Alpine i209-WRA installed with brake light reverse camera at Sounds Incredible Mobile
At Sounds Incredible Mobile, in Brookfield, CT, we recently had a client bring in his Jeep Wrangler to have an Alpine i209-WRA installed. We do a lot of audio upgrades in Jeep Wranglers at our shop. As some of you may know, my husband John and I both own Wranglers – he’s got a 2013 and I’ve got a 2014, both 2-door JK Sport. And although we’ve installed Alpine’s two previous Jeep Wrangler Restyle models in clients vehicles (the X009-WRA and X109-WRA), due to cost and lack of desirable features, we never wanted to put them in our Jeeps. To put it bluntly, the previous models had big beautiful screens and did a lot, but they didn’t have the KEY features consumers want these days such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
It appears Alpine listened to our complaints and answered with the Alpine i209-WRA. As the saying goes, the third time’s the charm. Alpine really hit it out of the park with this model. The Alpine i209-WRA is something we’d gladly put in our own Jeeps – if there were enough to go around! These babies have been selling like hotcakes and until we’ve got a steady supply from Alpine, we’ll go without – fulfilling our clients orders first and foremost.
Alpine i209-WRA features a premium finish with OEM touches and details
The devil really is in the details and Alpine really thought this out. Not only is this big beautiful 9-inch screen water resistant and dustproof, it has a high visibility WVGA capacitive touch screen designed to be bright even in sunlight. Additionally the gun metal trim nicely compliments the Jeep Wrangler interior and includes very subtle, but attractive side lighting. I’m totally a sucker for details like that.
The other really cool thing about installing the Alpine i209-WRA is Alpine pretty much includes everything you need for the install. Unlike any other aftermarket head unit, you won’t have an elaborate and costly list of parts tacked onto the bill in order to have it installed.
The i209-WRA includes:
- All necessary mounting hardware and trim
- iDatalink Maestro steering wheel control interface and wire harness
- FM/AM antenna adapter
- OEM USB port retention adapter (which we only use for Apple CarPlay – Android Auto users need a higher speed USB port)
Alpine i209-WRA installed with a couple additional accessories
There are a handful of popular accessories for the i209-WRA that are not included. One of those is the SXV300 SiriusXM tuner. They don’t include this piece of hardware because not everyone wants SiriusXM. However, in case you do want to add SiriusXM, it does come with the iDatalink SAT1 adapter. This allows you to retain the OEM satellite radio antenna with the aftermarket SiriusXM tuner. Additionally, Alpine’s third brake light Jeep Wrangler reverse camera is also a very popular option.
The Alpine HCE-TCAM1-WRA third brake light reverse camera is compatible with 2007-Up Jeep Wranglers and it works well with the big beautiful 9-inch i209-WRA screen. It features an optimal viewing angle along with water resistant and dustproof housing. The built in brake and reverse lights allow Jeep Wrangler owners to remove their factory third brake light for increased visibility. Alpine also includes 3 different mounting accessories to insure a perfect fit whether you have factory wheels or aftermarket wheels.
Aside from satellite radio and the brake light Jeep Wrangler reverse camera, you may also want to consider Alpine’s KAC-001 external accessory control module. This electronic switching interface allows users to control external accessories such as a winch, lighting, suspension etc. directly from the head unit. Additionally, I will mention the included iDatalink Maestro allows users to check out battery voltage, read and reset check engine codes, see tire pressure monitoring and vehicle performance gauges on screen.
The Alpine i209-WRA installed is a great overall value
For most consumers, the Alpine i209-WRA proves to be a great value. At $1999.95, this head unit pretty much has it all:
- Apple CarPlay
- Android Auto
- iDatalink Maestro steering wheel and vehicle data integration (module and harness included)
- SiriusXM capability (requires SXV300 tuner, but SAT1 adapter incuded)
- 9-inch high visibility WVGA capacitive touch screen that is dustproof and water resistant
- Bluetooth for handsfree calling and audio streaming
- HD Radio
- HDMI input (requires HDMI cable or flush mount accessory)
The only common features missing here are a CD/DVD player and on board GPS Navigation. However, if you’re using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, that probably won’t be anything you’ll really need. If you prefer on board GPS for traveling through dead zones and like having a built in CD/DVD player, consider the x209-WRA. This model contains those additional features, albeit at a substantially higher cost.
Get your Alpine i209-WRA installed with Annie and John at Sounds Incredible Mobile
If you’re in Litchfield or Fairfield county of Connecticut or of Dutchess or Putnam County, New York and you’re interested in having the i209-WRA installed in your Jeep Wrangler, contact us today to learn more. Have you installed the i209-WRA or X209-WRA in your Jeep? If so, comment below and let me know what you think of it!