Most head-up displays suck. Pioneer is out to change that. Its NavGate HUD combines augmented reality with smartphone connectivity to provide the virtual equivalent of a 30-inch display hovering a few feet in front of the hood.

Most HUDs fail for one reason: lame 80's-era graphics are displayed on a windshield (or transparent sticker) specially treated to reflect those chunky pixels. Pioneer ditched the archaic tech for a visor-mounted Digital Light Processing system that projects data onto a transparent sheet of plastic within the driver's field of view. Think of it as a fighter jet display for your car.

Turn-by-turn navigation with lane placement joins current speed, speed limits, red light and speed cameras alerts, a clock, and estimated time of arrival and distance to your destination. Sensors detect the ambient light to adjust brightness day or night, and a dedicated app controls the various functions.

Pioneer doesn't identify the phones supported by NavGate, but it's connected via USB so order an extra long cable now. NavGate launches next month with support for the CoPilot and iGo Primo navigation support, which also includes point of interest search for everything from gas stations to restaurants, and live updating traffic data. There's no word on if it's coming to the United States, as sales have only been announced for Europe for £599 – close to a grand in greenbacks.

Photos: Pioneer