My 2015 Audi Q5: Installed an aftermarket infotainment system

Apart from Android Auto, navigation & reverse camera, the system also features a dedicated SIM card & micro SD card slot.

BHPian Inder7 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I confess this action was inspired by the upgrade done by Dinu2506 on his beautiful red Audi A4. I own a 2015 Audi Q5 and have been on the lookout for a good upgrade option for pretty much the same reasons. I had taken a test drive of the 2021 Q5 and found that, substantively, it was only the infotainment system, based on a ‘floating’ 10” screen that was different from my 2015 Q5 (and the diesel engine). The floating screen actually seemed a little aftermarket-ish. But it had a quality finish and therefore fit in quite nicely. This had me salivating.

One of the key reasons that had held me back in the past was my desire to not compromise on the original quality 'feel' of the cabin. The new model got me seriously thinking. One of my friends had got an aftermarket screen installed on his Toyota Fortuner and it looked pretty OK. But I was still a bit skeptical about the quality. The finish and specs of the screens I had seen were not impressive. That is till I chanced upon this Chinese website selling complete upgrades to radio heads for most popular cars including Audi.

The specs were appealing, compelling even, and after a bit of research, I was sold. So I decided to import the head and have it installed locally in NCR. The pics below tell the rest of the story.

The upgrade looks pretty cool. Though the aftermarket look is undeniable, it's not too different from the new 2021 Audi. In addition to the usual benefits of Android Auto, touch screen, navigation, reversing camera etc, the screen also has a slot for a dedicated Sim card as well as a micro SD card. The advantage of the memory card is that additional apps you may download can be stored on the card without slowing down the main screen. A by-product has been an upgrade to sound quality as the system includes a better DAC. Furthermore, the screen is now placed higher up and closer to eye level.

The pic below is of my original Audi Q5 dashboard.

The picture below is of the new Audi Q5 2021 dashboard.

And this is how my dashboard looks after the change.

Some pics below showing the specs and features of the Chinese head unit.

A 12.2” Full HD Touch Screen (1920*720 pixels). The touch feature is well implemented and feels similar to my mobile phone. The screen remains bright and clear during the day with the panoramic sunroof screen pulled back (brightness at 100%). The finger smudge issue remains and the screen starts to look messy by the end of a long drive. However, 30 seconds with a clean microfiber cloth does the job.

Pictures below show close-ups of the functions

The home screen

Google Maps navigation. Currently, I am using Android Auto through my mobile hotspot.

Spotify

Reverse camera

The observant would have noticed that the reversing lines are not properly aligned. This is because the camera is installed a little to the left of center. I am trying to have this issue resolved by having the camera shifted closer to the center of the car. This is a common problem as the center of the Q5, at the back, houses the boot opening latch.

Another little issue has been the control strip which fits into the center console air slot. The one that arrived with the system turned out to be designed for a left-hand drive car. I’m in correspondence with the seller and expect to resolve this in due course. Surprisingly, it fit quite snugly into the slot. But a close look clearly reveals the miss-match.

Overall, I’m satisfied with the upgrade. The car feels as good (ok nearly so) as the 2021 model.

Here's what BHPian ramnaresh_2000 had to say about the matter:

Ok, even though this is an aftermarket screen, it looks a lot better than the one on the 2021 Q5 (personal opinion, no offense to Q5 2021 owners). I really like this head unit and it does feel premium. I have a few questions, can you please provide the below details:

• Which website you used to purchase this unit?
• Cost breakdown? Original unit price plus any import tax paid?
• Installation charges?
• How did you get the head unit bracket?
• Did you verify the specs using the CPU-Z app? If not please do immediately and confirm.

My only concern is such a massive 12.2" screen having a 720P display. Did you notice any pixels issue? I used to have a 720P Sony smartphone and the pixels were very much visible.

Also, is there any way you can change the UI? It does look aftermarket-ish. Does it have any option to download other UIs or launchers?

I am also looking for something similar for my Compass. I am not finding any websites which are currently delivering to India.

Here's what BHPian OffRoadFun had to say about the matter:

Congratulations on the upgrade, it really looks good! I am thinking of the same for my Audi Q5 2.0T.

I assume your Q5 is not the Technology version. Right?

How is the sound quality? Did you have an extra AMI port in the glove box or just the Aux input?

The reason I am asking is because through the AUX directly, as in my case where there is no AMI port, analog to digital conversion leads to deterioration in sound quality.

Also, does your unit have an inbuilt SIM option so that a mobile hotspot is not needed?

Again, enjoy the nice upgrade and thanks.

Here's what BHPian superfitcs had to say about the matter:

This is a general opinion:

The only problem I find with these aftermarket upgrades is that the brands never match the original screen quality and the black levels of OEM, the graphics usually turn out choppy due to low FPS, and usually, specs on these units are very good on paper, as in they claim Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility and Google Maps but I doubt if the processing power of these units would be fast enough to perform simple activities like calibrating the GPS at the beginning of setting navigation, the latency in updating location, ability to reroute with good speed. How refined and perfected each of the features would turn out is still a doubt.

In my opinion, upgrades like these are truly worth only if the quality of the display and software is on par or better than OEM, otherwise, it’s a better choice to just stick with OEM stock infotainment. I’d compare the experience of a bad aftermarket head unit like owning an iPhone but with a knockoff screen replacement. I don’t mean to say all of these are bad, but most of the aftermarket units turn out to be a constant itch with the user experience in long term. We generally get attracted to the feature list than the actual interface and user-friendliness.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.