Uh... even with nav, there are still manual controls for this...

 

"Voice Activated Control" is listed as "Standard" in a report I created from the Lexus webSite for a car configured with Nav. What exactly does this option "Voice" provide w/o Navigation?

My sincere "Thanks!" to everyone that took the time to reply this thread.

 

Not really.

http://0.tqn.com/d/cars/1/0/O/j/ag_0...is_350dash.jpg

Has a button to switch to climate, then you use touchscreen to actually set the temp... or change fan speed...etc...

Has a button for radio, then you use touchscreen to pick which preset station you want or adjust ASL or other features, etc...

Versus:

http://www.canadianautoreview.com/is350-dash2.jpg

Directly control temp with physical button

Directly control fan speed with physical button

Directly select preset with physical button

etc...

 

Well the nav system does have the external temperature switches and the "Auto/Off/etc." as well. If you just want to adjust the temperature or switch to front defrost you don't need to go into the climate section or touch the touchscreen.

I still prefer non-nav, especially if I'm looking at a used car, in which case the nav system would be even MORE out of date than getting a current nav system for the time, which is also out of date.

Jeff

 

You can set the temp on the screen? I never noticed that. I usually leave it set to Auto mode, and use the physical temp buttons to adjust as necessary. Even with the long road trips I've taken, my passengers and I rarely ever need to go into the Climate menu.

I have a higher end Magellan GPS (I'm not a fan of Garmin) and I do see where the Lexus Nav system lacks. But it works well enough that I prefer having the convenience of it built in vs. continually taking it off my windshield and hiding it every time I park.

 

Another navigation thread with Kurtz..


There are physical buttons to change the temperature for the passenger and the driver side. It is right above the volume control **** and radio control ****.

There is no physical button to change the fan speed but I leave it on Auto anyways. I only adjust the temperature.

There is also a button for the radio. Right below the radio ****. I usually just use the radio control on the steering wheel. More convenient BTW.

 

Exactly, I also have a few high end portable navigation in my stash. People have different preferences and rather have a peace of mind and convenience instead of consistently worrying about your car getting broken into.

 

My bad on temp. it's even there... but below the radio **** is seek/track.

The non-nav actually has 1-6 for presets. If I'm on 1 and wanna switch to 4 it's one physical button press. Ditto for turning off ASL, or making other setting adjustments.

On a nav car it's either touchscreen (after switching the touchscreen to radio) then hitting the virtual button... or as you say scrolling through presets with the steering button several times.



I suppose one gets used to whatever one has, but anytime I've had a nav-car loaner I find the controls pretty cumbersome and annoying compared to the non-nav model, usually requiring one or more extra steps.


See, if you had a garmin you could use the friction mount. It's never on your windshield, and it goes right into the center console in 10 seconds- no theft worries whatsoever... and you can take it with ya to use in a rental when you fly someplace or take a trip in your spouses car or whatever.

Even better, you save the $300/yr Lexus gouges you for on map updates too. (plus the many hours I've saved with the Garmin routing me around traffic on road trips)

 

Below the radio **** can be used to seek track on the CD and also change the radio stations. Even though I leave the radio screen on majority of the time I never bother pressing the screen.

I can understand the inconvenience if there is 20 radio station but there is only 6 preset stations available. You can easily just use the steering wheel for 6 stations.

 

Whatever the car brand, be it my Lexus IS or ?...........if it has a factory nav says "Hi there, I'm part of the 21st century."

All that said, my laughably poor, antique '06 nav still can find the places I want to go. Wouldn't own a car without factory nav. JMHO

 

Perhaps this is larger region than I sampled specific but based on what I've learned through Dealers from Upstate NY (Syr, Roc, Buf) to NC (Ral, Dur) and a few in-between (PA) it would seem that Customers are being forced to take whatever Lexus builds. The feedback from the Dealers is always essentially the same (direct quote from one I contacted);

"In looking over the ordering guide Lexus sets certain requirement when special ordering a car with certain options and in the case of the 2011 IS 250 with Luxury Package they require either the NV option (Navigation Package) or the VN option (Navigation/Mark Levinson Premium Audio Package)."


So it would appear that "special orders" are accommodated as long as the configuration parts are put together in a "standard" Lexus pre-determined way...

 

That certainly wasn't true when I ordered mine (from Durham, NC)...(mine is sport package without nav, but pretty much the same thing you're asking for as sport and lux share 90% of their content... and mine was even more "special" as I also wanted ML without nav, which doesn't exist at all outside special orders)

I suppose Lexus might've made their special order system even crappier in the couple years since though.... which would really suck.

Perhaps one of the folks on here that work at a dealer can check the order system and see if what they're telling you is true or not?