Navigation Package or not?

I test drove a 2010 for the first time yesterday. Although I liked the new interior layout on the whole, the one thing I didn't like was the placement of the nav display. It is quite a bit lower than the MFD in the Gen II Prius. I felt that I had to take my eyes off the road for too long to look at the nav display. It could be just a matter of getting used to it. I also found the display to be fuzzy.

I don't have nav with my current 2006, but will probably get it if I buy the 2010 only because I want the solar roof and nav is part of the package.

If I weren't getting the solar roof option, I wouldn't get the nav. I have a Garmin Nuvi and am happy with that. I would miss the backup camera display though.

 

Since it adds to the total cost and depreciates at a rate higher than the car, the overall % reduction will be larger. However it still has a positive value. A non-Nav car won't list out more valuable than a Nav car. It simply retains a higher %.

My DVD player in my Expedition is a great example. My wife made me get it. I'll lose 50% of its value and basically it cost me $300 per year to borrow it from Ford. Hard to justify but it's been to Flordia twice and the Ocean three times and the grandkids (and kids) loved it. The % loss in the residual will be larger than the non-DVD truck but it still has a positive value. Additionally, as I said, if it's working then when they go to sale this as a used vehicle I'm guessing most people getting it as a depreciated unit will think it's a bargain. It will have appeal. Might be the difference in it being sold while the one beside it sits on the lot. Dealers like loaded used vehicles. First owner loses, next owner gets a bargan.

 

We like our Toyota Nav system. The map needs to be updated but other than that found it very easy to use and quite customizable. It is not as sophisticated at the Garman Nuvi 350 that we have. We also don’t like the fact that you can’t use touch screen features while the car is moving. We will continue to travel with our Nuvi. The street map is more current and I like the 3-D look down on your car traveling on the road. A circle on a map is just not state of the art. It is hard to beet the good folks at Garmin.

Dan

 

It's completely a personal choice ... for myself I'm glad to have the factory system ... yes, updates are expensive (I have never bought them and it hasn't been a big deal to not have updates) and it's overall a lot more expensive than a Garmin or the like and probably not as good. I think it makes the interior look nicer and I like having the rear camera. The system is A LOT better than my 2008 Prius ... WAY better voice commands and much more intuitive. Overall I felt it was worth it, but can understand why some don't.

 

I would never spend that kind of money on an average-at-best NAV system that my passenger can't reprogram while driving. Buy yourself a $400 Garmin w/bluetooth and an aftermarket backup cam and you'll be better off, imho.

 

I would feel that way too, but the voice commands are so good on the Gen 3 Nav system that I don't even worry about not being able to program while moving.

 

I didn't say the car would actually sell for less, but who knows, it may actually sell for less when the car is old because people won't want to deal with repair costs on the nav or just won't see the built-in nav as a benefit when it is really out of date technology at the time.
How much of the Advanced Technology Package's cost do you think people are going to get back at resale when the car is several years old? Many used car buyers will be scared of it when the car is older.

It cannot be justified as an investment to increase the car's resale value because the dealer is not going to give you much extra in a trade-in and it and you won't get much more at resale even with the car is only a few years old.

Spending $1800 plus map updates to get $400 extra resale back when the car is a few years old and maybe $0 back when the car is old doesn't make financial sense.
Spending $1800 because you prefer the way it looks to a portable and will get $1800 of pleasure out of it could be worth it.

 

The map disks aren't even TRULY updated every year, so anyone who would buy them is not making a wise move ... for me personally the maps don't get outdated THAT quick ... and the parts that do, it isn't a big deal.

 

It's not so much the maps and roads, but the points of interest database that gets out of date really fast.
The nav may waste your time by leading you someplace that went out business last year.
If you have to look up the address for the new (or 11 month old) restaurant or store on Google from a PC or other device and then enter the address manually, it defeats much of the purpose of having the nav built-in.
If they offered a subscription to connect to a live database of POIs or at least offered quarterly update of POIs, that would make it more useful.

 

Still worth it to ME ... like the integrated look and interface and am especially looking forward to the iPod integration.

 

It can be worth it for those who prefer the look or just like it as a toy.

The USB/iPod should be able to integrate without nav. Song titles can display on the regular radio screen and you can control tracks with steering wheel controls. No reason for the nav screen to be required to integrate with an iPod.

 

If only the solar roof option didn't force people to pay for navigation. Cutting nav out of the solar roof option would be a great way to save $1,800 for those who already have their own GPS devices. (A new Garmin Nuvi every year for 6 years or Equip 6 vehicles with their own GPS unit!)

Handheld GPS devices are good for more than just driving directions too!

 

I agree. What bothers me is that portable units have gotten better and much cheaper over the last several years while built in car units haven't gone down. To me, that's just a rip off. So, I am not getting the roof or nav.

 

Agreed. And even better if they would offer the sunroof alone. I am getting a plain IV because I don't need NAV or want the solar option. Would have gladly paid $1000 or so for a sunroof, but not $3600. To each his/her own...

 

Hello everyone, I am considering buying a Prius 2010 and I joined this forums for the purpose of research. I have researched the Prius extensively, and I fell in love with it more and more, until a dreaded website informed me of a hideous flaw in the Prius, and I have come to this thread hoping that somebody can confirm it:

I have already read somewhere in this very thread that it seems my suspicions are true, the Navigation cannot be used while the car is in motion. In other words, if you suddenly decide to modify your destination, look at the trip summary, current GPS coordinates, or anything of the sort, it is impossible. You must come to a complete stop, and according to the website I posted above, the same goes for "handsfree" bluetooth. I quote from the website above " In 2007 - 2009 Toyota vehicles there is no override and the voice recognition is inadequate. You must stop on the side of the highway or take an exit and park the vehicle in order to input a new destination or to search for food, gas, or even a bathroom. In some cases, prospective buyers were misinformed that the override was still present. If you are not yet a Toyota owner, consider that 50% of the people who have signed up to this website would not have bought a Toyota if they had known this limitation was in effect." With that being said, I have a couple of questions for 2010 Prius owners:
-Is it truly impossible to use bluetooth calling while the car is in motion?
-Is it possible to change tracks or select tracks or other audio features on the touch screen while the car is in motion?
-Is the touchscreen usable at all while the car is in motion?
-Given a premise that this topic must be something that will or already has outraged Toyota owners, I am surprised there is not an sticky or FAQ or something in a forum as elaborate as this one giving facts and details about this topic. Could it be that I'm the only one that finds this "Navigation lock" not only outrageous, but absolutely unacceptable and ridiculous?

Please keep in mind I am in no way trying to diss the Prius. On the contrary, the only reason I am so outraged is because I like the Prius so much, and for Toyota to break my perfect image of the Prius with such an upsetting "lock", is irresponsible at best and atrocious at worst.

Also, If there is already a thread about this somewhere, I apologize, I am quite new to this forum. However, if this has not been mentioned before, I am quite curious to see what all of the proud Prius owners opine on this subject. Thank you very much for reading my angry rantings.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE WEBSITE REFERRED TO ABOVE: http://www.toyotaoverride.com/

 

When in motion, all chages are made by voice command. There are some things you can do on the touch screen when in motion but if you want to access the navagation system you will have to navigate using voice commands. Talking to your navigation system is state of the art.

Dan

 

Thank you very much for your quick response, Dan, good sir. I want to ask you some things. Could you please tell me what exactly are those things that you CAN do while the car is in motion? Can you complete tasks such as looking up a POI or change your destination in the middle of the road, looking for gas, etc, with voice commands alone? To summarize the question, what is it that the voice commands CANNOT accomplish? Thank you again

 

I apologize, my very first post on this page refers to a link that I was unable to provide because as a new member, I need 5 posts before being able to post links. Oh look at that, this is my 5th post

 

Seriously, I can't imagine 50% of any group making a car buying decision solely based on if they can change the Nav route while in motion.

 

Well you are entitled to your opinion, but I must urge you to consider the variety of people who buy a car. The kind of people who read CNET.COM everyday and tech junkies will probably want some kind of navigation system on their cars. The premise, I believe, is not that the people in this website Toyota Navigation bought the car based solely on the decision of how the navigation works. Rather, they bought the car WITH the navigation option thinking it would work a certain way, but they were misleaded. Therefore, when all things considered, if the affected people had known the limitations on the navigation system, chances are they would ve not chose the navigation option, or perhaps before they bought their Toyota they were chosing between two cars that they liked almost equally, point at which even the slightest details matter. I can say that, because I myself, found myself picking between the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius at some point. Also, trust me when I say that while the navigation, audio capabilities and overall media options are a very strong factor for me when I made a decision of what car to buy, it is hardly the deciding factor.

The navigation being locked out has a excuse of being a security feature, at the very least. But the bluetooth being locked out? what would be the point of hands free calling in that case? Can somebody confirm if the bluetooth is also blocked while the car is in motion in Prius 2010?

One last thing, the real reason why most of those buyers are outraged is because they were outright lied to by the dealers. Many dealers were selling the post-2007 Toyotas and Lexus assuring their customers they could still override the so called navigation lock out feature, when they very well knew it was not so. More details are available at the link I provided. To me, it doesnt matter what feature is in play, but I would get outraged if I am deliberately misinformed about any feature at all. We are not buying a 50 dollar appliance, we are buying a 25000+ USD car. In such an amount of money, mistakes and faults like that are unacceptable.