I'm not going to popular with my thoughts, but here goes. They are a very nice piece of kit. That being said they are just one more thing to distract people when they drive. Much like cell phones. I won't have one in my car.

Chuck

 

good point

 

Magallen says

How often do map updates become available for your system?

18 months

What do they cost?

"... we are charged fees by our map providers. Therefore, we must charge for map updates to cover these internal costs..."

Whats this mean? Dunno since the roadmate series is just about 18 months old now

How comprehensive are those updates? Are they nationwide or do they typically only address a region or two?

International. Based on their maps for handhelds, it will be US & Canada or Europe (27 countries).

You can an awful lot of data on a 20 Gig microdrive vice a 4.7 gig DVD (Dont know how many DVDs MINI gives your). For quite some time, the entire world has been preloaded but you only see US & Canada. For a fee, they send you the unlock code to see Europe.

 

18 months seems like a long time to me, and for the original poster who's looking for something to help them keep track of and navigate around the rapidly changely topgraphy of Las Vegas, updates every 18 months probably won't cut it.

Since you're in DC, does the Magellan properly route and display I-66 inside the Beltway? The Navtaq maps had I-66 listed wrong. Also does it have the new ramps on 28 at Westfields, Waxpool, and Ox as well as the permanent closure of Commercial at 28?

 

Funny you say that, among the scariest drivers I encounter are the ones lost looking for their location, consulting maps and papers and only giving a fraction of their attention to the road as they crane their heads around and brake erratically trying to figure things out (and I run into these types all of the time in SF). The nav on the other hand is no distraction as it speaks to you and prepares you to turn, etc. Glancing over is quick as checking the speedo and switching routes at a light or pulling over and looking for a gas station isn't an issue.

Basically one could say that almost anything is distracting, added gauges, radar detectors, etc, it just all depends how you use things - heck drivers have been distracted by adjusting the radio or ac before and gotten into accidents. As it is though the nav actually helps me focus on the act of driving vs directions - driving with my family is way more distracting the the nav for sure

Anywho, I find it pretty much a necessity for my life and others don't so its all dependant on your own determination (and accuracy of the maps in your area which is a good point; I'm doing fine with info from 03 even). I prefer to keep the small footprint V1 and fast pass as the only things stuck on my windshield, but again, to each thier own.

 

NAY, Don't like the way it looks.

 

I used to be WAY more distracted trying to look at the map or mapquest...especially at night. Nav shows me AND tells me.
One thing I didn't mention before - it's cheaper than a divorce. I also call the Nav my 'Nag-evader'. She tells me what I need to do, not what I SHOULD have done, and she never gets irritated.


Hey - read post #2 again. Asked and answered. I'll accept an apology, or preferably a glass of wine. You're up in wine country, right?

 

I don't have Navi on my MCS. The only reason is I like the speedo at the center more than the navi screen. However, I do like navi. We bought the 04'TL with OEM navi with 7" screen, which is very good, quite accurate. Just bought Calrion N.I.C.E. yesterday, it also has 7" touch screen. Pretty good but not as good as the TL's, in terms of navi quality.

 

Thank you so much you guys. This has been extremely helpful. I have come to the following conclusion:

1) Nothing is going to beat the look of OEM. The Pioneer in dash unit with fold out screen is nice, but it's not clean to me. Especially since it covers a bit of the speedo....I don't care for that.

2) I do not want to have to worry about taking something with me when I go inside a store. I already do that with my portable Sirius radio and it's annoying as hell.

3) Vegas is growing SO fast. Since so much has changed in Vegas in the past 3 years alone, how easy is it going to be for me to find something? I have had absolutely NO problems searching for destinations on MapQuest. There have been a couple times when areas are too new. And if that's the case, what would NavTeq have? Kind of scary?

4) Because of the lack of updates and the $1700 price tag, I can't justify putting that in a Mini. If I were to get it, it would be primarily for the "cool" factor.

5) Has it been shown that this would enhance resale value? Or does it not matter?

Thanks again guys!

 

I call my intuition the "Nag System," and it is my built-in radar. It has kept me from traffic tickets except for one time when my guard was down in Placquemines, Lousiana.

 

For me the answer was easy. NAY.
The MINI is a classic. That center console SPEEDO is a classic. We can all read a map... personally, if I wanted a GPS, I'd buy a TomTom or something external. I think the big 16:9 rectangle in the middle of the dash is a bit much.
SPEEDO all the way. My .02 dollars.

 

I will check it next time I got it in a car (being portable I move it from car to car when I need it).

I will say that it does mess you up if your destination is in a high rise ... it left me in the middle of a road saying I was there and I had to figure out how to get to the parking garage for the high rise.

As to new locations, I can say this ...

Heading into Alexandria, east bound off the beltway it missed the rt 1 exit because it was blocked with new construction and I had to go about four miles up to turn around (which it reroutes automatically)

Also heading to MOS, way too much new construction and totally of.

 

1. I dont like the looks either ... However the pioneer has two features unique to it that are worth their weight in gold. The first in the tie-in to the XM traffic reports. That alone would probably be the only reason I would buy one. If you got traffic jams, and I know Vegas does because I've been there many, many times, its golden. It also has the option for the backup camera which I think you cannot get in the US MINI.

2. Taking something with you ... I'm not going to try to convince you to go XM but if you did, there would be nothing to take with you since its hidden. If you have the portable mounted on a permanent mount (like a Panavise), there is nothing to take with you into the store. If I have it in the car, it just stays there. Having the ability to move it to other cars is a major bonus.

 

Nav I love distractions


This is the nav system that I really want...

 

You DA MAN!

 

And I do mean the NAV system with sidewinders

 

Yep a heads up displayed nav sysetm might be in my next car. The heat seekers are a must have too.

 

I WANT the power in my MINI that pushes that nav system.

Earl

 

I read an article a while back that likened the OEM Nav system to "a square peg set uncomfortably in a round hole" and that's my biggest problem with it. It's one thing to replace the center speedo (e.g. with the chrono pack), but it's just not aesthetically acceptable to me to replace it with something that looks so glaringly out of place next to everything else in the interior. I'd actually prefer an aftermarket Nav, because then, no matter how ugly, it's just an add-on, it's not an inherent (flawed) element of the interior design.

From what I saw when I was shopping around the used market before ultimately opting to buy new, the OEM Nav does not add significant value to the resale. A few hundred dollars maybe, but nowhere near the original option cost, whereas a lot of other options retain nearly their full value.

I haven't done a super-sophisticated scientific survey, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but based on the vehicles I was evaluating it looks to be one of the *least* valued options on the used market.

 

I understand how you feel but even in this no so perfect design world, the Mini's design is quite acceptable to me. Hell...look at how many square objects are in your round gauge next time you get in

 

I havent been down that way yet. But I did go down 29 towards DC and it was very interesting. They "moved" parts of 29 so there are no lights in one part and the display showed the little area going off into the "boonies". It just kept tracking me "in the wood" until the road merged back to the original track and kept right on 29. It looked strange but worked fine.

Another interesting thing was while "booting up" a new warning screen flash for like a second saying that the maps were a year old and to download a new ones from Magellan. However, there are none there to download yet. It says "new software coming" The firmware updates are worth doing cause its only one behind and nothing to write home about.

 

FINALLY

Magellan has released a total new update for the roadmate series. Loaded it today ... came on 3 DVDs but one was the manual.

Added a Brit voice (cool female or male)
Added text to voice naming the streets
Added multiple destinations and 7 million more POIs
(basically made a 700 a 760). 800 just adds mp3

and a bunch of other stuff I didnt pay attention to.

Now I gotta see if it gets the new roads correctly

BTW, took TWO HOURS to load via UBS I.

 

I wouldnt waste the money. Buy an aftermarket one thats half the price, and mount it to the dash.

 

It depends... I live in the area I grew up in and am comfortable with highway maps when travelling... I don't think its worth it to me. I have a friend who recently moved here, grew up overseas and isn't familiar with the area and has the built-in nav system... for her its great.

Since we have two cars in our family, if I *was* going to get a nav system I would get a nice handheld one at half the price, and then move it to whatever car we were taking the trip in (with a family of four plus a dog, not all road trips are in the MINI, trust me).

Also, I don't like the look of the nav system in the MINI -- although I do have the Chrono Pack so its not just about losing the center speedo to me. Its the rectangular screen in a dash full of circles.

It all comes down to the individual.

 

It sure would be nice if the screen stayed on the MINI logo instead of that lame warning screen (or dark completely if no input from the driver). Go to it after one press, to keep the lawyers happy, but if i don't want to use the nav driving around a place i already know, don't make me push another button every time i fire it up. Doesn't fit with the aesthetic of the car. IMHO.