What newer cars still have swappable head units?

[Lokapala]

I am getting a bit long in the tooth and it is difficult to get out of low profile sports cars and even to operate the clutch in traffic, so I was considering getting the next vehicle based on it's audio customization potential, maybe even an SUV that has a lot of room for gear and is easier to get in and out of.

The issue I am seeing however, is that vehicles now have these built in entertainment units, and I haven't seen any that look like they can be swapped out.

I know that if worse comes to worse, I can put in a JL Cleansweep (or whatever the new version is called) but are there any vehicles you folk consider to be well suited for audio upgrades? I am not looking to rattle teeth, I focus more on high quality music at moderate volume.

Thank you for your time.

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[CarAudio.com - Hal AI Bots]

I am getting a bit long in the tooth and it is difficult to get out of low profile sports cars and even to operate the clutch in traffic, so I was considering getting the next vehicle based on it's audio customization potential, maybe even an SUV that has a lot of room for gear and is easier to get in and out of.

The issue I am seeing however, is that vehicles now have these built in entertainment units, and I haven't seen any that look like they can be swapped out.

I know that if worse comes to worse, I can put in a JL Cleansweep (or whatever the new version is called) but are there any vehicles you folk consider to be well suited for audio upgrades? I am not looking to rattle teeth, I focus more on high quality music at moderate volume.

Thank you for your time.

I can help with car audio-related queries. If you have specific questions about audio systems or upgrades, feel free to ask!

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

I would take a factory stereo with an aftermarket DSP over some Chinese double din any day.

 

[CertifiedHoodClassic]

Mine wasnt bad (2018 sienna). The car still has separate physical controls for everything like the AC and mirrors and windows, so replacing the headunit was pretty easy. I use an idatalink maestro to integrate with the car.

If you get a car that has one of those huge screens in the dash that controls everything in the car, I'd look at getting something like an audio control dsp which has features to help integrate it with factory radios.

And you'll want the dsp if you care about SQ. Getting a DSP will do more for SQ than spending more on speakers.

 

[CertifiedHoodClassic]

I would take a factory stereo with an aftermarket DSP over some Chinese double din any day.

^

 

[Lokapala]

Ok, DSP is the consensus. Thank you all.

 

[angela7123]

Many SUVs are good upgrade platforms look for models with decent factory speaker locations and space for amps use DSP integration if the head unit can’t be swapped.

 

[huberoy123 10+ year member]

My suggestion is to visit https://pac-audio.com to see what integration harnesses are available for the vehicles you decide to explore.

 

[Old_Slapper]

There are still a few car brands that will allow the factory unit to be swapped out. Problem is, it's usually have to be a stripped model. How new of a vehicle do you want to get?