Built-in Navigation?

[Drewmandoo]

Nothing beats Android Auto + Google Maps. Yes, Waze was bought by Google and has been merging features for a while now.
Now, there are times when Android Auto isn't working, and the built in nav comes in handy in a pinch, but if I didn't have it included for 3 years, I would never worry about it.

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[roadpilot]

Isnt Waze owned by Google now? Seems like GoogleMaps has slowly started incorporating some of the Waze features. Like I get speed trap notifications now. But yeah Waze is better for that or disabled vehicles and those sorts of things.

Yes, but they remain separate products, and they don't share the same user reports.

The bigger downfall of Google Maps is, while you can report "speed traps" and such, you can't do that through Android Auto - you have to use your phone running Waze to submit the report. Waze is a much better counter measure for LE reports than Google Maps.

 

[roadpilot]

Nothing beats Android Auto + Google Maps. Yes, Waze was bought by Google and has been merging features for a while now.
Now, there are times when Android Auto isn't working, and the built in nav comes in handy in a pinch, but if I didn't have it included for 3 years, I would never worry about it.

Nope, not merging. They don't even share data. And not being able to report things via AA to Google Maps is a deal breaker for me.

 

[Drewmandoo]

Nope, not merging. They don't even share data. And not being able to report things via AA to Google Maps is a deal breaker for me.

They are merging/have been merging teams, and while on the Google Map side they have a lot of the same/similar features, AA is their own thing. To each their own though, and while I never used the report feature, some do, and maybe they will add the report feature to AA.

 

[roadpilot]

They are merging/have been merging teams, and while on the Google Map side they have a lot of the same/similar features, AA is their own thing. To each their own though, and while I never used the report feature, some do, and maybe they will add the report feature to AA.

Just because Google Maps lets you report a speed trap or do something you can also do in Waze doesn't mean they are merging the applications. If they were merging them, two would become one. They arent. Long term both will remain separate, viable products. Again, they don't even share the same user reporting.

 

[Zig]

why not just use what's on your phone? I've been using iPhone Maps for the past 6 years with my old car. Works great.

because in car works when the internet does not

 

[Stonehauler]

As someone who has had navigation in my cars since 2011, a portable garmin before that, and have tried numerous vehicle manufacturer's versions, not many can compete with Apple or Google maps. The amount of research and development that has gone into them is astounding, as is the way they communicate information to the driver.

Instead of Turn Left in 300 feet, it's go past this light then turn left onto the next road. It does a much better way of working with the way people actually use directions and landmarks in real life.

I think the reason is that car companies don't have the resources to make a good product. How many people use Google maps? Compare that to how many use a Ford map, or a GM map, a Toyota Map, a BMW, map, etc. There is just not enough economy of scale for Ford or VW to make that big an investment in their system. That said, as a paid system, you would expect it to be miles ahead of a free version, but you still have out of date maps, bad UIs, etc. The only benefit to the in-car system is the integration with heads up displays, which Ford doesn't use.

 

[Zig]

As someone who has had navigation in my cars since 2011, a portable garmin before that, and have tried numerous vehicle manufacturer's versions, not many can compete with Apple or Google maps. The amount of research and development that has gone into them is astounding, as is the way they communicate information to the driver.

Instead of Turn Left in 300 feet, it's go past this light then turn left onto the next road. It does a much better way of working with the way people actually use directions and landmarks in real life.

I think the reason is that car companies don't have the resources to make a good product. How many people use Google maps? Compare that to how many use a Ford map, or a GM map, a Toyota Map, a BMW, map, etc. There is just not enough economy of scale for Ford or VW to make that big an investment in their system. That said, as a paid system, you would expect it to be miles ahead of a free version, but you still have out of date maps, bad UIs, etc. The only benefit to the in-car system is the integration with heads up displays, which Ford doesn't use.

offline maps work when connectivity is sparse. most internet maps are not created solely by google and or apple. fine print tomtom.

 

[Stonehauler]

offline maps work when connectivity is sparse. most internet maps are not created solely by google and or apple. fine print tomtom.

I agree with that, and paper maps work better than offline maps when incidents are not being reported. A few years ago (maybe just pre-covid, maybe 2022), I was traveling back home and was taking the PA turnpike. There was a tunnel closure that was not reported/being accounted for. Armed with an old fashioned Rand McNally map, my wife and I were able to exit at the last exit before the tunnel and navigate to another Interstate that allowed us to continue home. Without the paper map, we would not have been able to find the roaded needed to get us away from the closure.

There are places for everything, but my personal experiences is that when there is internet available, nothing beats google/apple, and while having an offline map available electronically is nice for places of limited connectivity (very few these day)It's not something I am willing to pay 80-100 bucks a year for (of course, that ALSO requires internet connectivity for traffic), carrying a paper map is what I would put money into before a FordPass.

EDIT - btw, as a person who keeps their car 10+, I have had way too many cars where the modem/cell tech is sunset before I sell the vehicle, making cars that depend on connectivity for apps/other issues a problem.

 

[Zig]

I agree with that, and paper maps work better than offline maps when incidents are not being reported. A few years ago (maybe just pre-covid, maybe 2022), I was traveling back home and was taking the PA turnpike. There was a tunnel closure that was not reported/being accounted for. Armed with an old fashioned Rand McNally map, my wife and I were able to exit at the last exit before the tunnel and navigate to another Interstate that allowed us to continue home. Without the paper map, we would not have been able to find the roaded needed to get us away from the closure.

There are places for everything, but my personal experiences is that when there is internet available, nothing beats google/apple, and while having an offline map available electronically is nice for places of limited connectivity (very few these day)It's not something I am willing to pay 80-100 bucks a year for (of course, that ALSO requires internet connectivity for traffic), carrying a paper map is what I would put money into before a FordPass.

EDIT - btw, as a person who keeps their car 10+, I have had way too many cars where the modem/cell tech is sunset before I sell the vehicle, making cars that depend on connectivity for apps/other issues a problem.

yep, sd card to the rescue. the nav subscription stuff is kind of …. unless it’s concierge with obvious discounts applied when booked etc. but just to have a map and to use it to map out directions (without traffic weather predictions etc) that is separate from the phone is handy. now all we need to do is bring back the double-hump and add a navigator dash section (complete with their own sync screen that can interact with the center/common console).

 

[dollybud]

why not just use what's on your phone? I've been using iPhone Maps for the past 6 years with my old car. Works great.

The voice is great plus when navigating.

 

[roadpilot]

because in car works when the internet does not

You can download the map data to your device, so ...

 

[Zig]

You can download the map data to your device, so ...

if you already know where you’re going why do you need a map

 

[roadpilot]

if you already know where you’re going why do you need a map

It includes every road in the regions you download, not just the three roads you're going to drive.

This is not long division, really.

 

[Zig]

It includes every road in the regions you download, not just the three roads you're going to drive.

This is not long division, really.

which means it should fit in my rolling computer no problem

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