Those with navigation

Can't seem to find much information on here re: navigation so I thought I'd start a thread.

How is it? How does it compare to other nav systems? Any complaints?

Originally Posted by buckerine

Can't seem to find much information on here re: navigation

Acura and Lexus Nav is far superior to BMW nav. But the E46 nav does the job.

Originally Posted by shizat63

Acura and Lexus Nav is far superior to BMW nav. But the E46 nav does the job.

What he said.

My first NAV experience was on our Lexus, which I think is the best on the market so the BMW was kind of frustrating at first (but not too surprising as I heard about how difficult it was). Believe it or not the first thing I did was try to tap the screen! I just assumed that you had to have a touch screen with NAV boy I guess BMW proved me wrong!

Granted, I don't think these issues will be as prominent if you have never used NAV before and are not used to a particular system. To be fair, part of the problem that many people have at first seem to be more about being used to one system and switching rather than the superiority of said system. It's kind of like longtime Windows users who jump on a MAC for ten minutes and then scream "This computer SuCKS!"

Actually, the BMW has a few distinct advantages over the Toyota/Lexus system. The main one being on a Lexus, you become completely "locked" out of the system if the car is rolling faster than 3mph. I had to actually pull onto the shoulder of the freeway once to pull up a destination that took like three screen taps. It was infuriating. On a BMW, they allow you full use when the car is in motion (which is a real irony from a safety standpoint because BMW's system is so much harder and attention diverting to use!).

In summary, if you are asking because you are wondering if it is "worth it" to get NAV on a BMW the answer from this user is an unequivocal YES. In car NAV is one of those things that you don't realize how much you like (or need) until you've owned one. Then it seems you can't ever have a car without it (no matter what the brand)!

--J.

Lexus/Toyota tend to make cars that are nannies. The fact that you can't operate the Nav when the car is rolling is a classic example of this. "We don't think you should be able to operate the nav when the car is rolling, therefore you can't" The Prius does the same thing.

Anyway, the Nav as a feature is a great thing, I have a Garmin in the Honda and there are real advantages to having the system built in. However, it is expensive for what you get so it is a tough choice. In car or a standalone unit.

So far, I like the BMW in car Nav when driving and te Garmin for everything else (like walking a new city).

Worth considering for sure.

Ok, you a$$holes I did search, but there weren't any detailed opinions of the nav.

Thanks for the reply. I've never had nav in a car, but I, too, have that itching suspicion that it's something you can't live without once you have it.

Originally Posted by buckerine

Ok, you a$$holes I did search, but there weren't any detailed opinions of the nav.

Originally Posted by buckerine

Ok, you a$$holes I did search, but there weren't any detailed opinions of the nav.

Thanks for the reply. I've never had nav in a car, but I, too, have that itching suspicion that it's something you can't live without once you have it.

Hello and welcome,

Insulting forum members is not tolerated here. Please refrain from personally attacking other members.

Thanks

Originally Posted by buckerine

Ok, you a$$holes I did search, but there weren't any detailed opinions of the nav.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sea...archid=1160223

Lazy f**k.

Originally Posted by buckerine

Can't seem to find much information on here re: navigation so I thought I'd start a thread.

How is it? How does it compare to other nav systems? Any complaints?

Did you really use the Search function?

Originally Posted by buckerine

Can't seem to find much information on here re: navigation so I thought I'd start a thread.

How is it? How does it compare to other nav systems? Any complaints?

I have a NAV too. It kicks ass.

Now come on folks, let's not deviate from the actual discussion.

The discussion is "Comparison among all NAV systems against BMW"
Unfortunately, I can't contribute because I only have exposure to BMW Nav and Iam happy with that. It's cool.

Only problem I see with the BMW NAV DVD is, if only it had contact info,just say telephone number of a restaurant, it will be cool. Before we input a restaurant as destination and drive there, we can call them and check if it's open and if the wait time is long we can maybe reserve or place the order or something like that. So telephone number is good to have.

Another one is that it has an option to selecte, "Avoid Highways". In addition to that if it also had options to calculate some 2-3 alternate routes, say scenic route, etc, it will be cool. May be the "Avoid highways" is scenic route.

Again, Iam not sure if it's "Avoid Highways" or "Avoid Tolls" ??? Can someone help me.?

I myself haven't fully explored the NAV. Maybe it's time to do it. hmm.

Originally Posted by vimal

Only problem I see with the BMW NAV DVD is, if only it had contact info,just say telephone number of a restaurant, it will be cool. Before we input a restaurant as destination and drive there, we can call them and check if it's open and if the wait time is long we can maybe reserve or place the order or something like that. So telephone number is good to have.

... it does have telephone numbers of places in the database (at least in 2004-2 DVD disc). If you have Bluetooth or the CPT9000 (V60i) you can call the number straight from the screen by selecting it and pressing the phone button or just by using the voice command if so equipped.

And yes, BMW Nav gets the job done. Does is it better than the Acura TL's? No, but it gets me where I want to go pretty precisely, integrates the telephone, Sirius and even the iPod (using the ice>Link) with great visibility and functionality and overall gives the interior a better look than just having a plain radio there.

Originally Posted by Technic

... it does have telephone numbers of places in the database (at least in 2004-2 DVD disc). If you have Bluetooth or the CPT9000 (V60i) you can call the number straight from the screen by selecting it and pressing the phone button or just by using the voice command if so equipped.

And yes, BMW Nav gets the job done. Does is it better than the Acura TL's? No, but it gets me where I want to go pretty precisely, integrates the telephone, Sirius and even the iPod (using the ice>Link) with great visibility and functionality and overall gives the interior a better look than just having a plain radio there.

hmmm.
Mine is 2005 325i ED.
I got only one DVD.
And it doesn't have telephone number (once I selected Aunt Sarah's).
I will check with my dealer.Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Regarding bluetooth, I think' it's cool feature to talk hands free. I got TMobile Sidekick II.
It doesn't have bluetooth

Why do you say Acura TL has better NAV?

Originally Posted by vimal

hmmm.
Mine is 2005 325i ED.
I got only one DVD.
1) And it doesn't have telephone number (once I selected Aunt Sarah's).
I will check with my dealer.Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Regarding bluetooth, I think' it's cool feature to talk hands free. I got TMobile Sidekick II.
It doesn't have bluetooth

2) Why do you say Acura TL has better NAV?

1) Unless the telephone number coming up in the screen is linked to actually having a telephone connected (I doubt it), try searching for a restaurant using the "Information" section in the Nav menu. It will give you a list of restaurants (or banks, airports, gas stations, post offices if so desired) and once you select one it will give you the option of setecting it for navigation or the phone number to call by pressing the phone button or the right knob.

2) The mere fact that the Acura Navigation has around 350 voice commands vs. 49 for the BMW makes the BMW system kind of antique. The Acura Nav also gives two user's settings to store personal adresses, the screen is bigger (8" vs 6.5"), and of course the touch screen is better in all respects to the BMW single, grandfather of the iDrive, knob. Specially when an address would be input in the Acura a full keypad in the screen will be shown which you press with your finger each key to enter the address, whereas in the BMW you have to rotate the knob until you get to the letter, press the knob to select it, rotate the knob again for the next letter and so on. The Acura menus and settings are much better organized than the BMW's, and even the BMW Nav does not have a Help section as the Acura's.

Other than these differences, the overall speed and accuracy of both systems are comparable.

Originally Posted by Technic

The mere fact that the Acura Navigation has around 350 voice commands vs. 49 for the BMW makes the BMW system kind of antique.

BMW nav has voice commands?

Originally Posted by vimal

And it doesn't have telephone number (once I selected Aunt Sarah's).
I will check with my dealer.Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

There are actually two sets of POI (points of interest) data on the disc. The first set doesn't have phone numbers and doesn't let you search by name (only by category). The second set (Destinations+) does have phone numbers and lets you search by name as well as limit by distance, though you still have to select a category first. Neither set is particularly complete (which is NavTeq's fault, not BMW's).

Originally Posted by Technic

... it does have telephone numbers of places in the database (at least in 2004-2 DVD disc).

Hey, wait a second... I only have one DVD also! When did this version come out, and did they just recently change to 2-disc? What is on the two discs--and when would you have to switch them?

As for Honda's NAV... I have not used one myself but I have a friend who works at Honda who drives different cars from their tech pool every week, so I have seen theirs in action. I still think the Toyota system is the best.

However, have you checked out the new Acura RL ? Well, they have one innovation that is a jump ahead of EVERYONE else with the new
NAVTRAFFIC option in conjunction with XM Sat Radio. Real time traffic conditions... it's awesome and to an L.A. driver it's like a dream! If I'm leaving to jump on the freeway now, I go to sites like Sigalert.com to get the current traffic conditions. But to be able to pull them up on my NAV screen would be GREAT! I hope other brands start offering this real soon! But in the meantime, Acuara scored a real coup by being the only automaker offering it for 2005.

--J.

The reference to 2004-2 is the version of the DVD, not a "2 DVD disc 2004 disc".

Originally Posted by buckerine

Can't seem to find much information on here re: navigation so I thought I'd start a thread.

How is it? How does it compare to other nav systems? Any complaints?

I too have experience with NAV from Acura (older TL) and Lexus (IS300). The only real draw back about BMW NAV is the user interface. This means to input address into BMW NAV will take longer than that in TL and IS300. And when you want to pan around the map on the screen, BMW is also not as convinint as those two. But the actual function of the NAV is about the same.

Out of these three system, TL is the only one that use touch screen. I think it also has the smallest screen amount these 3. It makes input anything in the NAV extremely easy. But finger print is very annoying. To make it worse, people with longer nail will sketch the anti reflection coating on the screen as time goes on. And controls for AC, radio .. are integrated into the screen. So if the screen fail (due to the touch), nothing will function properly anymore. IMO, I will avoid touch screen NAV. And all the integrated centrol control is not good either.

IS300 NAV is the best out of the 3. It uses a joy stick and a few button to access to the NAV menu. Input is easy, panning is also easy. The best part is when you don't need it, it fold away out of sight. Function such as AC, radio does not need the screen to function properly.

eel

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

Out of these three system, TL is the only one that use touch screen.

Wow, this surprises me; I didn't know the IS300 lacked the touch screen... one of the basic features that I think makes the system on our LS430 outstanding. Surpisingly, the problem of a dirty screen or fingerprints isn't a problem at all with ours either (I was worried that it would be when we first got it). Maybe the reason that they could not utilize the touchscreen technology is because of the "fold away" feature that allows it to be closed.

Interesting that in spite of this you still think it is the best of the three systems!

--J.