I will be in a couple of weeks purchasing a G35 X. After reading some posts about the navigation system it seems like it is not worth the extra dollars. Any feedback would be great.

Another question to Long Island members is what dealer ship do you reccomend ?

TIA

 

Yes, it is worth it. Music box and voice commands are really cool. Compact flash is nice too, once you get used to quirks. I just bought 2 more cards, yesterday.

One thing though... real time traffic info for NYC sucks. There is almost no data available. Check this link for a preview of what you would see

http://www.traffic.com/New-York-Traf...affic-Map.html

In Chicago, all of the highways are covered within 45 miles of the city. Not so in NYC

 

Only you can really answer if it is worth it to you. Some will say it's worth the extra cost, while others won't. I personally think it is worth it considering you get other features like the Music Box, compact flash, voice recognition....etc.

 

Yes, it's a lot of money. But I don't go anywhere without my GPS stuck on the windshield. I sure would have been nice to have it built in.

Go for it.

 

vder, The nav option is good. I'm very disappointed with the extreme lockout, it's useless for the most part while driving, unless you want to get to a favorite place... which if it's a favorite, you probably already know how to get there... i.e. Home, work.

The system works well while you are parked, and once you enter in a destination it's excellent... just realize you need to exit the highway and park the car for any adjustments.

It has a massive amount of data on points of interest, restaurants, gas stations etc... however, it's useless while driving unless you want Wendy's McD, BK, or ihop... because that's all that ever comes up while in motion... any nice restaurants can only be accessed while parked.

The Nav has come in handy on a few locations, primarily by looking at the map and seeing where the street I need to go is located, it helps when you get to an unfamiliar intersection and you are not sure if you should go left, right or strait. It has it benefits as a whole, but I'd have to say that with the high level of lockout, it's not worth the money.

If they are able to find a way to make this thing work while driving, it will be the benchmark for all in vehicle navigation systems.

 

What you are paying for is a sleek, integrated, and decent GPS unit.

In terms of actual functionality, it sucks compared to aftermarket units. The real question is, do you want to trade off functionality for a decent, integrated solution? Which is more important to you?

If cost IS a factor, aftermarket units will run you less then 1/2 the price.

 

While I agree that it would be better if there were no lockouts, some simple modifications in behavior, make it a non issue.

Case in point, yesterday, I wanted to go for a drive, and saw that an electronics store 30 miles from where I live had 2 gig CF cards for $18.

I know more or less how to get there, but don't know what to do past the highway exit.

I look up the address online, and head to the car. I plug it in, and drive off. 90 seconds in, I press the voice command button, and say "cancel guidance."

I make my way to the insterstate, and drive the first 26 miles. I then press the voice button and say, "Destination, previous destination. One"
Boom, the nav system takes me the rest of the way. I buy my CF cards, and am back in the lot. It is lunch time and I am hungry. While sitting in lot, I show restaurants, and sort by distance. "Hmm," I think to myself. "Havent been to portillos in forever." I select "Portillos" and have it take me there. Eat my tasty sandwich, and get back in the car. I pull out of parking lot, press voice button, and say "destination home".

Never once did I have to get annoyed at the lockout. If you know it is there (lockout), use some common sense, and you will seldom have an issue.

 

I agree. For the amount of features you get on top of the NAV it's definitely worth it. Further, the NAV itself is considered to be one of the best on the market - compared to other vehicles in all price ranges. I would definitely recommend it.

 

The Music Box is awesome I would NOT get this car without it!

 

+1... nice to have.. but not necessary... You can spend under $300 and get a Garmin that will work just fine too..

Lot's of choices..

 

I've done my share of similar trips, it's handy but you can live without it, and you probably know how to get to most of those places. The issue with the nav lock out is that When you need it, it fails misrably. i.e. on a 4 hour trip and I'm hungry, SOL, you can't see what restaurants are at the next exit unless you actually get off the exit and park. If you prefer to use Mobil gas, your SOL, you can't browse for gas stations while in motion and see that there's no mobil on this exit, but 1 mile up there is.

The primary reason for navigation is to be able to prevent you from getting lost or PULLING OVER TO GET DIRECTIONS!!! You still need to PULL OVER FOR DIRECTIONS I'm yelling that in a joking way. I bought it, and would do it again... but I still don't think it's worth the money. The CF card is the best feature... the Music Box is a miss with the file management system and being unable to copy files... it's useless compared to a handful of CF cards.

 

I have a G35x with Nav. I also have a Garmin nuvi 350, which I purchased before I got the G35X. The Garmin has better software, its map is significantly more complete and up to date, and it has more points of interest and POI categories. When going on a trip with the Garmin, I have 100% confidence that it will know how to get there. The Garmin also allows you to use all its features even if the car is moving (there is an optional setting to restrict what can be done with it while the car is moving, but I don't use the setting). The built-in NAV in the G35x isn't as good as the Garmin, but it is a LOT MORE CONVENIENT. With an aftermarket Nav, such as my Garmin, I don't feel comfortable leaving it in my car while parked. Thus, it's a hassle having to mount it when I use it, and then hide it when I park in my destination (or carry it with me if the weather is really hot or cold, since it's supposedly not good to leave in the car in extreme conditions). So, I only use my Garmin in long trips or short trips where I really need help where I'm going. With the G35x's built-in Nav, it's always there, and I can use it anytime I want, even when I hadn't planned on using a Nav. Plus, the Nav option of the G35x has other amenties as well that others have mentioned above. So, despite the fact that the Garmin has better maps & software, I am still glad I got the G35x Nav. One thing I like about the G35x's Nav over my aftermarket Nav is that hardware-wise, it does a faster job in figuring out where you are when you first start the car. With the Garmin, it takes some time for it to get its "bearings', and usually, you have to pull out of the parking lot where you are and start moving a few miles per hour before it knows where you are (even after it has acquired the satellite locks).

 

I like it, I wouldnt get the car without it. The voice commands, Navi, Music box, CF Card reader are essential for me...

 

i never understood why the nav lockout thing bugs people. My Lexus IS300's lockout was at least as bad if not worse and it didn't have voice activation. Almost all the features locked out while driving on the Infiniti navigation work fine via voice commands.

Otherwise, I don't use the nav that often, and the few times I do use it, it's really nice. I personally don't think the nav by itself is worth the extra cost (can't remember what that is) and the music box is useless to me since I use my ipod but I can afford it so why the hell not

 

My vote was no for multiple reasons:

1. Don't use nav very often (about once a month), and when I need it I have a Garmin Nuvi 350 in the glove box - which can also come with me to other vehicles
2. The music box is a cool feature - but I have an 80GB iPod in the armrest that also plays video. And I only have to update one device, which carries all of my music. Plus, again, it's portable.

Not trying to get down on those who have it, simply a matter of preference. My wife wanted to buy Nav for me as a birthday present, but just not interesting to me.