Hi,

I was wondering if the factory navigation for a 2006 Cooper S has any additional features besides navigating? I am looking into purchasing a used '06 and was wanted to know if it was a perk or should I just stick to using my phone.

Thanks!

 

IMO and some will disagree, but this is one of those options that I would not be seeking out. The system is now very dated and the cars value should be marked down with this option.

 

I agree. I have an 06 with Nav & it's pretty useless UNLESS you drive out in remote areas where cell reception is spotty & you need directions, or your phone's battery dies & you need directions or you're trying to save on data usage & need directions. Aside from those 3 specific instances, I've updated mine as far as it can go (firmware & maps) and let me tell you - it takes forever to enter an address, you can't just enter a landmark or POI, it has to be an address, it doesn't get traffic data so it's just send you down what it thinks is the fastest route. Truth be told, I REALLY wish my car had the Chrono pack. Because of this, I just shelled out the cash for an aftermarket coolant temp gauge, too.

 

I owned a 2006 R52 with Nav. On the positive side, I liked having a map always in front of me displaying location and relationship to surroundings. However, I never used it for actual, you know, navigation functions. Searching for destinations or real-time navigating is so much better on a phone.

Keep in mind how old the system is. 2006 is 9 years ago, even before the first iPhone. And BMW actually introduced this Nav system in 2000 (with only very minor updates by 2006). It is essentially 15 year old technology. To put this in perspective, that's when Windows 2000 came out and desktop computers where using tube monitors.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, it helps a lot with my choices...