Factory fit Sat Nav - good value?

It never ceases to amaze me how much all manufacturers want to charge for a factory fitted Sat Nav when you compare it with the after market cost or with that of a medium-high end laptop cost from the point-of-view of the value of its gubbins.

Typically we are charged £1500 to well over two grand and I read once that the Alfa version isn't too clever.

So, are they worth it and how good is the option in real life?

The connect Nav+ for the GT/147 is really poor value for money. Something like a £100 TomTom is far better. For half the cost of the Connect Nav + you can get a decent double din navigation system that also has bluetooth, IPOD, better sound etc etc

I specifically didnt want a car with built in sat nav...

Still better than all the german built in sat-navs... they only take you to Poland.















(Credit to Mr Clarkson for that one. )

Cost a fortune, will be massively outdated (hardware, software and maps) during your ownership of the car, and stop you being able to upgrade the audi system if you want to.
I don't really see the upside.

Originally Posted by OperationAlfa

I specifically didnt want a car with built in sat nav...

Still better than all the german built in sat-navs... they only take you to Poland.



(Credit to Mr Clarkson for that one. )

I bet it always plots the most direct route too!

Back to the topic. I always thought they were a total waste of money but I was quite impressed with the one in my mate's new Honda CRV while we were in France. It certainly made life easier finding our hotels etc.

What they said about the 147/GT variety - no postcode database, slow to enter data, rubbish mapping and doesn't know where it is - frequently a couple of hundred yards out of position and that then means it can't identify the road you are on.

Get a Tom Tom.

Even if it was good, the fact that it will be so quickly outdated means it's an absolute waste of time in any car.

Don't ask me Jim I'm just getting used to having a decent trip computer

Maps do it for me, along with travelling in a general direction of my destination then looking for signs!

Ive been using sat nav for sometime not, i had a PDA with tomtom 1 on it and BOY was that crap, and i mean crap, it was hard to use took ages to do anything etc......BUT now tomtom hands down it beats anything by miles.....in fact im not even sure why cars dont have tomtom built in, click you NAV button and it becomes a tomtom!...........Now back to the 166 nav, i dont use the tomtom when im in the 166, but the nav is slow and out! Although I use to have the G3 before which im sure was a lot lot faster and more accurate! As for a full upgrade for you car I give it to pioneer!

Originally Posted by a17esh

.....Now back to the 166 nav, i dont use the tomtom when im in the 166, but the nav is slow and out! ..

Strange to hear that because mine is fast and accurate. The graphics are terrible for today's standards and it misses a lot of features like GPS speed, allowed speed, current traffic jams, number of POIs and stuff.

There are only three good reasons to go for factory fitted Sat Nav:

1. Even without connection to the satellites, the system knows where you are and knows where you're going (measured by speed of wheels and direction they are going), so you can start your guided journey immediately
2. The system is integrated in the dashboard so nothing is sticking to your window and no wires across the dashboard to the cigarette lighter.
3. Nobody breaks into your car to steal a factory fitted Sat Nav.

Does that mean you should go for the factory fitted Sat Nav? No way, they are way too expensive and out of date in no time.

Originally Posted by selespeed

[*]Even without connection to the satellites, the system knows where you are and knows where you're going (measured by speed of wheels and direction they are going), so you can start your guided journey immediately

This was definitely the major benefit
of an integrated unit.

However TomTom's latest offerings
do have innertial dead reckoning and
you also have the GPSQuickfix where
it can download the position of sats
for the next day to achieve quicker lock.

Go for the Pioneer AVIC unit which you can swap from car to car. Its bluetooth for phone also

Remember I asked a few months back if someone had one connav to sell? I end up buying a new mobile phone and REALLY small bt gps. They work great and I can take them everywhere!

With a sat nav costing £ 100 how can they justify the expense ?

Not good value at all.

The one in my 147 was outdated, not particularly clever and very expensive.