I updated my wife's 2016 ES350 and GS myself. Easy to do. Just buy the maps from the dealer though.

 

New subdivisions and new lane changes and so forth are added, as well as adjusted speed limits. I once had a situation where a friend's house was literally off the map. The updated maps corrected it. Not a very big deal as it is pretty rare, but it does happen. As someone else pointed out, it is still the same version of the software with new maps, so it "enjoys" all the usual quirks. It will absolutely not beat your Google maps, however I like having it on the car's larger screen and I don't touch my phone in a moving car (unless I'm the passenger of course).

Since we're being honest, 9 times out of 10 my wife is with me so she can use google maps from the passenger seat. On a trip shortly before we traded our 2015 ES, we compared them and both got us to the destination, just via different routes. From a simple destination perspective, it was essentially a tie. She eventually gave up using Google maps from her phone because it just didn't appear to be an advantage. That said, I still think Google will be more updated as they can update map data virtually in real-time. It isn't my intent to start a fresh debate on this tired topic as I realize the built-in systems all have their limitations, it was just that for our time in one particular large(er) city it felt like a draw.

 

I actually can't believe they want to CHARGE people for Updating the map? WTF really

 

Would you rather Lexus show you ads on the Navi screen and sell your travel data to a third party? Because it is either one or the other.

 

I don't think the maps needs updating every year. Either every 2-3 years should be good enough.