When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Now that Android Auto and Car Play seem to be working for the most part, and some of you have an update to the Acura Navigation system, I was wondering what is your preferred app to use for navigation?
Acura Navigation
Google Maps
iPhone Maps
Waze
Something else
Hmm, I thought I was creating this as a poll, but apparently I have no clue as to how to to that...
Wait, maybe it did work after all.
My preference is for the iPhone maps simply because it's easiest to use for any addresses already stored on my phone.
2nd choice is Google maps. Every now and then I try to use Waze again, but I just don't seem to care for it.
I like Google maps for intricate routing, say going through Baltimore and DC where traffic greatly impacts various available routes. I like Waze for straight highway driving to watch for incidents and the occasional reroute. Apple maps only when I have Carplay running and just want to find something like a particular restaurant or store. I run Acura maps as a mere rolling map, or when I want to play USB music and don’t really need the best nav, since Acura’s traffic info is spotty at best.
So, 4 nav programs at my fingertips. Pretty freakin’ good when you come to think of it.
I usually don't need directions to get where I'm going, I just like having an ETA and a heads up about unexpected traffic. Because Acura has a terrible ETA, it can't re-route very well for traffic - something both Apple and Google do very well. I actually like the Acura interface, and having the turns show up in the HUD. True touch is so much easier in the acura nav than the dang carplay touchpad nonsense. But I still use Apple maps almost exclusively, with Google the backup for when Apple can't find a particular store or restaurant I'm looking for.
Like others above, I switch it up a lot between google maps, the Acura nav, and Apple maps. I got frustrated with the Acura nav with the HUD display issues (now fixed) and the map out of date message, so that’s my bottom pick. I just upgraded to a new iPhone 11 with iOS 13 (my old phone was an ancient iPhone 6 which couldn’t get iOS 13), and I’ve tried out the new Apple maps a couple of times, and I’m loving it so far, it’s gorgeous and easy to read. I love how it shows all the stoplights. Going to give it a longer 200 mile test this week.
Like others above, I switch it up a lot between google maps, the Acura nav, and Apple maps. I got frustrated with the Acura nav with the HUD display issues (now fixed) and the map out of date message, so that’s my bottom pick. I just upgraded to a new iPhone 11 with iOS 13 (my old phone was an ancient iPhone 6 which couldn’t get iOS 13), and I’ve tried out the new Apple maps a couple of times, and I’m loving it so far, it’s gorgeous and easy to read. I love how it shows all the stoplights. Going to give it a longer 200 mile test this week.
Maybe I should give it another try. We are driving down to Florida later in the month, so maybe I will give it a go on one of the legs. Being able to tell Siri what you want is a good thing, when it works.
”Siri, find me some good crabcakes in Bawlimore” gotta give it a try.
Acura maps for default driving, google nav for actual navigation. The right-side-screen gets completely wasted during google nav - so once they fix that and better use the google maps screen (the recent places menu takes up > 25% of the available map space), I'll use google full time.
My first choice would be the Acura Nav, but it isn't up to the real time features of Google Maps, so now that I have AA, I use Google maps almost exclusively. I have liked WAZE in the past, but the screen with AA is so washed out, and I can't seem to get it to display the + and - buttons to zoom in or out. So, IF I need/want the Waze features, I load it on my phone display that is attached to the vent, while using Google on the dash display.
I would prefer to use the Acura NAV, as It doesn't require a phone to be plugged in, and not as good as Google Maps......I tend to get out of the car and forget to take my phone when it is not in my pocket.
I wish Acura Nav was better. I would love to use it instead of loading up carplay. But it disappoints me every time. Finding POIs is very unreliable, and the routes it chooses are pretty questionable. I only use it if i need to find a nearby location or freeway onramp. I will not let it navigate me more than a few miles.
On my phone, i've been a Google Maps user all my life. Never once considered Apple Maps. But on Carplay, Apple makes a far superior product than google. Apple maps is much smarter about what to display. I like how it shows your full route with your current position on the edge (I hate it when other apps show your current position in the center of the screen. why do i care what's behind me?). I like the way it zooms the map in/out depending on the current instruction. And the control buttons are much easier to access. Google maps requires several more clicks to the same thing (zoom in/out, change heading). The only thing i dislike about Apple maps is that traffic only goes up to red, while Google goes up to dark red, which is more useful/accurate.
Maybe I should give it another try. We are driving down to Florida later in the month, so maybe I will give it a go on one of the legs. Being able to tell Siri what you want is a good thing, when it works.
”Siri, find me some good crabcakes in Bawlimore” gotta give it a try.
Originally Posted by ackmonal
I wish Acura Nav was better. I would love to use it instead of loading up carplay. But it disappoints me every time. Finding POIs is very unreliable, and the routes it chooses are pretty questionable. I only use it if i need to find a nearby location or freeway onramp. I will not let it navigate me more than a few miles.
On my phone, i've been a Google Maps user all my life. Never once considered Apple Maps. But on Carplay, Apple makes a far superior product than google. Apple maps is much smarter about what to display. I like how it shows your full route with your current position on the edge (I hate it when other apps show your current position in the center of the screen. why do i care what's behind me?). I like the way it zooms the map in/out depending on the current instruction. And the control buttons are much easier to access. Google maps requires several more clicks to the same thing (zoom in/out, change heading). The only thing i dislike about Apple maps is that traffic only goes up to red, while Google goes up to dark red, which is more useful/accurate.
I also am impressed with the Apple Maps update. Drove 4 hours yesterday, and over some very new roads, and it was flawless. Love how it shows the traffic lights, tells you which lane to get in, and it’s very easy to read. After rest stops, just plug my phone back in and it’s up and running in seconds without touching anything.
So, all of the maps serve a different function for me.
I would probably use any of the other 3 (CarPlay maps) over the stock if apple would fix the display. I hate how the software rounds the corners next to the b-zone. It looks unfinished or aftermarket. I usually immediately switch back to the Nav screen or home screen to avoid seeing those rounded edges.
I will say that I prefer using the stock nav for long trips. If I’m already in a foreign place and I’m looking for a restaurant or venue, apple maps is what I’ll fall back on. I will use google maps with the earth view when I’m trying to find a hard to find building/location. I’ll use Waze if I see something that needs to be reported. No more rounded edges!!!
Acura Navigation has many advantages. It has North America map in memory while Google maps needs internet to download new area. It lowers volume of infotainment during commands, has better GPS antena and operates even without GPS signal. In Chicago downtown both Garmin and Google maps constantly lose signal (tall buildings) while Acura Nav works fine (even underground). It is because it has built in accelerometer that allows to calculate car position. It also remembers car orientation and doesn't need any time to "lock to satellites". My Garmin often needed 5 minutes when car hasn't been driven for few days (satellites changed position). I like display and voice commands that come at the right moment while route recalculation is fast. It selected weird routes few times, but one time it directed me to turn back on the expressway (overpass) go back half a mile, exit and continue on side streets, I found later that expressway was completely blocked (parking lot). It is also easier to use since it is there all the time. I don't have to turn on, plug in or connect anything. It is also integrated with HUD. Also, Android Auto has to be plugged in to operate into the slot that I use for USB music.
Well, I have the best Nav available....my wife sitting in the passenger seat with her Google maps on her Sam. S-10 and a 7 inch Garmin. I leave the Acura GPS running on the car's display. Its OK and has some features I do like but the wife is keeping everything honest by cross checking on the other two devices. I find Acura takes us some odd ways sometime but then so has the Garmin and even Google Maps. I have never found any GPS that was 100% perfect for me, let alone everyone. My wife is a retired mainframe computer programmer and we have had many discussions on how the software for any device is written by a human (or humans) and they all have different ideas of how things should be displayed and controlled and set different priorities in their picking of routes.
Our best routes are picked by us using all three devices. Its not rare for them to give three different solutions but normally we can find two of the three will agree. Still, a lot of human brain power needs to be applied to keep them honest.
I am trying to get the Acura navigation system to work as best as possible for me because I like to use the USB port for playing music off of of a flash drive, making Carplay/Apple Maps/Google Maps/Waze not available through the car's systems. I wish it could access the contacts list with addresses off of a Blue Tooth connected phone so I could use the contact name in my find command to set up a route instead of having to separately seed the locations into favorites or download from Acura Link and without the ability to use a meaningful name as the destination location. Similar to the way Apple Maps can use the iPhone's contact list in navigation. This doesn't seem to be too surmountable since the infotainment system can access my Blue Tooth connected phone's contact list for making voice calls. I will keep playing around with the 4 options until I settle in. It might be different ones depending on the type of driving I am doing.
My first choice would be the Acura Nav, but it isn't up to the real time features of Google Maps, so now that I have AA, I use Google maps almost exclusively. I have liked WAZE in the past, but the screen with AA is so washed out, and I can't seem to get it to display the + and - buttons to zoom in or out. So, IF I need/want the Waze features, I load it on my phone display that is attached to the vent, while using Google on the dash display.
I would prefer to use the Acura NAV, as It doesn't require a phone to be plugged in, and not as good as Google Maps......I tend to get out of the car and forget to take my phone when it is not in my pocket.
I chose Google Maps in the poll.
i like Waze also but as you say it was washed out. When I went under a bridge it went into night mode and looked very good. So I went into Waze settings and changed it to operate in dark mode full time. I like it and it is my go to nav when using directions to destination. Otherwise I use Acura nav for routine driving.
I use the Acura Navigation, it seems to work very well for the area I am in, including traffic over HD radio.
I compared the re-routing caused by traffic congestion with that of the google maps (running on my phone) and they seem to choose the same route (in at least 2 occasions so far).
If I need to search for a specific place, I do that using the Acura link app and then send it to the car (while already in the car), this has worked well. If I am driving, I have my wife do it.
I have used this method to setup the Nav favorites (send to car then select it as a fav).
I wish I could rename the Nav favorites to something more user friendly (rather than the address), like a person's name, hope they add this feature.
I would prefer to use Waze but cannot get it to work in my 2020 RDX.
You can, access the developer settings of Android Auto (Google it) and then change the Application Mode to Developer. You can use Waze but it doesn't follow the "stop navigation" command.
12-01-2019 | 06:15 AM
You're right about the crab cakes, though I'd ask a native before asking Siri. 
