Author Topic: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.  (Read 13439 times)

Offline Dave

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1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« on: February 22, 2016, 11:46:32 am »


At first I felt my 2013 Tom Tom (TT) was far superior, but there are some features on the 2016 model I feel are better.

 I like the zoom feature and scrolling, this was a weakness on the TT and the options for looking at your route are an improvement.

 The traffic updates are OK,  and as I don’t need an internet connection in the UK presumably these are via the radio as was the TT,  (I hope the same method for updates applies abroad otherwise data charges might add up). I like the historical reports, but I preferred the traffic bar on the RHS of the screen as a reminder of problems coming up, having to select a menu for ‘significant occurrences’ is not ideal when travelling as it’s a distraction. It would be better if you could switch off directions audio but keep traffic updates as spoken, I could have this on the TT but not on the new.
 
I like the 2016 POI search over the TT , and I’m not bothered about selecting different map colours / schemes or voices so am quite happy with the screen layout as provided.  I’d prefer the Sat nav to show me actual speed travelling as did the TT  but my main gripe is with the map updates. I’m not sure what maps the Tom Tom use but they’re much more up to date than the Navtec maps used by the new system. There’s a road on my commute been open for 6 months and I’d like to know the traffic status but it’s not included in the new system. The TT had this listed even while it was under construction.

All in all I think the new sat nav is OK, not as good as the Mazda sales staff claimed, but with a few tweeks and more frequent and accurate map updates it could be a very good system.

Offline xtrailman

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2016, 01:48:57 pm »


At first I felt my 2013 Tom Tom (TT) was far superior, but there are some features on the 2016 model I feel are better.

 I like the zoom feature and scrolling, this was a weakness on the TT and the options for looking at your route are an improvement.

 The traffic updates are OK,  and as I don’t need an internet connection in the UK presumably these are via the radio as was the TT,  (I hope the same method for updates applies abroad otherwise data charges might add up). I like the historical reports, but I preferred the traffic bar on the RHS of the screen as a reminder of problems coming up, having to select a menu for ‘significant occurrences’ is not ideal when travelling as it’s a distraction. It would be better if you could switch off directions audio but keep traffic updates as spoken, I could have this on the TT but not on the new.
 
I like the 2016 POI search over the TT , and I'm not bothered about selecting different map colours / schemes or voices so am quite happy with the screen layout as provided.  I’d prefer the Sat nav to show me actual speed travelling as did the TT  but my main gripe is with the map updates. I'm not sure what maps the Tom Tom use but they're much more up to date than the Navtec maps used by the new system. There’s a road on my commute been open for 6 months and I’d like to know the traffic status but it’s not included in the new system. The TT had this listed even while it was under construction.

All in all I think the new sat nav is OK, not as good as the Mazda sales staff claimed, but with a few tweeks and more frequent and accurate map updates it could be a very good system.

1/ I don't recall getting any traffic on the TT once my one year's live traffic expired, given free of charge after numerous connection problems.
I'm not totally sure what's happening with the MZD with traffic, because i lost all traffic after the free subscription ran out, and i now notice as others have that i get traffic now i've took out 3 years live traffic, without even connecting to a wi-fi hotspot.(Paid for by Mazda less the VAT)
If its via TMC why did i lose it?

2/ Directions sound can be turned of in nav settings, but i'm not sure if that affects camera warnings?

3/ I miss the traffic bar, and the GPS speed read out.

4/ POI i rarely use so can't comment.

5/ There's a 6 month old new stretch of road on my regular journey, that is on the map so that's good, but on a 5 hour round trip yesterday i noticed a mini island not shown, and more than one traffic camera declared that didn't exist.

6/ My other gripe is the street name appears on screen even when on another screen, it obscures the phone data and wifi signal read out.

7/ Major plus for me is having the time shown on the screen.

8/ i actually think TT was a far better system, but it had dire graphics on a tiny screen.
But my 2009 Xtrail was a superior nav to both of them, traffic at no cost with lots of options, it only lacked post codes.

8/ Do you know how to zoom in on a selected destination?
 I sometimes like to zoom to confirm a location but i just can't find a way to do it, and the map area shrinks to a tiny area just to make it harder to see.
Was 2013 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Man 1663kg
Now 2015 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Auto 1703 kg.
 Towing a 1565kg Bailey Valencia 2011 model.

Offline Dave

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2016, 09:01:56 am »
There's a couple of ways to zoom in on a destination.

When you've selected from the menu you then have the screen with the top bar  ( 'navigate to') highlighted.

If you use the commander to scroll down on to the map preview then select you can then zoom in on the destination. (You can also move the crosshairs to adjust the destination, which I think is an excellent function.)

The other way is to select the route menu, then scroll down to ' itinerary' . If you then scroll down to the last entry ( destination) and select then you can again zoom in on the map.

Also if you select the route menu and click on the map preview you can zoom in, but  will show your current position so you'll need to scroll across to find it.

Offline xtrailman

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2016, 01:34:42 pm »
Thanks Dave i will have another look. Still learning.

At the moment i'm having problems entering a destination due to i'm told private roads being included in the route, it takes a lot more button presses to get the thing accept the route, today i'm assuming the road to the park was private for the stretch to the carpark (Rufford Abbey) From the A614.
Was 2013 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Man 1663kg
Now 2015 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Auto 1703 kg.
 Towing a 1565kg Bailey Valencia 2011 model.

Offline Dave

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2016, 09:26:29 am »
Was on the road yesterday and found a couple of hiccups.  In bright sunshine the screen was very difficult to view, travelling down the midlands and Banbury areas I was relying on spoken instructions for directions and traffic warnings. I don't recall it being as bad with the TT screen, I don't know if the screen resolution is worse now or the TT colour scheme was better but this new info system is difficult to read in the summer.

Maps are still not updating, but we struggled to find the NEC using the satnav. When programming in the route it kept telling me I needed a special permit but decided to direct me anyway, then nearer the destination it tried to send me to Birmingham airport. ( In these cases I know the route but want the traffic updates)
 The satnav also got very confused on the way out, and didn't recognise any of the internal roads within the NEC complex.

I'm not impressed with the Navtec maps at all.

Offline BigAl

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2016, 09:58:16 am »
The "special permit" thing appears any time your destination is not on a public road. That would be true for the whole NEC complex (as it is for my office, which is only 50m from the road, but still gets the same message.

FWIW, I've been comparing the nav system against the free Waze app on my phone over the last few weeks, to see how they compare with routing, managing live traffic, etc. At the moment, Waze is winning hands down!

Alan

Offline Dave

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2016, 03:34:03 pm »
Starting to get really irritated with this new unit now. I don't recall being troubled by sunlight glare on my 2013 CX5, I wonder if they're using a different type screen now, but it's useless in the summer.

Also last week I was driving in Wales, on well established old roads and the satnav kept losing track and giving wrong information.  I'm also irritated there's been no update yet, even though their website promises two per year.

Offline xtrailman

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2016, 06:21:27 pm »
Starting to get really irritated with this new unit now. I don't recall being troubled by sunlight glare on my 2013 CX5, I wonder if they're using a different type screen now, but it's useless in the summer.

Also last week I was driving in Wales, on well established old roads and the satnav kept losing track and giving wrong information.  I'm also irritated there's been no update yet, even though their website promises two per year.

Sounds like you need a software update, latest is 56.00.513, although version 56.00.511 improves positional accuracy.
I'm waiting for a map update also, its suppose to be spring and winter, last one i installed last Nov.

I have no issues atall with seeing the screen, no glare on either car.
Was 2013 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Man 1663kg
Now 2015 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Auto 1703 kg.
 Towing a 1565kg Bailey Valencia 2011 model.

Offline Dave

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2016, 12:14:28 pm »


Sounds like you need a software update, latest is 56.00.513, although version 56.00.511 improves positional accuracy.
I'm waiting for a map update also, its suppose to be spring and winter, last one i installed last Nov.

I have no issues atall with seeing the screen, no glare on either car.

I'm on version 56.00.230 so looks like I need an upgrade!

Offline xtrailman

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2016, 01:44:16 pm »
I did my own from 230 after the dealer fitted my new bluetooth module, it was annoying as the old unit did have 511.

The change log for the 511 did include nav position improvements, so i loaded in my own rather than spend hours again at a dealer to carry out a 45min job.

There can be some risk to diy install, but i found it straightforward.
Was 2013 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Man 1663kg
Now 2015 Mazda CX-5 175 AWD sport nav Auto 1703 kg.
 Towing a 1565kg Bailey Valencia 2011 model.

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Re: 1,500 miles in and getting more familiar with the new sat nav.
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2016, 01:44:16 pm »