Hello all. I'm on the market for a used F type coupe. Of all the cars Ive tried, including a cayman, I just love the F type most of all, and have narrowed it down to either a base or S. On the test drive today, I got to sit in a 2015 S and a 2018 R. The 2015 S was perfect except for the infotainment system, but I just couldn't get over how bad it was. The new version of InControl in the 2018 was of course light years better, and seems to be getting active updates. I also liked the automatic parallel park assist Unfortunately, a new 2018 F type is well out of my price range.

My question is, what was the first model year that the Ftype had the updated InControl infotainment system and parallel park assist? Is it possible to retrofit the newer infotainment system into the older models? Has anyone achieved an aftermarket solution to fix the infotainment, or a way to get android auto/apple carplay into these cars? It's a shame that a car that potentially costs 6 figures has such dated system.

Thank you.

 

I'm not sure about the parallel park assist (we have it in our '16 XE and have never used it!) but in Australia, the new infotainment came out in the late '15 build, '16.5 model year (which I think is just a '16MY in the US).

I had exactly the same quandry as you - I had the black and white screen infotainment in my second XF and hated it with a passion. It was one of the reasons I got rid of the car after 12 months. The new tiled one is soooooo much easier to use. Anyway my choice was a '15 R Coupe with the old infotainment or a '16 S coupe with the new, in the end I knew I couldnt live with the old infotainment so I took the S.

I've actually never regretted that decision, though I do prefer the quad pipes in the R.

 

Depends which level audio system.

All F-Types up to VIN K22184 (2015MY) had the IAM2.1 infotainment system

Cars with the Base or 380W Meridian system from VIN K22185 onward got the NLI infotainment system, which is the "new" version with tiled main screen.

Cars in the 2016-2017MY with the 770W Meridian kept the IAM2.1 infotainment, VIN's K22185 to K47319., but they got an updated homescreen with the 4 tiles, but everything behind the main screen is the same as the earlier cars.

Cars after K47319 with the Meridian Surround have the NGI infotainment, which is the new "tiled" version with swiping, etc.

No idea about the automatic parallel parking.

 

This makes it even more complicated then. So basically there is two more versions of the infotainment? One that is the same as before with a new homescreen and the "decent" one after that? So Im guessing the cars with the version I'd want are the later half of 2017 or newer. Crap.

Any workarounds for retrofitting or phone projection? I found a 2015 S that is perfect in every way except for the infotainment.

 

The infotainment on anything after K22183 is perfectly adequate, and looks good onscreen. Before that ('14-'15), not so much.

 

There are aftermarket kits available for the IAM2.1 infotainment which can provide Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or AirPlay & MirrorLink, they are marketed for Land Rovers but it's the exact same system in the Jags.

NAVIPLUS. COM.AU. And NAVIPLUS. COM.AU.

But... you lose the factory navigation with these kits.

I am not recommending these products! Just pointing out what is available.

I recently had to pull an aftermarket Digital TV kit out of a Range Rover and replace it with factory TV hardware because the kit was killing the battery in the car, so you never really know what you get with these aftermarket systems.

 

Wow. so there IS an upgrade to the 14-15 IAM2.1s? That is incredible. Im going to have to look into this as well.

 

Ahh I see. Upon further review, it just mirrors the screen. It doesnt allow touch commands through the nav unit to be sent to the phone. Damnit.

 

How would this work? Wouldn't there be problems with the integrated climate controls and dynamic mode selector? Wouldn't is also say "land Rover" too? Or is this more a video overlay? Is there something that would let me switch between the stock infotainment and something with Android auto, like changing the video input on a TV?

 

Here's one example.