Well we've had our MCS for about a year now. It's an '03 with the Nav. At first when the g/f ordered the car with it I thought it was a waste of money. But after living with it for the last year it's changed my mind completely. For road trips it was indispensible. When we drove from Austin to Chicago we used it to find weird places to go and it allowed us to travel off in weird backroads and go exploring where normally we might be a lil apprehensive about getting lost in the middle of Kentucky. For daily use commuting of course you really don't get much use out of the Nav part, however I really like the OBC being located onthe screen in the middle. I play fun games with myself to see how good of gas milage I can get and other such silly things. As for the speedo not being able to be viewed on the steering wheel, that's rubbish. maybe if you adjust your seat all the way up and the steering wheel all the way down the top 1/3 of the speedo and tach will be covered. But I'm 6'2" and have no issues adjusting things so I can see everything. Good luck with your new purchase!

 

My NAV means my wife isn't the NAV ANYMORE! So I got rid of her and me and the MINI get to where we are going much easier and calmer ... lowered my bloodpressure. But the coolest most fun is to decide to use the MINI for what it was made for .... get off the highway and take the LONG winding backroads home. I love that. But like they said above, if you are a local, you sometimes know better routes than the computer figures out. And many times, setting it to SHORTEST ROUTE means the LONGEST DRIVE. So you got to get used to that. AND YES the little twist **** is something you have to deal with. You SHOULD pull over and program it ... not while driving. .... But hey get this. In UK The DVD NAV can be modified to play DVD movies. It's illegal in the US. .... I've got friends there and may someday try and get one. I think it would be great for 2 1/2 hr. traffic delays ... or just driving to "Inspiration Point" with your date, and watching Lord of the Rings in your own personl Drive In Theatre.

 

You can modify it to play movies in the US too... NavTV will do it. Antsmini had this done by a shop in NYC on his last MINI a year ago. It's not cheap either, it's about $1000

 

Changed my mind. The best part of the NAV system is COMING BACK. It's relatively easy to get somewhere in the daylight ... you can see landmarks and street signs. But then when you return that night and it's dark and you aren't familiar with where you are and how you got there, I just click the address book and hit home, and it gets me right back on the highway home .... I love having an intersection diagram while driving at night in a strange city, too. I know that I have 3 lanes and should be in the left one. That's nice to have.

Speaking of NY and NAV movies .... it wasn't 4 months ago it made national news when a guy in NYC was arrested for driving while talking on his cell phone AND watching **** movies on a dash mounted screen. Can't remember if he was speeding or had a wreck. But it was national news. ..... But for $1,000 there lots more I would do first.

 

I'm trying to figure out what to do with mine once I get home in August....