JD Powers - Who makes the best Navigation System?

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Xanavi system in the Infiniti G35 ranks highest in new-vehicle owner satisfaction with factory-installed navigation systems, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Navigation Usage and Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.

Now in its ninth year, the study identifies six factors that contribute to overall customer satisfaction. In order of importance, they are: ease of use, routing, system appearance, speed of system, voice directions and navigation display screen.

For the first time since the study's inception, Xanavi ranks highest among factory-installed navigation systems, performing particularly well in the ease of use and speed of system factors. The Denso system supplied in the Lexus IS 250/350 and the Alpine system supplied to the Acura TL, respectively, follow Xanavi in the ranking.

The study finds that nearly 18 percent of navigation system owners report having real-time traffic capabilities, and 47 percent report having voice recognition. Consumers whose navigation system is equipped with these features report particularly higher satisfaction when compared with owners of navigation systems without real-time traffic and voice recognition capabilities. Additionally, consumers with off-board capabilities, which enables owners to provide a destination to a live operator and receive automated turn-by-turn directions, also have particularly higher overall satisfaction compared with those without the feature. In 2007, nearly one-half of owners report that their vehicle is also equipped with an Off-board navigation system.

"Although satisfaction is higher among owners of navigation systems where turn-by-turn assistance is also offered in the vehicle, these consumers still greatly value traditional full-screen capability," said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power and Associates. "When asked if they would give up the full-screen option and only use turn-by-turn assistance, more than four out of every five off-board system owners said they would not consider foregoing the full-screen option."

While technologies such as off-board, real-time traffic and voice recognition can enhance the overall navigation system experience, owner satisfaction with these specific technologies is relatively low.

"In general, owners say that these new technologies tend to be problematic and somewhat difficult to use," said Marshall. "Despite this, owners still enjoy having more technologies within their system, as they feel these features add value. One way to ease the difficulty owners may experience in using these features is to enhance buyer education."

TOP 10 Navigation Systems

1. Infiniti G35 - Xanavi
2. Lexus IS - Denso
3. Acura TL - Alpine
4. Buick Lucerne - Delphi
5. Honda Civic - Alpine
6. Acura TSX - Alpine
7. Ford Edge - Pioneer
8. Audi Q7 - Harman Becker
9. Honda CR-V - Alpine
10. Nissan Altima - Xanavi

 

thats good considering the TL"s system is 5 yrs old. We have a 2008 tahoe and my tl's system is still much better

 

Back when the superiority of Honda/Acura's navi was being extolled on Azine, I remember reading up on Nissan's JDM navi systems and thinking how badly watered down their USDM version was by comparison. Happy to see that Nissan is bringing the goods in this area as well now.

I am not certain what differentiates the Civic but, the navi in my 07 Accord is "better" than our Tom Tom only due to its incorporation of Climate and Radio controls. That and aesthetics aside, with the Accord's version.

 

I hate how Nissan and Infiniti systems are locked out when the car is moving so that you can't change the destination. Not sure if Toyota and Lexus does this also. We have the factory system in our 2007 CR-V and a hand held Garmin nuvi. I prefer the factory system over our Garmin.

 

Is the nav used in the RL the same as the TL's...?

 

The Altima's system must be dumbed down quite a bit....being that the G35 is #1 and the Altima (with the same mfg) is #10.

 

I have the navi system is different. The TL is touch base, while the RL is voice recognition. Maybe it was a typo, lol. The R is right next to the T.

 

when they say the g35, does that also include g37?

 

^^ my guess is yes.

 

If that is the case then, the IS vs the Toyota Camry/Avalon navi (not listed) must be even more disparate. More probable are G35-navi owners who are a bit more satisfied than Altima-navi owners (of which I imagine there are not many).

 

wow im shocked BMW's navi isnt there

 

my pops drives an infinity m35x-->that navi is incredible

 

dang ur right.. das some h8

 

i can vouch for VW not being on the list, they suck!!!!!!!! big time...

 

Not surprising, but I heard that there are hardware mods (pseudo bolt ons) that can bypass the block out of the functions when moving.

I am considering upgrading to the M35 and this would be a deal breaker for me.

 

iDrive is not on the list! omg!

oh props to infiniti

 

Infiniti FTMFW

 

In all my driving in BMWs (mainly the E90 and E60), I have not sampled their navi much. Then again, I do not like that iDrive interface.

 

Toyota/Lexus does have a lockout on their navi system. They used to have a bypass a couple year ago, but has since eliminated it.

 

Toyota/Lexus FTL

 

never used Nissan/Infinti's Navi system.
however i've used my brother in laws navi in his 05 RL with tech package
and my sister's Navi in her 06 Town and Country
and i've test drove a Lexus LX470.
i think Lexus's navi probably has the best set up Navi.
2nd is Acura's/Hondas(also drove accord with navi in it)
distant 3rd is Dodge's it's a freaking pain in the ass.

 

There are no working defeats for the Infiniti/Nissan system. I'm in a similar postion - wanting to upgrade but not wanting to deal with a system that locks you out (although the voice commands are still doable).

The Toyota/Lexus system can apparently be defeated with a add-on that is cheap and easy to install.

 

There is a navi hack for the Nissan/infiniti system that allows full functionality of the navi and to watch movies on the front screen while moving (on the M35/45 system w/ tech package).

Most people who have done it installed a switch to switch the hack on or off, because if the navi doesn't have satellite signals, it relies on the car's speed to guess the location, so the hack messes that up by saying the car is going 0mph.

 

That hack is all over the Nissan enthusiast pages, but it is not very practical for hte reason that you are describing. You basically can't leave it on because it interferes with the functioning of the unit.

Contrast that with the gizmo available for the Toyota system. My friend bought a rav and she got a little black box over ebay for $75. She plugged it into the back of her nav unit, and now she is never locked out, and there is never any need for her to throw a switch off and on to get her system working correctly.

 

Cheap and easy? Yeah right.

 

Does $75 for a part and an hour of DIY labor sound cheap and easy? Because, for the the Toyota, that is also it took.

 

i thought eclipse made the navis for toyota/lexus, did they recently switch?

 

Whatever that is, I doubt that it would work for my RX. Cause if it does, other owners would have found out about it already.