yaro1

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the press release of the all new 2007 LS. One feature Jim Press mentioned that I took notice of was the mention of traffic integration.

Traffic integration is a system which downloads traffic and congestion information to the vehicle's Nav system and calculates a route according to congestion. In practice, this should give you a route that avoids bumper-to-bumper traffic in favor of free flowing roads.

Stating the facts:
The IS uses the same Nav system as the new LS.
The LS will have Traffic monitor.
The Traffic monitor is a part of the Nav system.

My Conclusion:
The IS will eventually be upgraded to have the traffic functionality.

Can anyone concur? Does this seem plausible?

The only difference I noticed is that the LS uses a HDD Nav system while I believe the IS still uses a DVD system. Will this be the deciding factor?

I sure hope that the IS gets this cool service. Even if it is only marginally accurate...

If it is a reality, I am glad I waited for the 2008 IS .

Spy

I wouldn't count on it. The Acura RL has nav traffic, but not the TL or TSX (but I don't know if they are the exact same Nav system)

GSE25

I would think Lexus would keep that feature exclusive to their higher end model..

flipside909

This all depends if Toyota/Lexus & Denso/Fujitsu-Ten capture the licensing to use the traffic monitoring in conjunction with the navigation on all their models. We'll have to wait and see.

2006is350

I would think if its the same nav system then we could update the current system.

vp911

It is possible to integrate it with the navs that have the database from navteq and there is one other company, I don't remember which one.

Let me speak from personal experience (I just sold my 05' RL to buy the IS350) - navtraffic is absolutely worthless in its current stage. Unless it dramatically improves, I wouldn't spend a dime on it. It is almost always wrong. I have been on a highway where it shows slow traffic, but actual speeds are 70+. Then, I have driven by accidents going 20mph on the highway and the nav shows traffic as freeflowing. It is rarely correct - it simply takes too long to update. Maybe in a few years the system will work better. I sure hope so, especially for those who have the CTS or the RL.

spwolf

all of toyota's uk nav systems already have traffic guidance, so captability is already there....

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

just get the new LS. it'll be nice

Cypren

The NavTraffic functionality in the CTS and the RL is provided via one-way data downloads over the XM connection -- it's factory-installed on both cars. I would presume that the reason that functionality is showing up in the 2007 Lexus models is not-so-coincidentally related to the recent announcement about Lexus and XM signing a deal for factory-installs for the 2007 model year.

If the Lexus system winds up working like the Acura system, it'll be nothing more than a bragging point -- the RL's nav system doesn't actually use the traffic information for routing purposes, just display, and as another poster mentioned, it's hideously slow to update, rendering it nearly worthless.

I'm betting in five or six years we'll see a car with a properly-built traffic information system, likely using a cellular EDGE or EV-DO connection for real-time Internet access to retrieve localized information as needed.

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

plus traffic is a ***** on everything street..

yaro1

I don't really think this is a feature they will keep exclusive. The auto-park, the kick-butt ML system, and the massagin seats maybe. But this is just a nav software upgrade, not an addition of much hardware.

However, we can never know these things. I mean, look at the Nav system in the GS. It came out a few month before the IS but the IS has a superior Nav system and IS is a cheaper MSRP car!

flipside909

Superior in what way other than aesthetics (the actual look/interface of the screens/maps)? It does the exact same functions your 06 GS NAV has. The new GS was built and released way before the New IS. It's only natural they will put the newest gadgets on the cars that come out at that time.