I'm not getting it...

1)Too Expensive
2)Ugly as sin
3)I've got a $100 gps and a map
4)Ugly as sin
5)I like the center speedo
6)Square peg/Round hole
7)Ugly as sin

Just one guy's opinion, your mileage may vary...

 

i have the navigation system on my 2002 bmw m3. that one, i believe, is dvd whereas the MINI uses cd. i read somewhere that using cd would mean you need to change a cd for each city, unlike the dvd which only uses one disc for the whole country. someone please correct me if i'm wrong. i personally think it's very useful if you travel alot. it beats reading a conventional map. one problem i noticed is that it often doesn't take you on the quickest route. for example, it may tell you to take smaller streets instead of the highway. it would still be very convenient if you were lost though. i don't use the navigation on my bmw very often. if you plan to travel alot with your MINI, you might want to consider it. otherwise, you might want to save your money.

 

For the kind of money they're asking for it, you could get a neat hand-held one, like the Garmin Street Pilot III GPS Colour. This would do the same thing, and be transferable from car to car.

You could also get a laptop, and a USB GPS transceiver. Then you could find your way, check your email, and with a DVD-Rom even watch a movie when you get there.

There are mapping programs and GPS units for some of the more powerful handheld computers too.

For the record, I agree with the ugly and square-peg, round hole sentiments.

 

hi bebop, I am pretty sure that the GPS in the entire range of BMWs are still CD-based. I don't know when they will adapt to DVD, but it will probably be soon as I am aware that even M-Benz will be using DVD-based navigations (COMMAND version 2) soon in their new models.

I agree with you that the DVD-nav is a better system as a DVD disc can hold a lot more memory hence only one disc is necessary for travelling across the nation. I was also informed that they have quicker route calculating times as well.

In regards to the route calculation, I believe you can choose a 'fast route' or 'short route' option. The fast route takes you via the highway and the short route through the side streets.

My plan is to get an aftermarket NAV mainly because it will be a DVD unit(thinking of the one from Alpine) and I don't want to get rid of the central speedo. It will be a helpful tool if I plan to travel across the US which is what I've always wished to do ever since I came to study here. Got to try out all those great roads

i have the navigation system on my 2002 bmw m3. that one, i believe, is dvd whereas the MINI uses cd. i read somewhere that using cd would mean you need to change a cd for each city, unlike the dvd which only uses one disc for the whole country. someone please correct me if i'm wrong. i personally think it's very useful if you travel alot. it beats reading a conventional map. one problem i noticed is that it often doesn't take you on the quickest route. for example, it may tell you to take smaller streets instead of the highway. it would still be very convenient if you were lost though. i don't use the navigation on my bmw very often. if you plan to travel alot with your MINI, you might want to consider it. otherwise, you might want to save your money.

 

Living on the small island of England, I get away with one CD for the whole country!
I spend a lot of time in the country, and on average use the unit once every 4 driving days, if not more frequently.

Yes, and having spoken to taxi drivers, they agree with me that if you are driving a familiar route, you can normally do better than the nav. unit, but if you have no idea where you're going, use the nav. system!
It's useful for routing round traffic-jams too.

Rumour has it that a new system built into mobile telephones will be available soon - any version that is removable has the advantage of being less stealable.... assuming you take it out of your car!

The only disadvantage to a street pilot that I can think of (only seen specs but never tested it) would be...
No voice guidance, limited route recalculation, AFAIK you have to program your route in advance and load it into the machine.... Is it as accurate as an in-car system which has a gyroscope and hookup to your speedo pulse cable?

I bought an aftermarket as it means I can move it to a new car... in the UK, I have been told the theory is that you never recoup the expenditure on accessories at resale time in any case.

J.