SilverJ

Now that the 2008 base rdx has HFL and a number of other upgrades do you all still feel the Navi and higher watt stereo is worth 3500.00 ? I mean the Acura GPS looks like a Navi from 5 years ago....For 3500 it should have a carputer and play DVD's...stock. What do you guys think ?
Heres a better gps out of the box... 500 vs 3500 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...activeda668-20

johnny99

CNET.COM says the RDX navigation system is the best on the market:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10846_7-6675891-1.html

batman

plus back-up camera and voice controls for navi/hvac/radio.

Chas2

It's all about the systems integration. Undisputedly, standalone units are more functional, but the screen and the integration with other car systems is hard to match.

catnippants

I beg to differ. I have tried several other GPS systems and they all have their quirks and problems. The standalone units tend to have a few more program options and settings that can be nice, but when it comes down to it, it's all about the data. The last time I checked, TomTom was using TeleAtlas maps - and in my area, they are pretty inaccurate compared to NavTeq (which most car systems use). I also find the database better in the RDX than in the other standalone units I've played with.

To say 'this one is better' just isn't accurate. Each of the systems seem to be better in certain functional areas, and more accurate in certain geographic areas. Unfortunately, it all comes down to which one is better FOR YOU.

Mike

Ledwinka

As a vehicle test engineer who just did these types of things on cars - evaluate and guide development of IVNS (In Vehicle Navigation Systems) -, I believe I can say a few things about the difference between the IVNS and PND (Personal Navigation Systems, Garmin and Tomtom etc).

I remember talking to the navigation systems development engineer at Renault: Renault group uses Alpine systems of Japan, since Renault is in alliance with Nissan. The systems are pretty high tech-it was early this year I have heard about incorporating the 'traffic history' into systems: it was really a few weeks ago that Tomtom was about to implement such function into their systems as well. I was asking the engineer why we were working so hard to compete with more fast adapting PND companies like Tomtom in the market although many customers (at least in France) were buying PND than IVNS. She said the company was in the market for the image of the company.

You see, IVNS is indeed more accurate than a PND: IVNS are incorporated into cars and have additional features such as gyroscopes and WSS (Wheel Speed Sensors). The two latter are highly effective in underground and tunnels, places were GPS signal is not well received. Hence, RDX with tech would still be able to 'figure' where one is heading inside a densely covered wood even if GPS signal cannot be caught, because the gyro and WSS combined would be able to 'vector' our direction and speed, making good estimates on where we are now.

The thing about PND is that technology is so fast the fixed IVNS cannot follow the speed of PND development. Also, once you buy your car with IVNS, there is no way you can upgrade the HW and SW in the vehicle when your model come to pass: for the current RDX, that will be like 3-4 years from now when the first gen models are fully changed in the second gen. By then, the IVNS will have AM-OLED (better visibility in daylight), may perhaps catch the EU's Magellan satellite signals, all have the 'traffic history' data, have SSD (Solid State Disk) with more than 128Gbs of storage, full voice recognition, have the Bluray disc playable 7.1 surround system, have 50+ language voice command, and yes, bark at your dog (kidding for the last part). Yup, your current IVNS in the RDX will be out of fashion long before the mechanical parts on the RDX begin to give up, and you might see your son Johnny cry at the handed-down RDX saying the HW and SW are outdated: heck, I already see high-trim vehicles in used-car lots which mechanics still work great but navigation map data has been long abandoned by the car company. They will not offer map updates forever: once the model is dead, long live the king.

So do I oppose to IVNS like Acura RDX tech? Well, yes and no. Yes, if you have cash, buy the tech version. The audio is wonderful (they say), the nav system with voice command is the most advanced in the market (they say: I did not have the time nor opportunity to check Acuras...), and THEY will get you to places without much interruption at most of the severe GPS signal lacking locations. However, in like five years time, the HW and SW will be outdated and Acura may just not provide upgrade maps to the ol' RDX anymore by then-I see this already with many other cars.

However, if you are like me, you can just get the base model and get the PND: you can throw them away for a most latest version - which, btw, will come in AM-OLED not in the far future, will have the SSD, will have (insert new tech here) - at ridiculously low prices, and yes, updateable for some future. HOWEVER, no PND in the NA market currently offers 7" screen like in the IVNS, so that is a downfall: many Korean and Asian PND makers offer huge real estate that is the 7" as of now.

So pay what you will: the IVNS group will enjoy the large screen, voice command, better POIs (for now, anyways), and full incorporation of functions into the vehicle that makes you feel like the King of the Hill (I like being one as well :p), or you can be a bit more frugal, still get the same mechanics, get like Mio C520 (I have one, and it is better than the pricy Garmins and Tomtoms...), have the PND fall off from the window sometimes (haha, hardships of being frugal...), but get the chance to exchance it into a better, up-to-date model in the future even when RDX is in its second iteration.

Hopefully, PND makers and IVNS will come together and some day form some kind of alliance/coalition and make both compatible: I dream of IVNS being attachable and upgradeable...
But that's just me.

k23a1

Yes, the extra 3500 on the tech package is the selling point in the RDX; the super handling is the other part. I think the RDX will be missing something if the TECH Pack wasn't an option. I also have a Garmin Nuvi 360 that hasn't been used since the RDX purchase. I do have a daily car as well, and I dont seem motivated enough to take it out and use it.

Plus, if you can pull 1k below invoice (Tech - 33,100 to be exact) on an 07 like I did, I say, snag it!

Ledwinka

You see, all of you buying tech version are really help Acura/Honda to continue the development of the next RDX, and hence I salute you all.

The price for the tech version is $3500. I believe, from my own experience, this may well as be double the OEM price from the supplier, which means that Acura and dealers CO are leaving $1750+ margins on the tech version of the car. From what I see, RDX has (an unusually) high rate of tech pkg purchase, outstripping the base by like 4:1.
The product planners must be surprised at that, but RDX still is selling in low numbers.
However, the high ratio of tech will help the next gen RDX development to go on, as this helps retain the profits that the PP people envisioned like five years ago, so your purchase is appreciated (as a Honda fan) as well as envied (I am going for the base version, fellas).

SilverJ

7" screen IS available ---garmin streetpilot 7200. 600.00 or so...and it uses navteq maps. Same as the acura gps. I can use my garmin in NYC and not lose signal...

oblio98

There is no comparison between a Garmin unit and the Acura NAVI. The Acura BLOWS THE GARMIN AWAY.

It's not just the Garmin, it's any NAVI that's not built into the car. You could have a 7" screen and all, but if it's not part of the car, it can't compete. I've had Acura NAVI's in 5 cars, and I've also had a NISSAN NAVI (that pales in comparison to the Acura, "birdview" and all), and I have a guy I work with that has a Garmin in his truck.

Just being able to be driving, grabbing the control and scrolling the map to see where a road goes without worrying about:

1) Seeing the display
2) Having the display fall over, drop, or turn into the sun
3) Having a display that can change intensities at the touch of a button without looking at it
4) Voice control

and many more. It's not a fair comparison. If the Garmin was built into the car, and retained all of its features, then it would be a different story.....................but it's not.

SilverJ

no--a carputer that plays dvd's and nav would blow it away...compare some screens of a garmin 660 vs the acura nav and tell me its worth another 3000

oblio98

You just don't get it. It's not the features, it's the fact that it's built into the car and accessing the controls can be done while driving. The rest is bull.

Who wants a laptop on the passenger seat? Not me.......

Until you have one, you can't compare.