As the new owner of a RX400 literally the only thing that I did not like about the car with the ageing headunit/infotainment system, particularly missing the bluetooth streaming and DAB radio I had in my previous car. A few searches online lead me to the Grom Vline (http://gromaudio.co.uk/products/vl1-infotainment-upgrade/lexus-toyota-2006-2009-grom-vline-infotainment-system-upgrade-video-interface.html) by coincidence I seem to have been looking just at the point this launched, so think I may be one of the first to install this in a UK car. Therefore I thought a few people may be interested in some thoughts:
What is it?
Essentially it's an upgrade to the infotainment system that adds a full Android system all controllable through your touchscreen, without any visible alterations. It comes with some custom apps but you can also add anything from the Play Store (Google Maps, Spotify, YouTube etc) and also has CarPlay build in if you have an iPhone.
Installation
Much like other bluetooth units that are out there for the RX the vline imitates an external CD changer to play through the headunit. Therefore other than the moment when you realise you have a gaping hole in the center console of a car you've only owned for a week... it's all pretty straight forward. Installation is all plug and play, 1 connection to your head unit, 1 connection to the screen. I followed this YouTube video to get the headunit out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEf91Z0RuCA
Then there are just 2 more bolts for the screen which were very obvious once you had removed the head unit, then it unclips and slides out in the same way. It was then just a case of plugging everything together using the 2 supplied harnesses. As you can see from the video everything is also clipped in as well as bolted, so I'd have is make sure to get some cheap trim tools (mine were 1.99 from ebay) as they make life easier. The only other tool you need is a 10mm socket.
The Good Bits
Once up and running I was genuinely blown away by how impressive it is, when you start up Spotify or Google Maps it puts most brand new cars to shame. It's all very intuitive, particularly if you have used Android in the past. The vline is accessed by pressing the DISC button twice. You don't lose your existing DVD changer in the dash, it just appears as an additional CD changer after this.
You can easily customise your homescreen with any app you download. I currently have Google Maps, Spotify, Bluetooth Streaming, PocketCast (podcasts) and TuneIn Radio (dab/internet radio stations) which pretty much covers me for anything audio related I ever listen to. With regard to the apps themselves these are the full android versions of the apps, so essentially anything you can do on your phone, you can do here.
If you have an iPhone it can also run CarPlay, which seems even better as it's designed for in car use (big buttons/simplified menus etc). However I'm an Android user, so beyond a quick 2 min test using someone else's phone I haven't tried with the vline extensively.
The Not So Good
- It's £430. For me it's worth it, but I can imagine others will think it's overly expensive.
- It is still buggy at times. I ran into some issues after I first installed where it would not boot up properly the first time I started the car. Turning the ignition on and off would sort the problem each time, but it was very frustrating. There was an update to the system on the 23rd of December which seems to have solved this issue and beyond that I've had absolutely no issues with it once up and running. However I know others on Club Lexus forum have had issues. For what it's worth Grom support do seem very good if you have to deal with them.
- In order to use any of the apps I'm runnig you need an internet connection therefore you will need to use the wireless hotspot functionality in your phone to run it.
- It only runs CarPlay over a lightening/USB cable, where as I think some headunits can now do this over Bluetooth.
- Android Auto is still not available yet, I believe this was tested in beta but when I spoke to Grom support they had no date for this going live.
Overall
Despite some bugs and the cost, as a tech and music enthusiast I think it is a great system and Grom seem committed to regular updates so I think it will continue to progress. I've attached some quick pictures, but if anyone is interested in any more specifics just fire away! There is a huge thread on the vline ClubLexus forum in the US so would be good to start something similar for us in the UK here.