QQQ

In Canada you can get HK a la carte.

wmhjr

Voice, touch and knob I believe. All three. I think the new ones are quite a bit nicer than the 2001 and 2004 you experienced. Completely HD based, very fast, seems very nice. I'm taking my wife to test drive both the M35X and the E350 4Matic tomorrow, so I'll try to post the actual facts about the Infinity nav tomorrow.

tanktube67

Infiniti gives you more for your buck, the differences I see between MB and Infiniti is MB is more elegant and Infiniti is more sophisticated, with Infiniti everything is included with MB you have to add options, starting with leather interior and more.

Keep us posted

wmhjr

OK, I can now confirm that the '08 Infinity M35/45 and EX35 Navs are touch, voice, and multifunction controller based. Used all three. The voice was extremely usable so the rest of them would likely be not necessary.

The Infinity has many options that are just not available period on the MB.

However, I still like the "feel" of the MB E and S better. The question is whether or not I like the feel enough better to overcome the price tag difference, the lack of features and the lesser warranty. Don't know yet.

aowhaus

I have to agree about the Acura Nav system being the best in the business. My mom has one on her TL and the enormous touch screen display is the easiest to use and you could do it without taking your eyes off the road (and it also has voice controls).

I've tried the Nav systems on Audi, BMW and Mercedes, but I've found scrolling through menus and alphabets through a knob took too long and was frustrating. The MM package was pretty steep at about $3,000, though it does include the upgraded sound system, but I ordered every other option and I decided that the MM package really puts my C300W4 very high on the pricelist.
Prices has gone down a lot on the portable nav systems from Garmin and Magellan, and you could take it from car to car or even when travelling. Those systems also are very easy to update the software, where as on the integrated system you will have to pay quite a bit of money to have the dealership update the software.

wmhjr

There are advantages to the internal systems, however. And I wouldn't agree that Acura is the "Best". I do agree that it's better (more user friendly) than the BMW, older MB or Audi - though clearly the older MB is the worst of the bunch in terms of being user friendly. The new C nav is actually very nice.

Internal systems often have a small gyro which allows the nav to continue functioning even when it looses GPS signals or gets only 2 sat reception. Portable systems can't do that. This is why when I drive my current MB through a tunnel the nav continues to function - but with my Garmin Zumo 550 it does not. Also, the older units have the information display between the speedo and tach, which I find very useful. It's also just plain easier because you never have to "plan" ahead of time. It's always in the vehicle.

tanktube67

Thanks for the info.