r2m

My daughter just purchased a 2013 Rav4 XLE. So my wife, daughter (and my granddaughter) and I are going for a ride in her new (to her) Rav4 and she's streaming Spotify via Bluetooth from her phone through her infotainment system.

Get this: Her infotainment system is showing this beautiful display with the album art of the current song that is being played, song data and everything on her screen! I was shocked! It looked AWESOME!

I do the same on my 2013 GX 460 Premium (note: same year except my GX costs about two or three times what hers cost new). I stream Pandora from my phone via Bluetooth to my system and I get something that looks like and old Windows 3x operating system. No art, just plain text listed on the display. What bugs me is that both vehicles are from the same company, Toyota and both are the same year. You would think that the Lexus would have the nicer display. I know, the millennials are all into graphics and cool stuff like that, but heck! I wouldn't mind a nicer display too!!!

Questions:

• Was her infotainment system recently upgraded? (This is a rhetorical question that I don't think any of you can answer)
• If I upgrade my infotainment/nav system to the most current version, would it look a little newer than Windows 3x? (read: different GUI)
• Anyone with a 2018 or 2019 GX Premium or Luxury edition care to chime in on what their display looks like?
• Has anyone upgraded their infotainment/nav system?

nsaldanh

There's no practical cost effective way to update your factory installed NAV/Infotainment system. Sorry.

My wife has a 2017 GX and it's no better in this department. She had a 2012 GX Luxury prior to that -- so I know what you are saying wrt the interface.

r2m

Thanks for the info!
Just doesn't make sense that a dumpy little Rav4 (okay, so it's not that dumpy of a car for my daughter...) would have this brilliant center console display and we're left in the very dated 1980's Windows 3x looking display!
At least if they gave options for color changes, backgrounds or themes, that would pacify a wee bit but we're stuck with either day time or night time lighting and the option to adjust brightness and contract. Big WHIP...

Anyways thanks to anyone bored enough read through my rant...
Cheers.

bd5400

The cars may be the same year but I believe 2013 was the first year of that generation of the RAV4 while your 2013 is the fourth model year of the GX 460. They were made in the same year, but one was a new car and one was another year of a car that had already been in production for a few years and was coming up on a refresh.

Not that I'm making any excuses for the GX. The infotainment system is terribly dated, even the 2014+ system, so it is still a problem that Lexus did not put any more focus on that feature. I have an RX loaner right now and the system is much more visually pleasing (though I hate the weird joystick control). I replaced a BMW when I bought my Lexus and the BMW's system, despite being around since 2009 (older than the system in the GX), was far superior. It's one of the biggest weak points of the GX.

r2m

Agreed, it is a weak point and some that I would have imagined to be addressed for such an upscale vehicle.
And why are we paying a premium??? (snicker, snicker...)

Have to admit, my wife and I truly do love the GX, especially since I've mod'ed it for overland. Probably the best overland vehicle I could imagine and the best one I've built so far (this is my third). Way better than any Jeep (Chrysler), especially better than Land Rovers, not to mention all the American trucks. And in my opinion, even 4Runners (sorry any 4R's out there).

Acrad

A few options...

I'm not aware of anyone who has installed the first one

The second one still needs a few bugs worked out.


https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...m-upgrade.html


https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...r-console.html

coolsaber

Its a vehicle designed a decade ago...not much there except some bypass kits that allow screen mirroring or the off brand android head unit which has lots of quirks.

JonGX

One thing that has not been mentioned is that the target demographic for these two vehicles is vastly different. Toyota has no doubt figured out that buyers of the RAV4 are likely looking for different feature sets at a different price point than buyers of a GX. I would guess that - on average - RAV4 buyers are quite a bit younger and likely place a greater emphasis on technology and are willing to compromise on other areas (i.e. interior finishes, road noise, ride quality) provided that the infotainment interface is intuitive, modern, etc. On the other hand, I would venture to say that most Lexus buyers place a higher value on a quiet and comfortable ride, high end interior finishes, etc. than the UI of the infotainment system.

I found it strange a few years back when Toyota made xenon headlights standard on the Corolla but the Camry still got halogen projectors. My guess was always that the younger Corolla buyer fancied the whiter looking headlights and Toyota realized that this gave them a competitive advantage in the compact segment vs. the Civic and other smaller, cheaper sedans. Camry buyers on the other hand may not have found headlamps to be a key buying criteria in that segment of the market. I would imagine Toyota does extensive focus group testing to determine buyer demographics, option packages, etc.

And think about Scion. Did you ever see anyone over 35 driving a Scion? Toyota developed a brand extension and specific set of features and design attributes that specifically appealed to a younger demographic.

r2m

Per your nod to the younger crowd, I did mention them in my original post, "I know, the millennials are all into graphics and cool stuff like that, but heck! I wouldn't mind a nicer display too!!!" And I absolutely agree that the younger generation, with their (very) small attention span does need more bling to keep them entertained. But heck, I'll be 60 years old in April and I too appreciate a nice looking and functional high-tech system! That's why I, and I'm sure many of you buy the newest iPhone (pew...) or Android (yea!) every other year or so, to be up on the latest technology. And I'm not even going to get into all the other techie things in our lives that even though we're older, show that we're still very interested in the shinny bling of technology. I think the day of "Hey, son/daughter, can you program the VCR to no flash 12:00?? We can't figure it out!" Even though we're older, we're still more computer and tech savvy and literate than a previous generation ago and can usually keep up toe-toe with many of the young'ns in using tech. In fact, I believe young people have a very narrow scope of tech they live in, e.g. Iphone, Facebook, Spotify, MacBook, Instagram, etc. If it's not a real easy app or program, they'll ditch it. I've found myself having to school my daughter on tech in various things from PC computers, cameras, audio and visual equipment and software. Just as a side note, I'm just a biomechanical engineer, I'm not this wondrous high-tech, electronics geek, just a guy that researches stuff.

Apologies for my digression...

Back to the post at hand, I've also been looking for any technology/companies that can mirror our phones to the infotainment screen. For me, I would love to just be able to mirror my phone either with a cable or preferably Bluetooth, keeping all the functionality of the factory Lexus settings.
Here is what I've found so far:

• https://mirrorlink.com/ Does not appear to support any Lexus products
• http://www.beatsonicusa.com/blog/?p=77 I believe this has be posted a few times already. This is for >2013 Lexus
• http://www.beatsonicusa.com/if02ep.html And this too has been shared. This is for >2014 GX without nav
• https://airmore.com/mirror-phone-to-car-screen.html#_3 This link shares several ways, some of which are mentioned above
• https://gromaudio.com/store/vlite/le...mirroring.html This is from Grom

This is about all I've been able to find right now. I'll post if I come across more.

bd5400

Uhh...many, many Scion buyers were over the age of 35. While the brand as a whole skewed younger, the average buyer was still much older than Scion's marketing would have you believe, probably because the price of new cars, even cheap new cars, can be prohibitive for younger people.

https://autoweek.com/article/car-new...rs-regular-ads

r2m

"... average tC coupe buyer in 2007 was 43.5 years old." Soooo... 43.5 is the new 27?
let me see, Turning 60 this year should actually make me 43.5! Just in time to by a Scion!!!

Acrad

Be careful when they say '13+ ..... or just '10-'12. The '10-'13 infotainment is all the same and '14+ is the new version

r2m

Acrad35751, thanks for the heads-up on model years!
I've only been a GX owner for about 6 months but a Landcrusier owner for about 17 years. Still sorting out all the nuances of these little gems.

coolsaber

I think the main thing here is most buyers dont simply care for infotainment as a very important function when purchasing. The GX is the only lexus model still for sale that has not been updated interior wise or mechanically as well. No Lexus Safety Suite standard, no 8 speed, no DI, Faux matte steel trimmings etc etc. Heck the seats are the old malleable one without the new foam inserts that prevent wrinkling. And yet theyre moving sooo many units consistently year to year. Lexus is comfy where they are with the GX, and in general if they can move units with little investment they could care less. The a model refresh or something is upon us (I have stopped holding my breath), and things will change but until then its business as usual, until people actually stop buying this thing...which I dont think will happen.

The RAV4 was also easy to update since its next generation is based on the already out next Gen TGNA platform, the business case for a refresh is alot higher (the RAV4 outsells the GX). The GX when refreshed is supposed to ride on some variation of the next generation BOF platform. However last I heard the Tundra is first out fo the gate for that platform, then the LC/LX300 and then whatever remains I guess is the GX/Prado/4runner but again dont hold ya breath