Helmar

I saw the post below at Yahoo where the commentator thought the LS460 navigation system was horrible.

I loved the Navigation system on my '03 LS430, and I haven't tried the navigation system on an LS460 yet.

Other than the complaint about locking out the system while moving, are this commentators objections valid?

http://autos.yahoo.com/lexus_ls_460-...2&trimid=20870

Continuing on the Nav system....Nice large screen but as you zoom out all the information disappears; it's 80% blank; even major highways disappear. The little (4") screen of the Garmin is filled with visible and useable data and zooms in and out automatically...when you need it. No automatic zooming with the Lexus. The trees are visible but the forest is not. Try setting up an intersection with the Lexus...You will likely have to select the right street out of literally hundreds of choices. If the exact address is not recognized by the system there is no way you can be directed to the approximate location..like you can on the Garmin. In the non-nav mode, the Garmin shows EVERY upcoming street. The Lexus shows the street RARELY as you will see only what is printed on the map. Garmins voice prompts are far superior..even tells you the street name and how far to the turn. The little 4" screen of the Garmin is much more effective than the big screen of the Lexus. The Garmin will automatically zoom in to an intersection or an interchange..just when you need it. Very easy to use. The split screen of the Lexus should be able to give you as good a look but comparatively it fails miserably. When underway, the Lexus locks you out of making address selections while the Garmin lets you to non-select the "safe" mode. With the Lexus, your passenger can't put in an address...unless you are stopped. Garmin route "turn-by-turn" display is superior...Lexus is hardly usable. The Garmin also shows current speed, altitude, avg speed during trip, miles to go, ACCURATE arrival times, number of minutes underway (and stopped). Lexus does none of this. Saved destinations are plastered in 1/4" high letters on the Lexus screen..way too big as it takes of much of the screen...NO need for this. Most amazing is..try to zoom out on the Lexus. You loose all the data even with a relatively close zoom, I'm talking MAJOR HIGHWAYS DISAPPEAR and 80% of the screen is BLANK.
Want to put in a Lat/Long for destination. Most are expressed in degrees, minutes, and 10th of minutes. Lexus only accepts input as degrees, minutes, and seconds. How many people know that 10.8 minutes is 10 minutes and 48 seconds??? If you don't know this conversion this feature is unusable.

I paid $85,000 (with tax) for my car. I think it is great BUT Lexus should be ashamed to put in a Nav system like they have. Garmin is in the navigation business and they know Navigation. Lexus should have stayed with what they know and purchased the Navigation technology from an expert in that field...like Garmin. By the way, the Garmin 2720 can be purchased on the Web for around $500. I'm glad it fits into my storage box between the seats. I would say to get your Lexus without the system,,,but good luck on that. We special ordered a 460L, waited 90 days and finally got a stock build. (I didn't want the Lexus Link). Why build special orders when they can sell everything they can make??

I'll get another Lexus but the Nav system is kinda like a rock in your shoe. You never can get it out of your mind.

encore888

I think his comments are his own, and probably valid for him. However, he repeats his points twice or more, specifically

1) the zoom in and out feature, where stuff disappears. He prefers the Garmin because it zooms in and out at will and offers more data at larger zooms.

2) Lockouts, the Garmin has a 'safe' mode

3) Difficulty of use--he doesn't like the split screen, thinks the memorized destinations lists are TOO BIG, likes the voice prompts better, etc.

I think he has a valid point about the lockout being annoying, and perhaps there are elements of the Garmin system that are more intuitive. However:

1) Zoom in and out. I rarely do this, and when I do, I don't want the NAVI zooming in and out of its own accord. I also want consistency in the system, zoom out should be less detail, zoom in should be more.

2) Design philosophy. The Lexus navigation system will not say the name of the street most often, and I think it does not have a computer generated voice to do so (often--some functions yes) because it sounds weird.

I also think that the Lexus navigation system is designed to be as simple as possible. So, less data = less clutter; less details = less distraction, lockout = more safety, etc.

The Garmin system has its advantages, and judging from the comments by this reviewer, his philosophy of a navigation system is more closely aligned with the Garmin system. He obviously has specific requirements which I daresay are more specialized than the average Lexus driver.

But since he got the Garmin system, he can be happy with it! But I don't think the LS 460 NAVI is horrible; by contrast, it is one of the best out there (CNET, others). Its ease of use is a key point. Plus if you get NavTraffic it ties in nicely with the car.

RXSF

lexus nav has always been rated one of the best like enigma said. THe only problem is the lockout safety feature. Why dont you go try it for yourself, the latest generation has such a high resolution and the graphics/icons are so much better

Helmar

I'd be interested in hearing the opinions of any LS430 owners that now own an LS460.

How do the navigation systems compare vis-a-vis the points raised by the original commentator?

HBH

RXSF

i have a generation 2 nav on my RX. it should be the same on every lexus vehicle. I dont like mine anymore after i saw the generation 4 one. do you have a generation 3?

acecert

The voice prompts requiring you to continually hit the talk switch annoys me. BMW has a much better prompt that doesn't require you to keep pushing that talk switch after each instruction. I don't care for the lockout either. Those are the two most major issues I have with it.

Rocman

I had an 04 LS430, and now have the 460. If you liked the nav before, you will love it now. The screen is larger, brighter, and seems like it's higher res than before. It works the same as before, and has more company icons than before. It's definately one of the best out there.

Olu

iTrader: (1)

As far as his complaints some are valid.

My wife has a Garmin Nuvi and all I can compare it to is my Eclipse Fujitsu AVN 5500 which is similar to the Nav system in the LS 430

1. The Garmin always shows you every cross street in a horizontal orientation which is nice. It also has a nice 3D view that is usually better, but can be confusing at times.

2. Turn by turn directions are equivalent on both units. The plus with a bigger screen is that you can have both map and turns visible at the same time. The Garmin turn by turn takes up the whole screen and you loose the map.

3. The Garmin's address search function asks for city 1st which increases search speed. The Eclipse-Fujitsu systems asks for street 1st which can be slower. You CAN pick city 1st for the Fujitsu systems, it's just not default.

4. I find the zoom function 100x better in the Fujitsu systems. Personally I find the POI on the Garmin useless on the tiny screen. The Fujitsu does have a nice zoom in of the intersection which goes away after the turn. I don't loose highways zooming out to useful distances. Of course you loose highways when the scale is 100mi. so I'm not sure what he meant there.

5. Voice directions are a bit more 'natural' on the Garmin. It says the street name which is nice. I find the Fujitsu is better with distances until turns so I'm not sure what he's talking about.

6. Arrival times are nice on the Garmin. Instead of 10min till destination it will actually give the time you will arrive.

I think whoever did this review hasn't explored the Fujitsu unit yet. It definitely is not as intuitive as the Garmin system, but he'll find the most of his complaints are from not learning how to use the system properly.

Johnny

The writer overlooked one important feature that Lexus' Nav has; the amazing automobile attached to it.

Does Garmin make cars now? My point: Comparing apples & oranges is soooo subjective.

I never thought I would have much use for a Nav system, until my LS came along that is...

nobuddy

The Lexus nav system is not among the best. It's ok, it's just not great, and definitely not "horrible." Garmin nav systems are indeed both easier to use and more informative. As for built-in nav systems, Lexus lags well behind Acura (the best, IMO) and Infiniti.

.02

nb

dsc07

The quality of the display in the 460 is head and shoulders above the 430 (mine was an '04). The reviewer is correct when he says that the new system doesn't show many street names as you zoom out. I've found that once you zoom out past 750ft, most of the street names do disappear, where they were visible on the 430 nav. Another thing I've noticed is that the new system seems to give far less notice on turns. The double-bong doesn't come until you're halfway through the turn, while the old system would warn you about 50 ft before the turn.

One thing the reviewer says that is definitely not correct, is that the Lexus doesn't display eta or miles left. It does.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

If he wants to be disappointed, go try out mercedes previous generations.
I was ready to rip it out the dash and throw mine out the window

Helmar

I just test drove a 460L and was able to try out the navigation system.

The double-bong seemed to occur pretty much as on the LS430.

The voice recognition system was still terrible though.

In general, I think I preferred the navigation system on the LS430, but I'm sure I'll get used to the new one.

HBH