New 2025 Prius Plugin XSE Premium. Agreed to trials of all the subscriptions, although not likely to continue with any of them past the trial. (Unless I find any very worthwhile.) So far I have used Google Maps on my phone for navigation, connected to the car via Android Auto. Yet it appears in the manuals that the car might also have its own navigation system. Any advantage to using it, instead of Google Maps-Android Auto? If so, how? Thank you,
actually, it would be a disadvantage. google is far superior to anything toyota and partners have ever produced. especially in updates.
One of the most disgusting things about Factory Map ($mall fee$) upgrades is that too often, the new communities will still not be there. We find that so in a plug-in pacifica. Looks like we're driving across somebody's Ranch but that ranch ended over 10 years ago as now it's a town bypass.
Zero advantage to using Toyota's half-baked navigation software that has zero ability to update and re-route if a road gets closed or overly-congested... You'll be stuck in traffic with all the other sheep that don't know how to use real time navigation on their phone.
Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll continue with Google Maps. On the Tesla I used its built-in navigation (don't know who made it), as it worked pretty well, did not require a subscription, and that car did not have Android Auto. But it looks like built-in navigation is not a good option for Toyota,
I would bet that Tesla does too... Specifically in 2013 the Google monopoly aquired the Waze app for $1.3 Billion and waze was/is a community-built crowd sourcing app to get real time info about traffic, road hazards and accidents. Even apple uses this resource in their maps.
Google AI says yes. They both use Google Maps data but put their own interface over it. Personally, I use Google Maps and Android Auto, but that's mostly because I also use AA to stream YouTube videos on long trips where I need nav. SM-S901U ?
If we still enforced monopoly laws Waze would still be a huge independent company worth tens of billions and they probably would of gotten into hardware and there would be way more robust competition than Google owning/controlling the Waze service that modern world navigation depends on.
There is built-in navigation, and it is much improved over the one in my Gen 3, which was terrible. This one seems to be very useable and seems to have updated information. It's advantageous when your phone is not available, or you have location services turned off on your phone. I don't use it very often, but when I have, I found it a perfectly good substitute for Google Maps.
One advantage is by inputting a destination into the Toyota navigation it taps into Predictive Efficient Drive allowing you to use more of your charge without the use of gas. From my experience I went from about 150 mpg so that means like 1500 miles between fill ups to averaging more like 200 mpg so about 2000 miles between gas station visits. I think I will be able to get this higher in the future (ie more like 250-300 mpg) but took a hit recently some longer drives in between charges requiring gas.
Um, is that a source of unbiased accurate information about Google!? Here in Europe at least, Toyota are still using HERE map data, acknowledged in the version screen - lots of details about it are quite familiar from my G2, which used the same source. (Formerly Nokia maps, Navteq). I'd be a bit surprised if they were using different mapping data in the US, but I guess it's possible. Are there any copyright/acknowledgment messages in the system? Being a different system from the "native" one could conceivably explain the lack of any offline support, the markedly reduced navigation options and the lack of Predictive EV Drive. (Even if there's no fundamental technical limitation, re-implementing features for a different map API would be extra work).
As I've said before (here and here), all the information I have says that the subfunction of "Predictive Efficient Drive" you're describing that needs destination set ("Predictive EV Drive") is not present in US cars. The function you do have ("Predictive Deceleration Support") does not need the destination set - it just uses the car's navigation in the background all the time. I think you'll find your change is mainly down to temperature and time of year. Both functions can be seen operating in my European car: Predictive EV Drive switches visibly between HV Mode and Auto EV/HV on the display, as if you were pressing the drive mode controls yourself. (Switching between "try to hold charge" and "try to use charge"). And it displays messages about increased EV range at the end of the route - although it's very unclear what exactly it's saying/measuring. Predictive Deceleration Support puts little leaf icons on the map at common deceleration points, and highlights them as you coast up, when it's increasing the coast deceleration. (The difference is also quite physically perceptible, although not as strong as the proactive drive assist slowdown for a car in front, and you can also see the regen clearly higher on the HSD display when it's doing it.) As far as I know, you should be seeing only the second of those in the US, and there's no other invisible function in the PHEV included under the "Predictive Efficient Drive" banner. If you do see automatic mode switching, then that would be very interesting. I'm pretty certain they couldn't avoid that being visible - the control is like a "high level" function that changes the "mid level" drive system behaviour, just as if using the drive switches, not a complex subtle integration.
Indeed, here in the USA the Toyota embedded navigation map is "©Here All Rights Reserved" (as shown in "About" option when viewing the embedded navigation map). Toyota press releases have stated that Points-of-Interest (POI) search capabilities is provided by Google.
Ah, thanks. I think they might also be using Google in Europe for online POI searches too - stuff in the manual does suggest a significantly different and extended system when online. (But I've never actually used the navigation online, having not signed up or agreed to anything, so I can't report on the differences).
