pkg 4 v. pkg 6

I joke that if my parents had had the Nav in their car when I was growing up, they wouldn't have had anything to fight about.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I helped the union design a street guide for the Chicago bus drivers (not the operations manual), so I am very picky about maps. The Prius Nav maps are very enjoyable and rarely inaccurate in the Chicago area. We have the advantage of a rather stable road system, with only the occasional ramp appearing (I-57 to I-294 soon) or disappearing (Dan Ryan exits soon).

You will probably get the Taco Bell to display, or at worst the nearest telephone company office.

Another parent story: last Sunday was my dad's first Prius ride in the front seat, so the Nav was more obvious to him and he enjoyed it. But at startup he thought we had turned the screen off and put a paper map in the opening. When he poked it and the map moved to center on the point where he touched, he was amazed at how responsive the system was!

I have also had good results on trips to St. Louis, and humorous results when I forget to change it back to the Illinois region on my return.

With a little looking, you should be able to find the Nav system manual online, and that may help you in your decision. Good luck.

 

I think if you feel you need directions and often get lost or often travel in unfamiliar areas, by all means get nav system. Now, is it worth 3K? I don't know. If you own a laptop or planning to get one, add GPS card and Street & Trips software and you'll get much better nav system with 12" screen :lol: . It won't be voice operated, but some future version of software may add voice operation. Passenger can operate laptop and laptop won't complain about moving car and won't present you with stupid warnings written by evil lawyers.

Since I already have company laptop and it is with me 99% of the time, it is cheaper and more convenient for me to buy GPS card for $150 and be all set in case I decide I need navigation.

As far as I know homelink dimming mirror can be installed in any package by the dealer.

JBL audio, imho, only worth it if you already decided on the nav system. Since nav had zero value to me, I decided to spend extra money and upgrade audio to my taste with components that I want. JBL alone is not worth extra money.

I have VIP 3200 security system with package #4 and it works fine with smart entry. Basically when you lock the car with the door button, security system activates and when you grab door handle, it automatically deactivates.

 

I can live ithout the NAV but I really miss the JBL sound system. It is quite a bit better. I tried it in others' BC cars. In addition I like the idea of having 6 CDs in atthe same time and being able to plat cassettes as well. Ofcourse, Bluetooth is also nice. You might as well as get is as latet you might regret it like I do now.

 

There is a very useful feature of the NAV that the handheld & notebook GPS systems simply cannot compete with... which I surprisingly find myself using quite a bit now. I call it: INSTANT DETOUR

When you are cruising along an suddenly discover the road in front of you is either closed due to construction or backed up heavily due to an accident, this feature is priceless. Having it always readily available is the key.

Countless times I've used it too. And it works so well, I've actually been able to take advantage of it without passengers even realizing I had absolutely no idea where I was. I simply turned when I saw the upcoming obstacle and fired up the NAV. Then when I get to the inevitable stoplight or sign, a few pushes on the screen to look ahead is all it takes to find a way back onto the road I just turned off of. You can even tell the system to guide you there, just by pushing "Enter" then "Guide".

A feature the competing devices can also deliver well on is for adventure driving, when you have no clue where you are driving and simply don't care. All you want is to be able find your way back when you are done. I've done this countless times now, looking for photo locations in the outback. It works great.

 

If you have extra $2000 you can go to the nearest car audio shop and have *great* system installed, *a lot* better than JBL.

Upgrade front door speakers and tweeters: $400
Upgrade rear door speakers (optional) $200
Install 5 channel amplifier $500
Install subwoofer in custor enclosure in the trunk $500.
Cables and labor $400.

With that system JBL will sound like junk. Have a look here

http://www.priuschat.com/forums/alpine-f45...led-vt5060.html

I have similar system installed recently for $1800 (with new front door speakers and amp under the front seat).

6 disk CD changer can be added in the opening below the stock unit by the dealer (I have it installed). However, you can buy 20GB iPod and be much happier

 

If you change the speakers to ones that are highly efficient, they might not even require an amp while still creating an enhanced sound. every 6db of efficiency is equal to 4 times the wattage.

here's a link
http://www.bmwworld.com/audio/education/faq.htm

bazooka subs are great since they are so small yet the speaker efficiency is 100+. according to the article, anything above 90 is good so 100+ is exceptional. bazookas are also incredibly cheap. 6.5 " with 100db efficiency is less than 100$ (www.cardomain.com). you can find some with amps in them too, and apparently they wont void any warranty.

With that in mind it could cost only around 500 if you also change all the speakers. higher wattage is not necessarily better and speakers with higher efficiency may be cheaper.

so... 30 watt speaker w/ 96dB efficiency = 120 watt speaker w/ 90dB efficiency.

For package 4 vs package 6, you have to ask yourself is 3000 dollars really worth it for navigation, bluetooth, 6-cd changer etc.

coastaletech will hopefully be coming out with their head unit which can support aftermarket NAV and an audio in jack for mp3 players.

you can also have the 6-cd changer as a dealer installed option

so 3000 - speakers - 6cd changer (or mp3 player)= around 2000 left for coastaletech's head unit.

 

Hey,

I am/was in the same boat as you.... orig. all I wanted was HID's and the vehicle stability and this is what I ordered... well, my car is coming in at the end of Dec. but I decided to "reorder" one with the Nav... it is something that you will regret I think. I mean my wife pushed me into it since she feels this car will not make me happy (due to lack of performance, last car was at 60 in 4.68 second) and I thought about it and said why not.

I mean, the lap top GPS is kewl, and cheap for a little over a $100 but really, the time to hook it up, start up the computer, etc.... just lots of extra time and one more thing to have some punk steal out of the car.

Go with the Nav.... it is techno-cool

 

Yes, the NAV is amazing. Two of my neighbors have the full package, while I have the #3 BI package without.

Here's what I can tell you about my own decision:

1. The JBL system is not worth it. It really does not sound much different than the standard system. Don't buy for this.

2. The GPS system is awesome but very distracting/dangerous. All three people in my neighborhood with various GPS touchscreens have disabled them because they found that they were driving "Atari-style", (i.e. they were watching themselves drive on the little screen instead of watching the guy brake in front of them.)

Overall, if you've got the money it is ulta-ultra-cool. You can be driving somewhere and have your passenger find the nearest Italian or Thai restaurant, re-route directions to the restaurant and even call them through the car to make reservations just before you get there. It doesn't get any cooler than that.

That being said, I just couldn't justify the extra $3-5K just for coolness.

 

The Nav adds immesurably to the 'cool' factor. I wanted it but settled for the less in order to reduce my wait. Still, I'd sure like to have gotten it along with the upgraded audio.

Most important to me though was to get the part of that package that included all available safety features. These include front/rear head airbags, HID headlamps, and Vehicle Stability Control. These I did get in my package 7 (2004 Prius terminology - The Nav was only available in the package 9).

Go for it. Heck, you'll probably come close to getting your money back later anyhow when it comes time to trade up for the next series Prius.

 

Thanks for the ideas. However, I like the stock( original) audio sys. Would an audio shop installed unit show text on the MFD and be compatable with the sreering wheel controls ? The dealer added 6CD changer goes at the bottom, not in the original spot and doesn't show text which is very important for me. In addition it doesn't have a cassette player like the JBL does. If I could get a CD changer with cassette that would display text, I would be happy to keep the speakes that came with the car. I know many would laugh at wanting a cassette player but I still have many tapes and have no reason to just throw them away and it is too troublesome to convert them to a digital format. I do have an mp3 player and would love for there to be a usb(or other type) of interface to plug in external devices. Perhaps even memory sticks or SD cards.

 

I got the NAV system and I'm glad I did!

I used it for the first "real" time last night, to get us someplace in town (St. Louis) that we've never been to before. I just punched in the address and let it guide me all the way - way cool! It even tells you how far you need to go & the approximate time to get there.

We're heading to Chicago this weekend and will stop at 4 different previously unvisited places. I can't wait to put the nav lady to the test.

Much easier than having to mess with a map and having to watch for every turn along the way - especially at night.

Yeah, a hand-held GPS would be cheaper, but I like the "built-in" look. Plus, I think the Prius screen would be much larger than a portable unit.

 

My wife drives most of the time since she doesn't like my comments about other people's driving. However, I then comment on her driving :twisted: including the route she takes to get somewhere. We fully expect the arguments to be less with the Nav system since we've agreed to abide by the route offered by it. Plus I don't have to go hit Mapquest anymore before trying to figure out where we are going. Always wanted to tape a map with the major highways of the area on the dash somewhere to help during rushhour. That's taken care of now as well. Lots of benefits.

The security system gets me a lower rate with the insurance as well.

 

I have the "AM" pkg (all the safety features) because the NAV seemed unnecessary for me. Fargo is just too small to get lost in, and I don't drive to big cities, because that kind of traffic frightens me. I probably would have gotten it had I expected ever to be anywhere it would be useful.

I'm surprised, however, that nobody on this thread has mentioned what has been repeated over and over on many other threads: voice recognition seems to be spotty at best, and useless at worst.

 

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Hate to burst your bubble, but an aftermarket header is unlikely to interface with the MFD or steering. But then maybe you meant an add-on to the existing header by "audio shop installed unit". There is one XM system that a few shops, such as CoastalTech, sell that integrate with the radio, display and control functions. There have been mixed results with aux-in boxes (mainly for IPod), the biggest problem is when you have multiple devices plugged into the back of the header. Seems to be device ID confusion.

 

I know that Danman. I twas just wishful thinking. I am resonably happy with the stock sys, just would like a CD changer and a cassette player, thats all, without giving up the display text. If there were an aux in, I would make do with a portable cassette player. I tried a couple of FM devices but the reception was rather unclear.

 

Toyota CD changer can be installed in the opening below the unit. You will have CD player + CD changer (7 disks total). I had one installed, but I removed it in favor of iPod, so if you want one, let me know privately.

As for Aux In most decent car stereo shops should be able to add one. Or have a look here

http://www.logjamelectronics.com/pacauxbox.html

 

LazyBear. You say that when you grab the door handle, I assume you mean the driver-side front door, yes? Does the door unlock, too?

Also, what does the system do when you grab the front passenger side door handle and the hatch door handle while the doors are locked and the security system armed? I am trying to find out if you are required to disarm the security system prior to opening either of these two doors.