To Nav or not to Nav.. that is the question

[windstrings]

I struggled with getting Navigation quite a while.. looks like you have to have it whether you want it or not if you want leather?... Unless you have third party install the leather....

Most everywhere I ever go.. I already know where I'm going?... I've gotten by all my life till now, so whats the problem?...right?

I've heard this arguement about whether to get a TV years ago.. how about a computer?, a PDA?, Big ScreenTv.. Surround sound.. Camera Phone?.. the list goes on and on... but in every case... I have never "regretted" buying any of these..

IN FACT.. once I bought and got used to them.. they made my life so much nicer, I felt I could not live without them!

True the NAV is not necessary.. but I figure if I would "ever" use it.. its worth it....
I suppose if I would go out of my way not to use it....then yes, it would be a waste.

Some thoughts I had, that I'm opening to critique and ideas. If I'm wrong about getting NAV.. please talk me out of it!.. because I talked myself into it!... If I'm right.. please confirm.... It is a quite expensive toy.. but I guess the Hybrid itself is a sort of a toy for me... even though it will be my main transportation... might as well have fun too eh?

The Benifits of getting Navigation:
1. If I'm going to keep the car a really long time because I don't put on too many miles... the Nav would be a cool item over the long years.
2. If I drive like crazy and put tons of miles on my car... then again the Nav would come in handy due to being in so many different places.. many of which will prob be unfamiliar.
3. The money spent will payoff on easier and poss greater resale value later.. but by the time I want to sell ..... most cars I predict will have Nav as almost standard equipment... it may be obsolete not to have Nav 5 years from now.

[NuShrike]

Quick way to test without lockin, borrow/buy (and later return) a portable car GPS system for your current car and try it to see how it changes anything for you.

Usually, GPS comes in use whenever there's any variation in your driving routine, need to find/locate a place, emergencies, road closures, traffic, traveling, etc, especially in urban areas with a lot of strange twists and turns.

GPS has helped me become a "local" wherever I go especially in the myriad of streets and roads in Socal.

[BrianTheDog]

Not sure how it is there in Washington state, but around here all maps are horrible! Whoever is supposed to update the road info for this county isn't doing their job. It's the same with several paper maps, MapQuest, computer map programs (two I've looked at), and the Prius DVD Nav... they are all outdated.

Roads moved, not reflected on new maps.

Roads closed, not reflected on new maps.

Roads built, not reflected on new maps.

Perfect example: a local plant was expanded over 30 years ago, and as a result a road was dug up and built over. All of the afore-mentioned maps still show that road existing. I've found dozens and dozens of examples around here.

So I would suggest you look at your local paper maps (and/or MapQuest) to see how accurate they are. If there are too many mistakes, then your DVD Nav likely will be just as innacurate.

For me, the only reason to have the Nav option is for Bluetooth cellphone use. Of course, one day I'll probably take a road trip to an unfamiliar city and use it, however it might help.

[wrprice]

To address your points:

1. The NAV's coolness factor will be most apparent early in your ownership; once you get used to it, the novelty will (eventually) wear off, so the "coolness" factor isn't one that I'd think would increase with age.

2. Yes, NAV is extremely handy if you go to areas you're not familiar with; sometimes, even in areas you *are* familiar with.

3. Don't get the NAV option because of resale value; the difference in resale value will never be as much or more than the premium you pay to have it installed as an option -- especially since most of the functionality can be added via aftermarket GPS units.

Now... having said all of that...

I absolutely love my factory NAV unit. I'll be the first to admit that I got the feature because I thought it was neat and I also wanted the air bags and HID lamps and the 6 CD changer, etc. It was a convenience feature -- a nice way to plan routes to places when I wasn't entirely sure of the best way to get there, if nothing more than a way to eliminate the need for MapQuest. But...

When I evacuated Houston for Hurricane Rita, the NAV unit saved my butt. You think NAV would make you a "local" when trying to cut across town during rush hour? How about being able to instantly look a few miles ahead down the road for possible detours? How about taking an unmarked, unlit, 1.5-lane road (that no standard highway map would show) off the side of an evacuation route with all the other drivers thinking you're insane -- but having confidence because the system shows that road will bypass traffic and take you where you want to go? Furthermore, at the end of that road, I encountered a police roadblock that was preventing traffic from crossing an evacuation thoroughfare through the middle of a small town. NAV let me weave through a maze of residential roads and cross some railroad tracks over to a place where cross traffic was *not* blocked and I could continue on my route. The thing even alerted me to the presence of my next turn *before* I could really see the road in my headlights.

I can't tell you how much I would've paid for that functionality that night had I not already had it. I also don't know if I'll ever need it in such a way again -- and I hope I don't. But after that, I don't regret purchasing the option one bit.

So, yeah... if you're on the fence and you know you can afford it... why not? It's somewhat of a safety feature as well as a novelty. If it strains your budget too much, it may not be worth it. It's not like we were unable to navigate without it before

[Bill Merchant]

I, like you, windstrings, usually know where I'm going. I can easily read maps, and didn't really think I'd use NAV much. I got it as part of the package I wanted with Bluetooth.

Now, I like the NAV a lot more than the Bluetooth.

It can really surprise me. I was in downtown Portland the other day and was going home. I set my destination as HOME and got directed through some side streets to a freeway on-ramp I didn't know existed. Once on the freeway, I suspended guidance since I knew where I was going.

I often use it the other way too: I'll put in a destination by address at home, select the route, start, and then suspend the guidance until I'm fairly close. While the NAV lady has a pleasant voice, I really don't need her to tell me to get on the freeway and keep on the freeway and get off the freeway; just guide me the last mile.

Brian's right though. If Mapquest or Yahoo doesn't cover your area well, the Danso NAV may not either.

[driverx]

For me, Nav is must. Not only I use it for traveling to the unfamiliar location, I use it in my daily driving. Mainly I use it to estimate the time of arrival to work and home. Nav displays the exact travel time. I know exactly (minutes) if I am going to make it for the meeting or to my daughter's school play. Especially during the heavy traffic, I know the ETA and allow me to make the appropriate plan and action. Like drive little faster or relax because I can make it well before the meeting.


My recommendation is buy.

[dreichla]

That's why we named my car Dora (the Explorer).

Even to those places in which I've been a million times, and I thought I had the quickest route, she's proven to me that I don't know everything and has come up with some great alternative ways to get there.

In the northeast, it seems no roads are straight north/south east or west - always curvy, and the kids steal street signs. When I have a new client to go to, she has always gotten me there without fail. And she never lets me get lost, even though I sometimes refuse to follow her directions.

She's not perfect though. Several times she's taken us to phantom restaurants. But supposedly that's the fault of the database; which I assume will be continually updated should I choose.

But on the whole the NAV has become indespensible for us. With fuel prices climbing - efficiency is a must. From this point forward, we'll always have a NAV package in our future cars.

[Maytrix]

NAV is definetely a personal choice.

As others stated, it's a great feature to have. I use it even when I'm not having it guide me. I'll have the map screen up and may decide to take a different road, since I can see it will get me to the same place. I'll also sometimes just drive different ways to see other ways to get home or get to where I'm going.

I drive 30k miles a year and each day go some place different. Most of the time it's places I've already been, but I do every so often go some place new. It's very nice to have - I used to use Mapquest or my Pocket PC with GPS but I haven't touched either since picking up my Prius.

[Schmika]

I have used the Nav to 1) get me around detours and/or blocked roads due to crashes, 2) find a local restaurant or other thing I wanted, 3) show me that a "best" route I thought I knew, actually wasn't the best.

I love it!

[geologyrox]

hmmm....

if you want the other things that come with nav, then i'd say to go for it - i really, really doubt you'll ever 'regret' doing it.

if you aren't sure you want the other things that come with a loaded package, then consider getting an aftermarket dash unit. it won't be as nicely integrated by a long shot, but it will do all the nifty nav functions and then some. then you don't have to be a 'map' person or a 'consumption' person - you can have both! the best part: if, 3 months down the line, you are thinking "damn, this thing is such a waste of my $800!" you can always pack it back in its box, and sell it for a hundred or two less than you bought it for. Take the $200 loss and say "boy am I glad I didn't take the factory nav!"