Having recently moved, I'm still trying to find the best route from the office to my new home.
Last week I drove our long-term Mercedes R500 back-to-back with our Honda Accord Hybrid. Both have navigations systems which I tested on my daily commute. This gave me the opportunity to compare their features and ease of use...
Personally, I judge a car's navigation system by how easy it is to input data and change settings while stopped for a few seconds at a traffic light. If it takes any more thought than the length of the red light, I'm frustrated.
The Honda system has touch screen input and is much easier to understand and use, Switching from freeway routes to surface streets is simple to do on the fly. And with the touch of one button, you can look ahead three steps in your directions.
The Mercedes system has a toggle button which is very delicate to use. You have to by careful when pressing enter or you end up scrolling up or down. The voice guidance gave me more advanced warning of an action than the Honda and gave the directions in more minute detail. "In 600 feet, prepare to turn left...In 500 feet, turn left..."
But what I find strange about the Mercedes system is that the map always displays north. So when you are traveling south, like in the photo above, it looks like I am going backwards. The Honda map adjusts with you as you drive.
You may be able to change some of these elements, but frankly I didn't have time to find out. If it's not obvious within seconds, I give up.
Both systems gave me slightly different directions, which I ended up ignoring anyway. If I drove 13 miles on Lincoln Boulevard like they both wanted, I'd have to slit my wrists. But it was nice to have a scrolling map at my disposal.
Managing Editor Donna DeRosa @ 16,547 miles
ahightower says:
02:27 PM, 12/11/06
I love this website and appreciate all the free information. So I try not to complain much. Please take this criticism in the constructive spirit in which it is intended.
You wrote, "If it's not obvious within seconds, I give up."
If you bought it with your own money and were going to drive it every day, you'd probably bother to read the manual. I'm not saying it's a good system - it might totally suck - I don't know because I've never driven a Mercedes. But it would be a service to your readers to investigate further and learn a bit more.
I understand the point of your comments, you want to let us know whether something is intuitive and user-friendly, which is one of the marks of a good system. But we'd also like to know, does it work well at all once you DO become familiar with it? Does the map always point North? If so, that's awfully annoying. Can it be changed? If so, that'd be nice to know, even if it is a bit of a hassle to change the settings. If you could say either, "The system is simple and intuitive", or "Once you learn the system, it's very good," or "Even after reading the manual, I find it annoying and difficult."
But without even trying, the negative remarks are virtually of no value to a prospective buyer. You are getting paid to drive a Mercedes (sounds like a dream job to many of us readers), so at least make an effort to learn how it works.
Again, love the site, love the long term blog, etc. Just a bit of advice.
dderosa says:
03:05 PM, 12/11/06
Point taken. Unfortunately, we don't have the owner's manual for the Mercedes R500. But I will be driving it again tonight and be sure to play around with the nav. I'll post my findings tomorrow. --Donna
dderosa says:
11:09 AM, 12/12/06
OK, I played around with the nav in the Mercedes R500 and found that you can change the map to follow your route instead of always pointing north. But it takes about 5 clicks to get there. I also found that you can look ahead to see the upcoming action you need to take, but that also takes 4 or 5 clicks. I still prefer the Honda Accord's system. It's so easy to use. And it has another perk. Both systems show you where gas stations are on the map. But the Honda shows what brand of station they are. It has little icons for Chevron and Mobil, etc. A nice touch for people who have gas station credit cards.--Donna
ahightower says:
11:20 AM, 12/12/06
I apologize for being rude.
That's great info. Do you have to reset that feature every time you use it, or will it stay in that setting until changed back to "always north"?
desmolicious says:
11:46 AM, 12/12/06
Hightower, I don't think you were being rude at all. I think it's a very valid point as it seems that many of the complaints that some of the editors have would be addressed with a little bit of research.
I have to give Donna credit for following up though. Thanks for your response.
dderosa says:
02:58 PM, 12/12/06
The map did not reset to always north, so once it's set, it's fine. -- Donna
volcomtrojan says:
03:32 PM, 12/12/06
I'm actually a little suprised how much nav systems vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The Infiniti G35 has one of the coolest I've seen in person -- it's 3-D and looks almost like an '80s Atari game, in a good way. The background on nav screen as you drive through the digital version of your route changes from light to dark depending on time of day. Pretty cool!
By the way, based on the photo it looks like you're a South Bay resident, Donna. Good to know a fellow South Bay-er is working at Edmunds.
CWCJr says:
02:05 PM, 12/29/08
My biggest complaint with the 2005 Honda Hybrid Navi, is the out of date information. At least as late as 2008 models it was 2004 data in our area. Also, it has a very poor routing algorithm. It has you get off 231 onto the access then get immediately back onto the highway, even if you are not exiting and continuing North on 231. Also, if you try to go to Atlanta from Ft Payne, AL, it will route you 60 miles out of your way north to get to I-75 at Calhoun from Rome, Ga. when there is only a 2 mile jog to the south required.