OEM Navigation: Yay or Nay

[AJZ4London]

Further to my last post, it does not work as well, but adequately considering the system is almost 5 years old.

Cameras are POIs, they do not come up and warn you. The 7 digit postcode function is not as easy to use as you would think...

All things considered however the latest maps, the large screen, European coverage, perspective modes and sexy female voice make it a perfectly acceptable unit!

 

[MarkW]

Cameras are POIs, they do not come up and warn you. The 7 digit postcode function is not as easy to use as you would think...

There are ways to get audable warnings, but I don't think were allowed to talk about it here. Mine does it and whilst not perfect it does a good job. The x5world forum is the place to go for all the info.

 

[AJZ4London]

Thanks Mark!

 

[FirstKnight]

I find the OEM Sat Nav is functional and convenient but looks very dated and is not nearly as nice as a top o the line Garmin that costs far less.

I didn't particularly want OEM but it was on the car I got the best deal on - I would've preferred the Garmin unit as the OEM one looks awful and is more limited than the aftermarket variants.

 

[wasupdu]

The OEM navigation system is also nice because the car's computer is integrated in it so you can control all of the DSP audio settings, see various trip counters/mpg settings, preferences, and bluetooth display. I have one of the more current map disks and my portable Garmin Nuvi 350 is much more reliable (in my opinion), yet the OEM navigation is a must have for me.

It looks really nice when you're driving at night with the top down too.

 

[Z4coupebeaver]

The benefit of the OEM sat nav was demonstrated to me yesterday. I was on a familiar route on which there was no need for sat nav. If I would have been using Tomtom, it would have been packed away out of sight (who has theirs on show all the time!!!). Suddenly, I had to take a detour and was in an unfamiliar area.

Had I not had the OEM nav then it would have been a case of getting Tomtom out, setting it up, waiting for it to get a signal etc. As it was it was a couple of presses on the OEM nav and I was on my way.

Is it worth a paying a premium for this benefit? Well, I felt it was. A sat-nav car can command apremium even in a private sale or at least make it easier to sell. The equipment will be outdated and is not as good as many stand alone units even now but it does integrate the car computer and Ipod well.

Most of the "bargain" cheap cars we see are stripped out without sat nav, no autobox, heated seats, premium stereo etc but even at AUC prices these bits of kit make the car a nicer place to be in.

 

[mmm-five]

Unless I'm on a vry short route (less than 10 miles), then I'll have the TomTom set up anyway as I'll be using it to warn me of speed cameras anyway

 

[RichardG]

What area does the OEM unit cover? I spend most of my time driving hire cars on the continent for work and recently bought a Garmin Nuvi that covers Europe and have become a sat nav convert (thought they were a waste of time for years, after all how many people regularly drive to places they don't know). Still not sure that I'm bothered whether my next car has it as standard or not, after all I driven to a few places found that I had to park away from where I wanted to be and used the portable to walk the last bit, can you do that with the OEM.

 

[n1k_85]

I first *properly* tested my Nav with the 2009 Maps, Cameras and Postcode search yesterday. I drove 30 miles to the DVLA in Shrewsbury. It was a vast improvement over the old software.

15 Miles in and the TMC kicked in telling me there was a queue 6 miles ahead, a few buttons pressed and I was on different traffic-free route

IMO Standard Nav is great (when upgraded to the latest software and maps) and was a must when i was looking to buy.

Mine is obviously the hacked version with cameras and 7 digit postcode entry, but even without these it is still a massive improvement and I actually prefer the 3D Perspective view on the BMW Nav to the one on my TomTom



See http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9388&start=15 for more pics etc

 

[AJZ4London]

+1 Lots of speed cameras in Norfolk...