Am I the only one who uses the GPS?

[skmattwell]

Bit of a light-hearted post than my usual 'Help - How do I fix this'.

Am I the only one who still uses the built in screen as a sat nav? I see it get a lot of hate for being so archaic, which is true... But it still gets me from A to B just fine.

Why all the hate

[jamie_z4]

I think in this age of smart phone - its FAR easier to tap 'google maps' on your phone, tap in your destination and then off you go with a magnet attached to the vent rather than a tiresome method of button presses on the 16 year old+ navigation system which wont even have most modern housing estates on it if the maps havent been updated, even then its not very clear and quick if you make a faux pas on your route either.

[N4LLY]

Don't use Sat Nav. I can read a map and follow sign posts

Got me around UK, Europe and America, no problem without

[SonnyA85]

There's far better and nicer and up to date systems you can use and carry around with you in your pocket 24/7.

It's why I have never bothered upgrading my modern single din head unit from pioneer to a double din with sat nav. I know my phone will be better after 3 years and that will be £600 down the drain for very little.

[SonnyA85]

I think in this age of smart phone - its FAR easier to tap 'google maps' on your phone, tap in your destination and then off you go with a magnet attached to the vent rather than a tiresome method of button presses on the 16 year old+ navigation system which wont even have most modern housing estates on it if the maps havent been updated, even then its not very clear and quick if you make a faux pas on your route either.

I'm thinking of using my tablet/laptop as a sat nav in the car for long journeys. Download offline maps for Google and should be okay to tether to phone and you get bigger screen.

Got some magnetic stickers I just need to find the perfect magnetic mounts now.

The vents are a bit clunky. The handle in the middle gets in the way usually. Would be good if you could delete them. It's not as if you really need to reposition them. They should have set positions. Not as if heat or cold air doesn't circulate.

[Superbob95]

google maps aren't just good for maps the best feature is knowing where traffic is I travel the Uk for work and always have maps even if I know where I am going.

[skmattwell]

All valid points, my biggest gripe with the in-built sat nav is that you can't enter a full postcode, only 4 digits and select a road haha.

Was once looking at an android head unit, but required scary dash modifications

[Jamesgofast]

I would use it but waze has become invaluable to me for various reasons, not least it tells me the real speed I'm travelling and where problems on the road exist, even down to roadkill.

[Beedub]

Forget this car, the mobile phone killed in car nav..... the likes of tomtom must want to see google dead. lol. i like the nav screen for the DSP settings etc, i wish i could update it, but im glad its in the car. it folds away and doesn't bother me at all.

[mmm-five]

I have a Garmin DriveSmart 55 that I switch between my cars, as it means:

• the maps are more up to date (and has free updates)
• better quality screen & user interface
• faster routing
• can create custom routes
• never take me off the motorway and down back roads to avoid a jam, just to bring me back to the junction I've just been told to leave
• detailed traffic alerts (not just the ones that require my radio to be on classic FM all the time just to receive the RDS data)
• 6/7 digit postcodes or what.three.words searching
• can install custom POIs and speed camera alerts

The one in the 320d is much better than the Z4MC, but it still requires an annual subscription to use all of the options in it (e.g. live traffic) and doesn't easily allow you to load custom routes, waypoints, POIs or speed camera databases.

I also don't like using the phone as a sat-nav for anything but basic routing, as they also have some of the limitations above.

I still use a large scale paper map for route planning though, but will then transpose this to google maps/tyre to create a route that I can install on Garmin (and older TomTom) devices.

A TomTom used to do all this for me, but they got greedy & lazy, and started removing the useful driving features (like custom POI files, custom speedcams, custom routes, etc.) and started adding in social media s**t (e.g. twitter, insta, fbook) which you shouldn't be using whilst driving.

[plenty]

I stick with my trusty 2008 TomTom Go 530 for the reasons mmm-five mentions above. When I'm in my Z4 I'm usually driving a custom route I've pre-planned in advance. I can read a map, but prefer to keep driving rather than stop to check the map.

I've also found the earlier non-cloud TomTom variants to have more accurate mapping of road curvature in 3D mode than newer products, or Garmins, or any phone app. Which is invaluable if you like to make progress as it gives you a reliable read in advance of how tight the oncoming bend is going to be, to help you judge your entry speed. It works like a rally co-pilot to add confidence and safety to fast-road driving.

[buzyg]

Not so much the sat nav, that I hated, as the screen poping up, every time I started the car. Then I needed to manualy put it down again. Used to drive me nuts. Happy that it simply did not pop up one day several years ago, or since.

[Mojito]

I'm another exponent of the good old TomTom. Mine's a Go Live 1005, about 7 years old, mounted using TomTom suction mount onto an adhesive disc stuck directly to the left of the instrument cluster - solid and very neat. Cable tucked away around the cluster (I hate trailing wires) and wired directly to a switched fuse, so it turns on with the ignition. Reliable, works perfectly.

My E85 does have Grom BT3 installed, so I could bluetooth my phone to that for calls and music, but it's a second car just for driving fun, so I never make calls when I'm driving. However, I have the TomTom set to bluetooth 'handsfree' to my phone and auto pickup any calls - just so I know when lunch is ready Again works well, the inbuilt microphone on TomTom is just in the right place as mounted in the car.

Going off topic a bit, but quick mention of music setup. I have a huge number of tracks stored on my Garmin watch and that automatically bluetooths to the Grom - I don't even need my phone with me. I can see from the watch face what's playing and fast forward /skip tracks with a press of a button on the watch. Steering wheel control for volume works with the Grom and setup sounds brilliant with DSP amp.

[Sticks]

All valid points, my biggest gripe with the in-built sat nav is that you can't enter a full postcode, only 4 digits and select a road haha.

True, but I like the 'save current location' function. It is what it is, but I do have things stuck on dash etc so I'd use it still.

Not so much the sat nav, that I hated, as the screen poping up, every time I started the car. Then I needed to manualy put it down again. Used to drive me nuts. Happy that it simply did not pop up one day several years ago, or since.

That is annoying, but at least there's a button for it. On my 235 I had to go into iDrive and set one of the presets.

The 'Operating the On Board Computer' manual says if you use the button to close the screen, the only way to open it is with the button. Not sure if that applies when you switch the car off, will try next time.

[Mr Tidy]

Mine doesn't pop up unless I turn the stereo on, which I very rarely do!

The day I collected the car I was stationary for 10 minutes or so when the A1(M) was shut so I entered my address while I was bored.

Never used it since because it is so tedious to enter a destination.

Much easier to use my old Garmin that I can also use in my daily!