Just drove up from Myrtle Beach to MA. Had about 550 pounds in the car, me, wife and dog plus luggage. Car was fantastic, rode good, seats are comfortable.

Managed to get 36 mpg while running between 70-80+.

The only knock is the F-----G nav system! That in addition to a about useless bluetooth, angers the heck out me. The nav leaves exit's of the NJTP, important ones like #11 for the GSP. The disc is outdated as heck. Didn't show streets in the Myrtle Beach area that had been there for over 10 years. The bluetooth voice command recognition is ongoing saga of faile trips to the dealer.

I've had nav and bluetooth systems in other cars, the is the worst of them.

 

We just completed a not so long trip up here in Canada, Calgary to Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper return home to Calgary.

My feelings were very similar to yours, loved the car, thought the Nav was a waste of money.

See my comments in post number five in the thread on another forum.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t207912.html

 

We always take the portable Garmin NAV from the other car for trips. It's ashame that I paid $28k for a car with built-in NAV and it doesn't work anywhere near as well as a $450 portable model.

 

I agree. I just got back from a week in the Outer Bank, North Carolina. We drove from NY to NC with four people and a super full trunk. Probably over 700 pounds. We got 37.9 mpg down and 40.8 coming back (dropped two people off in VA).

The NAV does suck. For some reason it wanted to go inland instead of follow the coast down SR-1 and 13.

After forcing it to take the coast as I know most of the way, it took me from one end to the other of the NJTP and didn't pick up exit 11 for the GSP.

The NAV really is a piece of crap for some of these trips. That said, Google and MapQuest are no better because they give you some hellish directions through the SR-1/13 stretch that ended us up in Ocean City, MD on the way down. That was a good 45 - 60 minute detour.

In a nutshell, the NAV should have known where to go and I have no clue how it determined going going to Richmond and then Phili was the best route.

To top it all off, it makes me sick that you need to pay a few hundred bucks for updated maps when I can get an atlas of the entire US and parts of Canada for 10 bucks. AND, since we have COMPLETE atlases out there, there is no reason for any GPS system to be lacking up-to-date data.

 

I hope you realise that the disclaimer does say that if you know a better route because you're a local, then take it. The nav won't know all the shortcuts, only some of them. You as a human are smarter than a computer. Besides, if you know the route, why are you relying on a navigation system anyway?

 

I am not arguing. I just want to make it clear the NAV does have issues. My main point is that maps have been around forever and in full detail. I never understand why there isn't a standard mapping method.

In my case I didn't know the route that well. I know the general way but for the love of god, why would the NAV choose a route that starts on the coast, goes inland a few hundred miles, and then back to the coast when there are plenty of roads (major ones at that) to go up the coast. It is the simple, shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

 

<shrug> It could be the speed limit imposed in the data?

Mapping it digitally apparently is harder than paper maps (don't know why). I mean, you think US is bad, most of Canada isn't mapped, ok? Only the major metropolitan areas (outside, it's just the main roads/highways) and even then there are errors (not new roads.. errors on existing roads).

 

Every once in a while I get to feeling bad that I didn't get the built in NAV unit, then I read the numerous post on this website and I feel a whole lot better. My Garmin nuvi 350 is incredible. It's a fantastic NAV unit plus an MP3 player, photo viewer, calculater, currency and dimension converter, audio book player, and on and on. I can tranfer it between cars or put it my pocket.

But I still like the looks of that built in NAV unit. Lord, save me from myself.

 

I understand your love for the garmin, I have one. I also have the built in nav in my 50th anniversary camry. Sure they are different, some things are better in each. Having said that, I can not understand any decent nav system taking you 200 miles out of your way. There has to be a reason. Camry nav set to"no highway" "no toll roads", have you set the highway and side road speeds? SOMETHING.??????????

 

I was traveling from Padre Island to Houston a few eeeks after we got the TCH. The NAV wanted us to go to San Antonio then to Houston. i am not sure, as it could have just taken us up HWY 59 to Houston. The NAV's route would have been 4 hours longer for a total trip time of 12 hours, not 8 which it should be.