Toms TeeSX

Has anyone played with navigation systems from other auto manufacturers? How do they compare to Acuras? What differences are there in terms of functions and usability.

Sutto

The system in the Cadillac Escalade is garbage. It isn't touch screen so you have to use this ridiculous little 8-way toggle thing that never goes where you want it.

TSX.Fury

Yeah, my fathers navi in the new A8 has a beutiful screen and it retracts into the Walnut dash but other then that its a piece of shit. You can't search by phone number, no voice activation, and no touch screen. Scrolling around on the map is nearly impossible. You have to click, move horizontal, click, move vertical, click, move horizontal, click... you get it. Its annoying. He hardly ever uses it.

CJams

I have used the Lexus GS400 Navi. The screen is way smaller and you have to have the car in "park" to input anything like the address. That disc wasn't up to date either. And there wasn't half as many option like finding the closest gas station.

Our Navi is the best that I have ever used.

gpsiir

Didn't think the navigation that Toyota is all that hot, either. (Not even close to Honda/Acura's)

TypeRS

tried out the bmw navi and after 2 minutes of fiddling on it on the road, i gave up...POS garbage...and no touch screen! don't even get me started on the iDrive version

CarbonGray Earl

Parents S500 COMAND system has a smaller screen, and its ALOT less intuitive. Its similar to Idrive It's nice, but Honda/Acura is more logically organized and the

Something about German engineering, and how they don't want to insult the intelligence of the user.....so complexity is a characteristic built into their systems.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Basically, the Honda/Acura nav system developed by Alpine and NAVTEQ is without equal THE best OEM system available.

xjdmb16a2six

werd to that.....ill only get navi if its an acura or honda.

batman

I've heard that the Chryslers 300 nav system is a POS.

psteng19

I read that the new Infiniti M's nav system is pretty good.
No touch screen but everything is voice activated and intuitive to use.
The bird's eye view is supposed to be pretty sweet as well.

joerockt

Amazing how many other Navi's out there arent touch screen. Are the cost of these other systems less? I cant imagine using mine without the touch.

slo007

We just a got a 2005 Prius with the navi system. One feature I liked is that I can set the usual vehicle's speed in avenues and freeways; hence, the ETA is more realistic. For example, I set the speed as 75 mph on freeways (unlike the default 65 mph in the TSX). The est. to reach a destination 75 miles away is now 1 hr, instead of ~70 mins.

A major problem is that I cannot change settings when the car is moving. Bad, bad, bad!!! It does have the nearest gas station feature, I think. I need to play with it a bit more.

mg7726

you forgot IBM. the next gen honda navi is going to have speech recognition developed with ibm using their Viva voice software.

CJams

Has anyone used a Non-Touch screen Navi while in motion? I thought the reason we could use our Navi and drive at the same time was because it's voice activated and didn't have to fiddle with it while driving. That's why the Lexus Navi can only be programmed when stopped and in park.

n3ok318

iTrader: (1)

weRd, I never knew TSX's default freeway speed was 65mph. I usually go 65mph on freeway so it will say about 10 minutes for 10 miles. However, when im stuck in a traffic, it will calculate my mph and extend my minute.. one time I got 20min for 5 miles on freeway. And it was damn accurate too. I was pretty impressed.

hashsi99

Is this true about the new lexus navi??? In the gs??

CJams

The one I drove was an GS400 02 I think. But yes, it had to be stopped and in Park to input an address. It sucked. I had to pull over to the side of the road, put it in to park, and then type in the address. And it wasn't as user freindly as ours. But that V8 Had some a$$ to it!

ImportsRhot

My brother's G35 Coupe's Navi is so difficult to program because it is not touch screen or voice activated. The little joystick is ridiculous. And the guidance voice is so freaking annoying. It is too redundant. Bird eye view is cool but not so easy to follow. Honda/Acura navi is the best navi in my opinion. Easy to program, easy to understand. And i'm not being biased. My brother even admits his navi sucks compared to mine.

Chet03TL-S

Hands down, Honda/Alpine have the most user friendly and intuitive GPS interfaces on the market today. I have tried the Toyota based systems and it really sucks I need to be stopped or in park to input anything. Also the menus aren't as organized. Don't get me started on the non-touch screen systems. Using a joystick to enter text is a pain. If Navi is going to be a make or break option for anyone, Acura/Honda will have you sold.

Sclass88

I don't have navigation in my TSX but have tested it several times and I wish my parents would have let me have it. However, I have also tried a few other nav systems and they don't seem as much fun to use, not as intuitive, or easy to use.

My friend has a 2004 Lincoln Navigator with navi. The navi is touch screen so its cool and it is pretty accurate in getting us from place to place. However, there is no joystick so its difficult to toggle around when in map mode. Also, it cannot be programmed when driving making it a hassle to change inputs.

I also tried out a friends QX56's nav system and I didn't think it was that good. I wasn't a fan of the bird's eye view and I didn't like how it was not touch screen. However, I thought that the posistion of hte screen was perfect for optimum safety. When I used it to get me somewhere, it got me to the general vicinity but wasn't right on the money.

stillageek

My wife has a 2004 Prius w/Nav. She has voice controls that controls everything the TSX can control. Her nav is very basic once the vehicle is moving. She can search by phone number like the TSX can. All in all its almost a wash, somethings are easier on hers, some are easier on mine. Her screen is a bit smaller though. My last car was a 2003 Toyota Matrix. The nav was rather interesting. My Matrix wasn't factory equipped with Nav, so I bought the Nav on Ebay for $700. The unit was made by Delco (read GM). It was not a touch screen, but everything was built into one unit save the antenna. Install was a simple head unit swap. Since it wasn't factory installed I could use it, or rather my wife could use it while driving. I can't stand non touch screen Nav's. I am amazed that the entire Inifiniti/Nissan line is non touchscreen. I do like having 3 options in my TSX being Voice, touchscreen or joystick.

One thing the Toyota Prius does better is search for a location. When I search for "Burger King" in my TSX I get several categories each with different locations. In the Prius I get just the locations. This makes it very frusrtrating when I am in a strange city and just trying to get a whopper.

sabby

The Nav in all Honda/ Acura vehicles calculate the time to destination based upon several factors including, but not limited to:

1.) YOUR CURRENT SPEED (and nav software recalculates the speed info every 10seconds.. someone please correct me if I am wrong on the number of seconds)

2.) Current speed will be retained in the calculation for the milage duration of the road you are currently on and rest of trip is based upon posted speed limits.

3.) POSTED SPEED LIMIT - I do not know about where you live, but here in New England the posted speed for the highways is 65 MPH and secondary roads (avenues) are between 25 and 35MPH (this is used for the part of your trip you have not yet traveled).


Try this test. set a destination and make note of the estimated time it provides to reach the destination (and of course the current time) travel the distance at a specific speed (25 MPH). after about 1 minute, the time to destination should have changed from the original estimate. make note of this time. at completion of the trip, the "estimated time" taken after 1 minute will be exactly the same as the actual time it took (unless you changed speed). It works, I have done this test several times with the exact same result each time.

Oh yeah, we have the nearest gas station thing too... and hotel, shopping, restaurant, police station, school, hospital, etc etc etc (and all can be called up by voice)

Honda/ Acura Navi is the best system available to date.

sabby

When your are craving a Whopper (or Big Mac, or Whatever it is Wendy's calls theirs) do this...

Press Talk button
Say (in a clear voice -ha ha ha) "Find nearest Fast Food"
Voila! a listing of all the fast food restaurants is onscreen

Using this method, I have never had a problem finding a location (it may also be that the business database for my area is more complete).. figure a minimum of 3 years for a company to have been at their location before they would be in the database. longer for more rural areas

DateTSX

I didn't get the fact Navi but after reading all your post about how Honda/Apline are the greatest on the market I am sold!! now if there only a way to buy and install the factory Navi via DYI.....

wclark

i wouldn't reconmend it, i know a guy with non navi tsx, took him 3 months to install everything, but then again that was DIY you could just go to a dealer after buying it off ebay.

DateTSX

I agree. I just finish looking at the pictures on one person who actually did that. And the pictures wasn't pretty....i think I'm better off with an aftermarket Navi.

TSX.Fury

They won't do it. I'm surprised someone actually got it to work. They are tons of threads about this, search a little. I think, unless I missed something, it was determined pretty much impossible.

CJams

I might have to check out the prius navi just cause it sounds like it competes....

I dislike having way too many categories too choose from myself!


That guy that added Navi to his car.....
It took him forever to do it because he had to find all of the parts and what not. I would bite the bullet and drive my car to the dealership and trade it in for one with navi. Even if it cost a few grand more. That looked like a complete PITA!!

rtyk

The NAV in the Jaguar X Type is pretty decent also. Touch screen but no voice activation and the screen may be slightly smaller than the TSX's.