Mitch1988

I can't decide if I should spend the money for the Navagation system. I don't need the Nav. for sales and I usally know where I am going most of the time.

Can thoes of you that have the Navagation tell me why you chose it? ( IT IS PRETTY COOL!)

Thoes who didn't choose it, please tell me why you did so too.

Thanks

aznevoviii

Navi, i think it is potantial of the NEW IS period.
You can do so much thing with it, like calling using bluetooth, POI, mp3 folder file lists + 100000000things.
this 5th gen Navi is the NEWEST in the universe. No wait time at all unlike the pervious navigation systems. Also, Interior looks stupid without one (well not stupid, but with navi, it looks WAY.... WAYYYYYAYAYAYAY more luxurious) in everyones opinions. Get the Navi and Have a happy life, rather than, OMG.. i should've gotten the NAVI and hate your life..
my 2cents...

mcfly

No NAV. Why? I have a map that cost about 200 times less, in the rare event I actually need to figure out where I'm going while I'm in the car... something I usually accomplish before arriving at that stage.

Plus, my wife acts as navigator most of the time

The only excuse I can see for getting NAV is if you get ML as well, and perform the hack so you can play DVD's on the road. In car entertainment I can understand...

STIG

get NAVI if you can find one with navi. when i was shopping for my car, i could only locate one with navi and they are going for sticker price. So i instead got the one w/o navi with pretty good deal at the same dealer. but if you can find a good deal for navi in your area, go with NAVI. you will be glad that you get navi.

MichealIS3

Cost affective? go buy a honda civic man. Have you ever own any car with Navigation before? I used to think like you that i never need Nav, now i can't buy a car without it. Specially with the new IS, you also have back up Camera, bluetooth, and a nice 7' screen on your console.
By the way, did you see some of the thread where people asking how much it cost to put on the Nav if you don't have one? The answer is it can cost as much as $8-10k to have dealer installed. I say buy it or you will regret. Just take a look at your brochure and wonder, why did they take the picture of the interior with the Navigation on it? Because it make your car look more classy and nicer.

jlin101

I got NAV for the simple reason that it was required for ML. In the 2 months I've had the car, I have not used NAV except to show my kids what a neat gizmo it was. Most of my driving is done within a 5-mile radius so NAV is unnecessary. It does come with Bluetooth capability if you have a BT phone. If money is an issue, skip it. If you have enough to splurge, get it. Some people spend 2-3k on even less useful/utilitarian features like body kits and custom wheels. It's a personal choice that you must make. All is not lost if you get it though, some of the cost will be recovered when you trade it in.

Robnbill

Aside from all the cool features that MichealIS3 mentioned.

Here in Northern Virginia, the roads can be very confusing. Even after having driven them for 20 years. The roads here twist and turn back on themselves, rarely going where intuition tells you they should lead. This is why I will never own a car without Navi again. Granted in my daily commute I do not use the Navi at all. However, when one of our immense traffic ties ups occurs that throws me onto side streets that I have no clue how to navigate, the Navi comes to the rescue leading me around all the traffic and to my destination.

I agree with the previous poster. Once you have driven a car with Navi, you will not want one without it.

TimboIS

Nav is the only way to go. The people that bad mouth Nav systems for whatever reason (usually cost or just plain ignorance) have never had one. It is so much more than just about "maps". Voice entry, Bluetooth, backup camera, etc, etc.

maz

Very true. The navigation system in the IS isn't just for navigating.

lamarzocco

I used to think that Nav was a gimmick for people who couldn't understand how a Thomas Guide map worked...

I was wrong. We got nav in our '05 Honda Odyssey and now we can't live without one. If you have kids, that are picky eaters, then it's a godsend. We could be at a friends house and on our way home, when our toddler starts asking for chicken stars (Carl's Jr). We can simply enter in CJ's it'll find all of them in our vicinity, choose the closest one and the Nav will tell you how to get there. You can even look up the phone number while you're at it, on the IS you can even dial the Carl Jr via bluetooth. Oh don't have cash, tell me graphically on the map where the nearest ATM or Gas station is. Oh, I only go to Chevron so I can easily spot the Chevron stations from other stations by its icon.

Most common feature, you're on the highway, looking for your gas station (76, Chevron, Shell, Etc...) the nav will show you where the gas stations are so you know that there's a Chevron two exits from now on the right hand side. No more pulling off the road to see if there's a gas station near by.

The backup camera and other amenities are a bonus. For the IS, bluetooth is mighty useful with my blackberry phone.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I chose it because:

1) It makes the car "more luxurious" than a non-Nav car.
2) Can modify it to play DVDs while driving (for my passengers, not myself).
3) Easier than getting a aftermarket Nav system later.
4) I don't like getting lost, especially when I decide to "take a shortcut."
5) I got fed up with all the printed maps from MapQuest for my job.
6) Touch screen controls for climate, stereo, phone, etc.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

if you wanna badmouth people who dont like nav systems i can badmouth people who get back up cameras cuz bad drivers need cameras to back up, it goes both ways

Langdell

I am getting mine with Nav. Originally I was not going to: never had it before; can live without it now. I went through this whole thing with my original salesman as to whether it was even possible to order ML wihout Nav. After some more thought, I decided to go with the Nav for these reasons (no particular order):

1. If I don't get it now, I might wish I had it later, and you can only get the OEM system from the factory.
2. The navigation function may well help me out one day on the rare occasion that I drive in an area I'm not familiar with.
3. Keeps me from having to remember to print out Mapquest maps to new places in town that I'm trying to find.
4. Let's me ditch the ratty, 12-year-old streetfinder map that always cluttered up the cabin of my car.
5. Relatedly, I need to buy a new map anyway.
6. Bluetooth and rearview camera. (The rear back-up camera is actually probably the biggest reason I got it. I hate driving backwards--can never see anything.)
7. Adds to the futuristic/James Bond feel of the cabin.

Langdell

Don't need a camera to back up, but want one. I like to see where the hell I'm going. That doesn't make me a bad driver. Actually, my driving tends to be better when I can see.

bagwell

bottom line....

if you can afford it, get it
if not, its not essential.....you'll love the car with or without NAV.