With thirty years of service at Ford, and half of that in Ford Audio Systems, my opinion would be rather biased.
We always strive to provide the best quality at a reasonable price. In general, most of our factory radios are more "robust" than products you would buy in the aftermarket. We tend to warranty them for the same period as a new vehicle warranty, not 90 days like most aftermarket stuff.
You will find factory radios tend to have fewer features, and usually larger buttons and displays. The product has to be geared toward the car-buying public, rather than to audio afficianados.
You will also usually see aftermarket stereos with much higher output power ratings. If you get into the expensive equipment, that would be true, but, if you're talking middle segment equipment, it's merely semantics, because most of the factory stuff is rated at "RMS" Watts, and most of the aftermarket stuff is rated at "Peak" power. For example, most aftermarket manufacturers would rate this Dual Media radio (which we rate at 4X20W=80 Watts) as 4X40W, or 160 Watts.
The Ford Dual Media radio made by Pioneer is a good unit, you should see years of trouble-free service. Hope you enjoy your new stereo.
Regards,
Jeff
