jimm

Yes .. those are maybe of some small benefit.

However, I believe more that if MB's navs would take you to
the EXACT location - and not just to a general area - 99% of
the complaints would disappear.

jimm

rieger

The legal screen is a headache in the Lexus, but I find that not entering a dest. while driving is a good safety precaution because I find that too many dare I say idiots on the road are just not paying enough attention when driving. Too many people are talking on the phone going friggin 80km in a 100km highway in the fast lane or just doing other things like ahem entering nav destinations.

brett

The TL navigation system is MUCH better than my E Class. Its just everything that houses the TL navigation system I find to be worthless crap. Just a minor thing i noticed when test driving. no biggie.

I had to do it again i would likely go for the Camry. The digital clock on the dash is MUCH easier to read then that crappy analog thing in my instrument cluster. just my opinion.

ksuwansat

My girfriend has 2006 Lexus ES330. I think the Lexus' navi is a little bit better than MB's. The biggest drawback for MB's in my opinion is that you can't enter just the name of the place you want to go, ie. on the Lexus' I can enter "Whole Foods" and it would find the nearest Whole Foods for you.

jimm

I would prefer digital, too.

jimm

Lagrange

I agree that the MB nav implemenation is something out of the cretaceous period, but in the end it does get you close to where you want to go without a lot of drama.

I spent the other day with an Audi A8, and the nav in that thing was the worst I've ever experienced. It kept giving me ridiculous directions like "turn left now" in the middle of the interstate, and tried to reroute me off and then back onto a straight-line route a bunch of times.

In the end, I don't think the system really knew where I was most of the time. On the way home from work it clearly thought I was on the road right next to the interstate, rather than on the interstate itself, and kept telling me to turn whenever I got close to an exit.

The system's actions were totally bizarre, and may in fact have killed the sale. What I experienced was much worse that useless. If I'd followed its directions I would have been completely lost several times.

It was so bad you could sometimes watch the highlighted route change several times, in real time, on the map display.

no_clue

I agree the MB navi is crap in many level.

1. it lack of touch screen.
2. it lack of voice recognition.
3. it lack of 3D view.
4. it lack of POI
5. ( most dangerous ) the screen is too low for safe driving.


As for the clock goes...
I don't think you will ever buy a Patek Philippe if it has digital read out, no?

Dema

Are you sure about POI? I eneter name of places in my MB navigation and actually prefer this way.

BMW navigation is much worse for POI.

Dema

I agree, however if you drive without navigation, then you have a lot of hesitation so generally it is worse. For example I was going very slow to find some place, and it was one lane road, and most drivers were really angry on me, they do horn, tried to pass me getting opposite direction line and so on.

jimm

But, fellas .. listen to us! Many of us are saying: “I know of a system
that’s worse than MB!” So that makes MB systems ok.

What kind of comparison is that? MB owners shouldn’t have to search
for the “worst of the worst” for comparison! MB cars and accessories,
should stand forefront at the top!

It just isn’t enough to say that some others are worse! Is that how we
really want to evaluate MB products?

Accessories like Navs are bought from other companies. It’s up to MB
to make executive decisions to buy the best .. and latest!

Time has passed where MB can simply rely on an antiquated “nothing
handles like a Benz,” and think that MB customers will ignore exciting
new electronics. More and more we live in an electronics, hi tech age.
MANY MB buyers are successful executives, who admire and want the
newest electronics, and will look elsewhere if MB won’t provide them.

It doesn’t need to be a choice: “Do you want good electronics or good
handling.” MB's handling is solved. So ... now, install new electronics!

I think Barry had it right - when he said that MB dropped 1 or 2 items
because they may cause a problem and reduce MB‘s reliability rating.
So, maybe MB has a reliability fear of late technology. Their problem.

Bottom line: Hot new electronics whether in computers, cars or every
other aspect of Modern life are in demand! It’s insulting that MB takes
customers for granted. The keenest American minds - want the latest
technology! Today!

jimm

==========

‘08 E350 Sport, P2, Black/black,Parktronic,
Voice, Bluetooth, Burl Walnut, Split rear seat,
Wood/leather steering wheel

jimm

Wanted to go to an address in Ft. Lauderdale, today. Address
was 2735. I could locate Ft. Lauderdale - and even the street
- if you can imagine that!

BUT, when the property number choice came up, it STARTED
at 33272! That’s enough to make a country boy like me cuss!

If you look up “worthless” in the dictionary, it shows a pic of
the MB Nav!

jimm

Yacht Master

Jimm
Sorry to hear you are having difficulties, I am back in Ft Lauderdale now but don't have my E 55. My dealer (Chevys) called and told me my 08 Suburban would be ready mid Sept. and he had a buyer for my LTZ Suburban now, so I traded it in! The dealer then gave me a lesser Suburban LT to drive till my new one arrives. (he wants an order for the new supercharged Z06 Corvette from me) Anyway I have never had any problems finding address in Lauderdale with my E , I would be glad to try the address next time I bring my E back over here to the east coast. I would like to see that 33272 block range. Did you make the trip?

When I say I have never had a problem with my Mercedes Nav, I should clarify that. I have been using electronic aids to navigation for over 30 years
Loran A & C, GPS and now DGPS. Currently I employ the use of no less than 16 different GPS and DGPS units, So I am familiar with the function. The nav in my E works fine, perfectly functional. In fact the only nav unit that that has fault is the one in the Suburban and that fault is the touch screen it is just not a good interface, the rest of GM's system is good.

Barry45RPM

LORAN A! There's something I havent thought about since 1970. I used to work at a LORSTA in Ocean Cape Alaska. One of our slaves was Biorka LORAN & the other Kodiak, I think. (1L6 & 1L7?) Yay Coast Guard! Ah to be 20 again!

BudC

Let me wade in here. I am using a Navigation system for the very first time so I'm naive about it all. We're about to leave on a 5,500 mile driving trip and so I got out the manual, sat in a garage where the temp was over 100F and proceded to learn how to enter designations. I entered hotel and restaurant locations using the POI function. I entered a state park location. I entered street addresses. I've made good use of the List function. Of course I entered my present location as the home address.

For the last couple of days I've been getting used to the Nav system and I have yet to have a problem. The directions have always been spot on and very easy to follow. I've got all the variables set so that everything works the way I want it to.

So while everyone is tearing their hair out complaining about the system, I've been plodding merrily along doing quite well thank you.

I'll be driving a beautiful '08 E350 which I can drive for hours on end and arrive in good shape despite being older than dirt.

One last comment. If we had a touch screen my wife would drive me crazy cleaning the da*m thing every time I touched it.

jimm

Bud - good luck on your wonderful trip in your new 350! I know you must be
thrilled out of your skin! Please keep us advised as you travel.

Also, let us know - from actual use - how your Nav works for you to get you
to a specific address. That is the single most important thing a Nav is to me!

WAY more important than telling me to turn left or right on a major highway.

Sooo ... have a blast! And, keep us informed. We’ll imagine we’re there with
you .. vicariously.

jimm

BudC

Thanks Jimm. I'll have my trusty Thinkpad along so I can keep in touch with the Forum. I have to admit that many of my destinations were entered using the POI function so that should avoid the address problem. I'll give an honest opinion of the system when I get back.

We leave next Sunday so I hope to do a bit more tweaking of things. I've loaded up the CD changer with MP3 CD's that can hold all the music in my wife's iTunes Library and I've got my Sirius preferences selected. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get all our luggage in a trunk that's smaller than the E320's because of all the space that the added electronics are taking up back there.

This may be my last long driving vacation so the Nav system won't be much use to us in the future.

I hope this new car does as well as the E320 did when we left on one of these trips with only 200 miles on the clock.

Barry45RPM

Bud- You'll be OK. I have found, that the NAV in these cars will get you to your destination within very immediate eye contact of the actual house you are looking for. You will not be unable to reach your exact destination.

If you know how to get there, and use the NAV unit anyway, sometimes it will take you in a way that is not the most "commonly used" route, or the most logical one to you. One time it had me get off and on a highway I was driving on because a parallel highway was braided to the left & right of the one I was on.

If you ever get a set of address numbers that you dont expect as a choice for your street, go back because it is probably a street with the same or similar name in the same or similar town name. ("Thompsonville vs Thompsonville, Town Of", or "John Street" vs "W. John Street" vs "John Street W".) It all depends on how the various typists who created The List for the Data Disk at Navtecq entered the info.) If I get wrong house number choices, it is always because I have made a "wrong" choice above in the eyes of this list maker..

My street name is listed on the list as "Lourae Dr." Yet on the map, it is shown as "Laurae Drive" how can a computer make a direct match on that mismatch & still get you to the same destination? I dunno.

Your comments about a dirty screen are right on! Given the accuracy of the VCA its a shame that you can't input using voice to spell or say a location. Even entering a zip code would insure the correct City/Town for the location taking 90% of the guesswork & pecking out of location entry.

Don't worry about getting there. It'll work just fine.

BudC

If all else fails, I have my wife who never gets lost However, I have my doubts about her map reading ability. I suspect that she will never, ever use the Nav system.

On previous trips and on this trip I've used a great program called Microsoft Streets & Trips to plan things. If I had to choose between the Nav system and Streets & Trips, I'd take the program in a NY minute.

When I bought my '04 E320, I talked to my salesman about getting the Nav system and he asked me if I planned to deliver pizza. He said otherwise I didn't need it.

Diesel Benz

I cannot believe a salesman telling that, even if he truly believes it. My guess is that he did not have a car with a Navi and other equipment that he could have sold you.

I believe my wife prefers me arguing with the MB navi more than her if she was to read the map (not that she would not do it equally well as the MB system does).

PC/Mac based systems are easily more advanced, more sophisticated and more capable but I don't see how those could be used in a car while driving, not as conveniently as the Comand along with the instrument cluster display. I assume the PC systems provide voice guidance too but how would one set up the system to be readable by the driver? My requirement is also that the extra equipment have to be safe in the cabin, not blown by airbags to the passengers face, or float in the cabin at an accident!

BudC

Streets & Trips comes with and without a GPS locater. I don't use the one with GPS, I do all my route planning before I leave. That's something that's not possible with the Nav system. Streets and Trips can give you what AAA used to give you in terms of strip maps and turn by turn directions. The thing I like most about it is if I want to change my mind when I'm traveling, I simply have a look at it on the Thinkpad and see what alternatives I have. I've done it quite a bit.

There is one thing about the Nav system that I'm not sure about. How can I specify a certain route to a destination? Do I need to specify a stopover on my preferred route?

I should add that if anyone is going to be doing a lot of traveling in Europe, they should pick up the European version called Auto Route. It won't work on OS-X but if you have an Intel Mac, you can run it under Windows using Boot Camp.

Diesel Benz

If you don't like the route the navi suggests, you can specify a stop-over.

The problem with pre-planning for foreign cities is that you may make a mistake and miss a turn, navi would not get confused but would immediately calculate a new route.

True that you cannot plan a route in advance with the car navi unless you sit in the car. But I don't see an issue of planning at home with a computer, internet services do it for free for me, and once you've decided on the route, let your car navi know that.

BudC

I'm going to start plugging in Stopovers. Streets & Trips is far more sophisticated than things like Map Quest. It's very interactive. It makes it easy to determine the route I prefer or to change things when I'm not connected to the Internet.

no_clue

It is rather interesting to see some die-hard fan tends to believe everything works perfectly under the three-point star and ignore most of entry-level PND works better and easier in comparison.

Diesel Benz

My intention was not to claim that the free services would be the same as Streets & Tips (I haven't even used the product) or that the free services are enough. Free services have good value for the money but one may want more. A bit like Mercedes, difficult to say if an MB is equally much better than another car as the price difference is, but some things you just don't get if you don't buy an MB.

BudC

Diesel Benz, I've used Stopover to control my routes. Thanks for the Info. I did use Streets & Trips to find stopovers on my preferred routes.

I was amazed that the Nav DVD had every street in a tiny little town in northern Wisconsin. I just used List and paged until I found the highway going through town in the direction I wanted and chose that. I'm still wondering what all the flap is about.

Just wanted to comment on the white paint job on my new '08. I'm applying some Zaino and I can't believe how good the finish is on this car. It seems better than the Pewter on my '04 E320. I've seen some wet rubbed LS 460's in white and I don't believe they are any nicer than this.