Huh, I was going to say just the opposite about Kenwood. I bought a new Excelon model for my truck about 6 months ago (got stolen and I replaced it with the same one) and I really love it. I have a jump drive with a lot of music on it that I plug into the usb port most of the time and I couldn't be happier. I've never had an Ipod so I really don't know anything about that. I've also had 4-5 different Pioneer head units over the years all of which worked good, but the Kenwood is much nicer then anything Pioneer has out right, especially in the $200-$250 price range.
Just my 2 cents, take it or leave it.