boone

Hello All,

I've been lurking for the past couple of months trying to glean as much information about the new GS as possible. By and large it looks like you are all pretty happy with your purchases. I am strongly considering picking up a GS when my current lease is up later this year.

I've been driving Nissan Maximas for the past 13 years and I'm ready to slide into something a little more upscale. I've grown accustomed to the infotainment system in the current Maximas and Infiniti vehicles so I've got a couple of questions about the system in the GS. My questions apply to the premium Mark Levinson system with the 12.3" screen.

Is it possible to disable the Caution dialog that appears when the car is started? Is there an update to the navigation on the horizon that will add a 3-D display option? Does the navigation system read street names? Lastly, how would you rate the iPod controls?

dseag2

I can't answer the questions re: street names because I haven't used Nav very much, but the Caution icon goes away on its own after a few seconds and the full screen comes up. You don't have to click on the icon to acknowledge it.

Re: the iPod controls, I find them very easy to use. Up for the next song, down for the previous song on the steering wheel. Browsing is also easy. The only thing I miss is with my Audi S5 I could scroll through preset XM stations and the song/artist would display before I even clicked on the channel so I had a preview and knew whether it was worth changing the channel or not. I don't think the GS has this feature or maybe I haven't found it yet. I'll need to quit my job to get through the owner's manual.

My last Maxima was a '96, which I loved. I also drove the latest model but was driving an M35 at the time and decided not to make the switch. I do love everything about my GS F Sport. I'm not a "big sedan" type of guy anymore, but I needed one for practical reasons and this one does it all well. The coolest thing is when I get a beep and it starts reading me my e-mails. I understand that doesn't work with all devices but it works well with my Blackberry Torch.

LexusNN

iTrader: (5)

The Nav system is very easy to use and so are the ipod controls. What part of VA are you from?

LexusGSFGO

Yes, the Nav reads street names. The iPod controls work well. It does disable the controls on the iPod when connected. The voice commands work well as long as no one else is talking.

boone

Thanks for the info. I've actually been skimming the manual for the GS to help with my decision. It does compare to reading a novel. War and Peace is probably shorter. I looked at the M35 but I do like the looks of the GS better.

That is good. I use navigation just infrequently enough to need something quick and easy when I am ready for it. I'm from Richmond. How about you?

I am glad to hear that it reads the street names. For some reason the CNET.com review said it did not. I don't mind the iPod controls being disabled. The only purpose of my iPod is to serve as a music jukebox for my car.

I appreciate the insight from all of you. I'll be scheduling a test drive soon.

jtrue28

You can skip the 300 pages on how to use te seat belt and change a flat tire.

dseag2

It also has a laundry list of voice commands like "Go Home" to input your home address into the Nav, "Call ________ " to call someone from your address book, "Play (Name of Artist or Name of Album") from your iPod. Mine also alerts me when I have a new e-mail and reads it back to me from my Blackberry Torch. I will have to hang onto this car for years just to figure out all of its capabilities.

jkeifer3

Having come from an '08 IS-F with attempting to control my iPod via several VAISTech interfaces, I can say that the iPod interface (Gen 4 iPod Touch at least) in the GS is absolutely superb. Everything works as it should including the display of video and album art.

boone

I'm liking the simplicity of the voice commands. In my Maxima, I have to step through a couple of steps to call someone or get my navigation to route me home. The voice commands for the audio system are not as good as you described either.

Cool. I do like to have my album art displayed. From the sounds of what all of you are saying, the only thing I'll miss is a 3-D map view. That is not a deal breaker at all.

spwolf

just make sure you deselect the default "North is up" option and you will be fine with nav...