One rule must be followed when driving with a navigation system: Don’t believe everything you’re told.
Ignore that, and you could wind up in Ohio rather than Chicago. Common sense is sometimes smarter than the best computerized guidance.
Offered in vehicles from nearly a dozen manufacturers, navigation systems have grown in sophistication. Packed with more information than ever, they generally dispense those details helpfully.
But they can be wrong, and they can become unhinged.
Every “nav system” works in roughly the same way. Each uses the satellite-based Global Positioning System to determine where the vehicle is at all times. Mapping information is stored on nine CD-ROMs in a CD player. Each CD-ROM covers a region of the country.
A small video screen, usually near the center of the dashboard, displays turn-by-turn instructions–typically using a large arrow–and other helpful information. Instructions also are given by an electronic voice. Nearly all can be switched from turn-by-turn guidance to display an area map, with zoom-in and -out capabilities. The selected route is highlighted, as is the vehicle’s position, which changes periodically to demonstrate your progress.
Before starting, submit a destination–a street address, a point of interest or an intersection.
You might be able to specify the shortest distance or the quickest route, with or without taking toll roads or expressways. An “address book” stores destinations, so you don’t have to repeat the routine every time.
If you pass a recommended turn, some systems begin recalculating the route and dispensing a revised version. Others appear to get irritated, haranguing you to turn around.
When traveling in less-populous areas, mapping might be minimal with all systems.
You’re likely to see only major highways, with no streets named and few, if any, points of interest listed. Those areas have not been mapped in detail by Navtech, which compiles data for nearly all navigation systems.
Startup instructions will be issued once you’re on a road the mapping system recognizes. An arrow usually shows the direction to take to reach the nearest recognized road. Vocal instructions typically advise you to “proceed to the highlighted route,” but if you’re in an unfamiliar area, finding that starting point isn’t always so easy.
Each system starts with a warning message that tells you to consult the screen only while stopped. Sound advice.
We test-drove nine navigation-equipped vehicles from eight manufacturers: Acura/Honda, BMW, General Motors (Cadillac), Infiniti, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. We also investigated systems from Audi and Jaguar.
Not every test vehicle included a manual for the navigation system, which might have alleviated some problems. But such a system should be guided by a certain logic.
The findings:
ACURA/HONDA
Acura is an old-timer in navigation, having launched a system in 1996. Mounted relatively high, the touch-screen is distinct, with small push-buttons alongside.
A push-to-select button at the bottom of the display unit is handy, if obstinate. Destinations may be selected by address, intersection, phone number, previous choices or a point on the map. Asked to display nearby airports, the system came up with Midway and Meigs Field, but not O’Hare. That selection had to be made by an alternative method–namely, requesting O’Hare by name. If that didn’t work, we might have tried entering its geographic location–though if you know where it is, you probably don’t need the navigation help. Several other systems also had trouble finding airports.
Best part of the Acura/Honda system is its on-screen distance chart–a series of bars that diminishes as you near the next turn. A glance reveals how close you are to that turn, supplementing the vocal directions. The map rotates as you turn, always facing the logical way.
At one point, Acura’s system sent us past a nearby tollway entrance, and on to the next one. Once there, it incorrectly specified where, and which way, to turn onto the entrance ramp. After a while, the voice declared us “off the route” but gave no clue what to do. Those imperfections were minor, compared to a previous Acura system that went dead.
Available in TL or RL sedans for $2,000, it’s also offered in the Honda Odyssey EX mini-van for the same price.
AUDI
If you didn’t know an Audi had navigation,you might never find it. Control buttons are inside the covered console storage box. Audi’s system also lacks the customary video map. A tiny screen is mounted in the instrument panel to supplement the vocal instructions.
Destination selections are relatively easy to make, but you must look down a bit to see turn arrows on the little screen. Those arrows point in the direction of your next turn. When the system does not know exactly where you are, the arrow points toward a known road as a starting point.
Audi offers navigation in the A4, A6 and A8, for $1,280.
BMW
BMW’s map is easy to see on a clear, distinct screen. Round control knobs are used to move the cursor and highlight an item, then pressed to select it. Instructions are clear.
An arrow points in the direction you’re going, and another shows the direction of the next turn. The screen shows the distance to the turn and the name of that road. Street names appear if the scale is one-half mile or less, and the map can be repositioned so the direction you’re traveling is at the top.
Asked to plan a 20-mile journey, BMW’s system calculated the shortest route. Half a mile before the logical turn, onto a major highway, it had us turn left onto a smaller street. Then, we followed a maze of side streets, emerging on the highway that would have made sense. Along the way, it recommended a dead end. And, after taking an intentional “wrong” turn, BMW’s system gave several wrong instructions.
Navigation costs less than $2,000 in BMW’s 3- and 5-Series cars and X5 sport-utility and is standard in the 740i.
CADILLAC
Cadillac’s navigation set-up uses a video screen similar to those in other navigation-equipped vehicles. Buttons to the screen’s left let you bring up a map, plan a route, zoom in or out or examine the menu of choices. On-screer buttons are used to select destinations.
For the most part, the navigation system worked well–except when it tried to send us 377 miles away, instead of 20 miles to home. Somehow, the computer found a street of the same name in Ohio and decided that was correct.
Cadillac’s small touch-screen is easy to read. Selections are comparatively easy to make. Audio instructions are helpful, and the handy “next turn” display is superimposed over the map.
It’s available in the Cadillac DeVille DHS and DTS and Seville STS for $1,995, and the Seville SLS for $2,945.
INFINITI
The newest member of the nav-system family, and the most novel, hails from Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury division. Introduced this year and called the “bird view” system, it displays a video map in perspective. Your eye seems to be viewing the area ahead from above and to the rear, looking into the distance. Otherwise, the system is similar to the competition’s, with control buttons to the screen’s left and an on-screen mini-keyboard to select a destination.
People who have difficulty reading conventional maps might find Nissan’s setup more intuitive. If desired, the flat “plan” map can be selected. Directional instructions, oral and visual, also are easy to follow.
A $2,000 option in the redesigned 2001 QX4 sport-utility, it also is available for the I30 and Q45 sedans. Later this year, Nissan’s Pathfinder is supposed to get navigation as an option.
JAGUAR
With a screen mounted fairly high on the dashboard, Jaguar’s video map is exceptionally easy to see at a glance, even in sunlight. Selections are made using well-marked buttons below the screen and a joystick at lower left, following easily understood menus. The system copes gracefully when you’ve gone off-route, quickly recalculating. Keeping pace with the car’s movement, the map changes position swiftly.
Even the alphabetic on-screen keyboard is easier to use than most– though not quite perfect. For example, as in all navigation systems, it’s all too easy to make an error when pecking out letters in a destination name, but not quite so simple to correct it.
Jaguar’s system can be switched on and off by tapping a button–unlike some that seem to defy shutdown or startup. Pressing the Menu button takes you back to the beginning, in contrast to some systems that can leave a person confused. Press the Map button and the map appears. Touch the Scale switch and the map’s scale changes. Every step is clear and uncluttered. Drivers get have options, including three levels of audio instructions.
Standard in the S-Type sedan, Jaguar’s navigation system is a $1,500 to $2,400 option for the XJ6 sedan and XK8 coupe/convertible.
LAND ROVER
At the bottom of the helpfulness list was Land Rover’s system, installed in a Range Rover. Not only was its screen tiny and dark, it also had little contrast between colors and was just about impossible to see. Audio instructions never emerged, either.
Though the unit looks like the others, with a video screen and selector buttons, it was frustrating. But it could have just been this one unit.
LEXUS
A neatly tilted touch-screen sits low in the dash, with push buttons to the right that include a Map/Guide selector. As in most systems, destinations may be chosen by address, points of interest, intersection, or freeway entrance/exit. Turn arrows appear on-screen, along with such data as mileage to the destination and distance to the next action that needs to be taken.
In day mode, the screen was easy to read. At times, though, touching the screen produced no response. Some on-screen “buttons” have cryptic names, making one wonder what will happen when they’re activated.
An attempt to chart a course to O’Hare initially came up with the wrong airport. Lexus took us past the nearest tollway entrance, then had us turn away from the airport.
If you request “least use of highways” or the “shortest” route on any navigation system, its calculation might take you down curious paths, as it interprets that request literally. The shortest route isn’t always the most direct or logical.
The Lexus navigation system starts at $5,305, but it comes in a group for the GS300/400 or LS400 that includes other options.
MERCEDES-BENZ
Despite the relatively high cost of a Mercedes, the company’s navigation system–tested in an M-Class sport-utility vehicle–produced more confusion than guidance. A small screen, mounted relatively high, has plenty of tiny buttons around it, with a joystick selector.
Making choices–selecting a destination name letter by letter–wasn’t so easy, due in part to the teeny on-screen keyboard. Using the little joystick is no picnic, either. Manipulating the video map went well, but the system was difficult to understand. Pressing buttons on the touch screen often had no effect. All too often, the system failed to clarify what to do next.
Mercedes makes navigation standard in the high-priced S-Class sedan and CL coupe, and ML430 sport-utility. In the ML320, it’s a dealer-installed option priced around $1,995. Navigation is available for the same price in the CLK series and the E-Class sedan.
VOLVO
Most navigation systems include a video screen in the dashboard. Not Volvo’s.
To make the screen easier to see without looking down, it glides upward from the dashboard when the unit is switched on. Fingertip controls at the steering wheel are used to select destinations. But the screen is not easy to read on sunny days, and the steering-wheel buttons don’t necessarily work more easily than a touch screen or control knob.
Otherwise, operation is virtually identical to other systems, providing visual and verbal instructions.t
Volvo’s system costs $2,500 in the S80 sedan.
