press the camera button). On rear view mode, you can add a hitch icon to show where the tow bar hitch is located, very useful for the Defender as the spare wheel obscures the view. Reverse mode can also have guidelines, which is set from the Alpine radio's 9 inch touchscreen, so you can set it precisely as you want, for your vehicle. The camera is an Alpine HDR camera, so handles difficult light conditions, such as direct sunlight, or very dark, incredibly well. Also higher resolution, which is great for the Alpine Halo9's highh res screen.
With the phone connectivity, navigation and rear visibility now sorted, we upgraded the factory Land Rover speakers with new Audison Prima speakers, which fit into the original locations (so no permanent modifications required) to help with power handling and upper frequency detail. To improve lower frequency performance, a compact sub could go under the cubby box (cubby box needs raising 1-3 inch) or on the back (which we didn't want to modify the limited edition cubby box where possible). To improve mid-bass performance, we would normally mount the speakers into the front of the seat base box section, which performs incredibly well, but is a permanent modification, so we agreed to try as it is for now, and then add at a future date if the customer is happy with that modification. We're also quite short for time in the run up to Christmas!!
The customer was delighted with the improvements made to his favourite car, and has booked in for the New Year to have work done on his other cars
