Lexobu

This is one car feature that wont seem to go away that really seems like it should, or at least become non-standard. Most people have a smart phone now, and I would much rather use it for navigation than my car. If I'm with some people and we're deciding where to go while in a restaurant I can queue up the route, know where I'm going before I get in the car, and don't have to take the time to program a route. I don't have to worry about updates because Google Maps is free and works really well, and it also works offline if I were to drive through a route with no reception. Nav screens are bigger, and tend to be placed in convenient spots, but for me the cost to benefit ratio of this just doesn't make sense.

It seems to me like car companies have nav makers in their back pockets, and just put these in to jack up prices.

lesz

I've now had navigation systems in about a half dozen vehicles. In the last 15 years or so, I've bought one car without a navigation system, and I immediately regretted having done so. While there is no question that smart phone based navigation systems have a number of advantages, I really appreciate having the nice big screen of the in-vehicle navigation system always available and located in a spot where it is easy to view. It is not often that I need to have turn-by-turn assistance to a destination, but I still appreciate always having the map available to me to see what streets, intersections, etc. are coming up ahead.

While there is no question that in-vehicle navigation systems are over-priced, it is also the case, though, that they return a larger percentage of their original cost at trade-in or re-sale time than just about any other available option. Especially on an upscale vehicle like a Lexus, used car buyers want things like navigation systems. If you follow the used car inventories at a Lexus (or other) dealership, you will see that used vehicles with navigation systems typically move off of the used car lots very quickly, but those without navigation systems are more likely to sit on the lot for an extended period of time. And that is the reason why used car managers are willing to give significantly more money for trade-ins with a navigation system and why used vehicles with navigation systems sell for much more and sell more quickly in private sales than do vehicles without a navigation system.

azipod

This is a very interesting topic. I place my iPhone on the lip of the front cup holder and it works great. With the smart devices, we get live traffic, and the most updated routes possible as oppose to the DVD or HD based factory navigation systems. The only down side is that we cannot project the phone's GPS nav instructions to the screen (some cars have Apple Play like Honda where you can do this!) but its a small price to pay.

Recently, I decided to use the car's built-in navigation system after not touching it for a LONG TIME. I was completely disappointed in "inputting of the address process" because it was so cumbersome and was such a long process.

With the phone, you can pop it an address or a business location probably 10x quicker.

So yes, I think factory navigation systems are nice to have, not a need to have. However, in the ES, the Fact. Nav package also includes other things, such as a larger screen, etc.....

lesz

If you use the voice commands with the (free) Enform app, finding and entering destinations into the ES navigation system is quite simple, very quick, and very good.

I, too, had thought that finding and entering destinations into the nav system, itself, was quite cumbersome, and I found that doing so with voice commands didn't work very well. But, about a year ago, Lexus updated the Enform suite, and using it to find and enter destinations made a night and day difference with regard to the usability of the ES navigation system.

There have been a few other threads about this, and others have agreed about how well the Enform app works with the navigation system. For those who haven't tried it, I strongly recommend doing so. Besides how easy it is to use, another advantage is that the data base that it is using comes via the internet, and, like with smart phone navigation apps, it is constantly updated. In fact, using the Enform app essentially makes it unnecessary ever to have to buy an update to the vehicle's navigation system.

Mike728

I've not heard of updating the navigation system in a car, just the map. Is that what you're referring to?

I was driving in Chicago a week ago, and though I knew my way out, I decided to try the route the navigation was instructing. It took only one turn to realize that was a mistake, as it was directing me to turn the wrong way down a one-way street. I mainly use it for the graphical map to see upcoming streets, but rarely for actual navigation. Even for that, it's pretty outdated. Three years is a long time to go without an update around here.

lesz

What I meant is that, if you use the Enform app to find points-of-interest, it will use the most recent data base. For example, if I use the Enform app and ask it to find a MacDonald's, the Enform app, because it is using the most recent data base, may find a MacDonald's that opened in the last few months, but, if I use the navigation system, itself, to find a MacDonald's, because its data base is older, it will not find that recently opened MacDonald's.

I've found that the Enform app has been flawless with regard to finding destinations and getting me to them in an efficient manner.

Mike728

I wonder how it works when the McDonald's is on a street that didn't exist when your map was loaded.

Universe93

Yes, I agree with you. Car navigation systems are so clunky and never easy to use. On top of that, the maps are always several years behind and costs a lot of money to update the map. Google maps is very nicely updated, even with new construction roads and highways AND very quickly updated traffic.

mspearl95

I use mine all the time.

litesoarer

Apple Carplay threatens this feature. As soon as this becomes an option for me, XM NavTraffic is getting cancelled. (Will probably have to go with VAIS or aftermarket controller)

lesz

It will still give you accurate voice directions to the MacDonald's, but the map screen will make it look like you are driving through a field. Still, at least I have a map that I can look at while I'm driving. If I use a smart phone app, the street may show up on its map, but it won't do me much good because I can't safely check the map on the phone's screen while I'm driving.

litesoarer

Funny you should say this.

I was driving down I49 the other day from Texarkana to Bossier City and the maps (which haven't been updated since 2010) showed me driving through "an open field"

TechNut

I just like the larger display of the in-dash system. I find trying to navigate from a little phone too distracting in a moving car.

Anyway, there is no doubt the car Nav is a nice-to-have and not a requirement, just like a smartphone map app.

Bottom line for me: the in-car system is good enough for my needs and I have no special complaints. Are there "better" or even cheaper systems? Probably. Isn't that always the case? If it isn't better today, it will be in a month. That is another challenge with car systems, the Nav system is expected to last the life of the car which is generally much longer than the lifespan of modern consumer electronics. IMHO, it just boils down to personal preference.

litesoarer

I'd like to see nav updates included with *OnStar or similar services.

TechNut

I have had that driving through a national park where the roads haven't changed in decades. It had me in the middle of the lake. It's not always the maps that are faulty or "dated"...