Sat Nav Quality

[spaz74]

The car is a wonder to drive and it extremely comfortable on longer journeys. However I have found something that I am a little surprised about. Has anyone else noticed that the sat nav is actually extremely basic?
Just wondering what others think of the Sat Nav? I so far have found it to be useless. IMHO my TomTom software on my iphone 4 is 1000 times better for finding or accepting alternative routes and giving basic directions.

Can anyone tell me if the car is supposed to refer to roads as "Turn right at S33" "Turn left at F13" rather than using street names? Seriously, what system does that other than first generation nav crap from 5 years ago?

Even in the maxidot more often than not it refers to streets in number formation. Is there a setting I am missing or is that it?

Also when you know a better route than that programed why does it consistently keep trying to re-route you back to its first option rather than potentially look at the route the car is taking. After 21 kms of 24 km journey the Sat Nav finally worked out what I was doing. At the same time the TomTom worked it out after 1km of the 24km journey.

I would appreciate any help people might have as to how to get the most out of the unit. If however I am, I think I will just leave it permanently off until the map quality catches up to 2011 standards.

Or even better does anyone have a way for TomTom to be displayed in the nav system???

[SkodaK]

My opinion is only based on a couple of week's experience, but so far it seems to be an expensive and distracting toy. The very first trip I used it seriously, I found myself facing a T intersection with the arrow in the dash display facing straight ahead and no audio instructions to change direction. The map display probably would have shown what was supposed to have been happening but I had switched to radio briefly and on returning to Nav, the map was gone and couldn't be resurrected. So far it appears the only way around this is to stop and re-start the session.

[Ozsko]

Columbus satnav - what a load of rubbish! - BRISKODA.net - The Skoda Forum and Community (http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/194749-columbus-satnav-what-a-load-of-rubbish/)

[K1W1]

I guess it's worth what people are now paying for it. :)

I am extremely happy that I didn't fork out the money for an upgrade from the Bolero when I purchased my car.

On a wider note I still have major problems with in dash sat navs. Manufacturers seem to be treating them as some sort of cash cow simply because they put a splash screen on the start up. When you can buy a TomTom or Garmin or whatever unit with the lastest maps for not much more than $150 these days and you can get 12 months worth of quarterly updates for $50 there is absolutely no justification for what auto manufacturers charge. When a manufacturer bites the bullet and just offers a unit with standard TomTom or Garmin maps that can be downloaded from them without paying a premium I'll decide that in dash sat nav is finally worth buying.

[CanberravRS]

Cash cow?? Skoda give them away now.. i don't see how your comment is valid now.

[bobski]

Its all going towards integration with smartphones/tablets. I'd be surprised if manufacturers are still charging for sat nav in a couple of years. It'll want to be whiz bang to charge for given the commonness and cheapness of android/windows/IOS phones that have access to cheap maps. Hell, I'm a cheap arse and just use google maps most of the time.

[K1W1]

Cash cow?? Skoda give them away now.. i don't see how your comment is valid now.

How much do the updates cost?

[dArK5HaD0w]

with regards to the "street names" being used, yes - its not helpful at all.
with regards to re-routing or alternative routes - mine has been pretty good. i made sure i ticked the "show alt route option" in the nav. always gives me 3 choices before starting off, i select 1 n off we go. even if i changed course, it will re-route using my chosen route. no probs for me here :)

but yeah, when u compare to the likes of tom tom and other portable nav systems, the columbus is a disappointment. true it integrates with the car (climate control, bluetooth etc etc), but the sat nav software leaves a lot to b desired for!!

[CanberravRS]

Skoda updates are free dude... read your manual

[spaz74]

Happy to know I'm not an idiot. Now I see why they made it standard equipment. They must have looked at the maps too and said "what a load of ****". Hopefully VAG will do something in the future. I went through a set of lights tonight that was a roundabout more than 1 year ago. I had to shake my head at how outdated the maps are already.

Darkshadow- yeah mine does that but after starting out it is like "well you picked route 2 so no matter where you go I'm going to try and force you back onto route 2" And there starts the battle between what I know is better and its incessant in 400meters turn right (repeated 40 times as I ignore all its corrections). I would strangle it if it were human!

[coastie]

I believe that your complaint should be with the manufacturers of the maps as well as the car company. The whereis based maps have had updates for several years for other manufacturers available online for about $250. The VW ones were V2 for several years and they have recently been issuing V3 which i picked up today from the Skoda dealer FOC as it didn't come with the new car. The V3 is not alot different in my area to the V2 road wise.

That being said, I have a road near where I live, that I have complained about to whereis that you can turn right at the T intersection onto the main thoroughfare however when under navigation it states that you need to turn left go to the next intersection and then make a U turn to continue your journey. Now this has been on whereis books for over two years and I am yet to see the upgraded map.

[dArK5HaD0w]

I believe that your complaint should be with the manufacturers of the maps as well as the car company. The whereis based maps have had updates for several years for other manufacturers available online for about $250. The VW ones were V2 for several years and they have recently been issuing V3 which i picked up today from the Skoda dealer FOC as it didn't come with the new car. The V3 is not alot different in my area to the V2 road wise.


+1
the v3 (version 16 (http://www.whereismaps.com/buy-map-updates_built-in-car-navigation_product.aspx?view=25&country=AU&device=238)) map released by whereis only covers upto 2009.
they r yet to release a later version.
apparently there is not going to b a version 17 map update available for vw. The next update available will be Version 18 in late 2011/early 2012!!!
dats crap!!!

not much VwAG can do there.

[spaz74]

Coastie, I suppose my main complaint is with the mapping company. They are just too far behind. But what is VAG doing dealing with them if they are so bad? The unit itself, as mentioned earlier, is good in all its other functions but will be better when installed with at least half decent maps. VAG should tell the mapping company to get its act together or they will be finding another supplier.

[woofy]

Because in Australia we have Sensis making the maps and that's it. Sydways/Melways have repeatedly missed the chance to provide the maps, and instead make stupid ads paying out GPS units like they will disappear tomorrow. Tomtoms map share is the best thing ever as Sensis take years to make corrections. And why wouldn't they, its not like anyone else is making competition for them.

[BlackSuperb]

I have had one now for 18 months now and you get used to it. TomTom certainly has more bells and whistles (and a groundspeed readout which I miss) but on the whole, the performance of the Columbus is satisfactory.

The directions seem to be OK. yes it does call the road numbers instead of the road name, but consider it a learning experience. Road numbers are predominantly used in the UK and Europe over road names so I suppose it's a hangover from that.

OEM GPS nav systems in general seem to be a cash cow for lazy manufacturers. The one in my wife's Mazda is even worse and the screen is tiny.

The best thing I like about the Columbus Nav is the full integration into the car. The MFD display is great which tells you what road you are currently on. My bluetooth and rear view camera integrate seamlessly. The compass heading turns in 25 degree increments which isn't that accurate though.

I hate dash mounted nav devices with wires and power leads everywhere. I used to have a TomTom on an HP PDA and dimming the screen was a 20 button marathon if you couldn't get the stylus out and tap the screen in the right spot.

Screen dimming seems to be a problem with a lot of dash mounted systems judging by the bright screens you see on other car's dashboards at night. No problem there with the Columbus.

Only 18 months to go and I hand the car back to the lease company so I'm not going to lose any sleep over minor issues.

I'll start looking for a new car in 12 months and it will probably be a Skoda, probably one with a Columbus Nav.

[BlackSuperb]

Skoda updates are free dude... read your manual

You got a page reference? Last time I checked with the dealer it was going to cost $1500

.....unless I missed the sarcastic smiley in your post......

[woofy]

My understanding was there was a charge too, there were plenty of discussions about it. Unless they have scrapped that with these now getting included standard.

[dArK5HaD0w]

it would b nice to know for sure exactly how much it will cost for a map upgrade for the columbus system.
free would b good, but i ain't counting on that being the case.
$1500 would b way off!!!
from whereismaps, u can purchase it (v16 = vw v3 dvd) for $199.
i'd go with $200-500 by the time vw wrap their fingers around it and sell it through the dealers.

[K1W1]

I was told by a dealer that the Audi map discs were approx $800 and that the Skoda ones would likely be a bit less but there is no part number listed for them.

[BlackSuperb]

Last time I checked (last service) there were no new maps for Skoda. The $1500 price I got from Jarvin's when I picked the car up. It may have been a throw away line by a car salesman, so it could be an exaggeration.

[BlackSuperb]

.....from whereismaps, u can purchase it (v16 = vw v3 dvd) for $199.
i'd go with $200-500 by the time vw wrap their fingers around it and sell it through the dealers.

I checked with whereis and they said to go and ask a dealer. There were no new maps for the Skoda anyway.

[IN2VWS]

My new van came with the RNS510 already fitted.
My previous van had a Pioneer AVIC900BT.

I'll start with the Pioneer unit. I would not buy one of these again. The GPS worked OK, but the "time to destination" calculation was way off (as is the RNS510).
The bluetooth connection was hit and miss. Sometimes it would connect after 5 minutes, other times it would not connect at all. Very frustrating.

The RNS 510 connects to my iphone 4 everytime, and very quickly. The integration with the steering wheel and MFD works brilliantly. The display is nice and bright, and you get the directions on the MFD also.
I do not like the fact that there is no GPS ground speed displayed. The travel time calculation is way off. example: 2 days ago, I was heading to a mates place near Ballarat. It is all highway travel in 100km/h and 110 km/h zones. the distance to travel was 650km, but the time to travel this 650km was 10h30min.?????? I had the Tomtom also running on the iphone 4, and the travel time was 6h40min.
The RNS510 travel time is always wrong.
As others have mentioned, the satnav function of the RNS510 is VERY basic. You get more features on a <$200 GPS unit.

[dArK5HaD0w]

i travel between sydney and canberra quite often, and every single time, the rns510 has been spot of with the arrival time. i don't use the "time remaining", rather i prefer the "time of arrival".
it has always been bang on target. within canberra, or within sydney.
i used to have an aftermarket gps before, and that would almost always overestimate my journeys (canberra-sydney) by atleast half-hour. its only when i get closer to my destination that it got accurate with its time.

its strange though how some ppl r getting such weird time calculations with their rns510!

it's always best to check the navigation settings. the default factory settings will always have its flaws. check the method of navigation, tolls, bridges, alt routing, etc etc.
it was the 1st thing i did - touchwood, i have no navigation issues at all.

[IN2VWS]

oh....I almost forgot. There is a delay on the map also. That is, when I pass a side street, it appears on the map 4-5 seconds later. That is at highway speeds.

[jbviajero]

This has been an interesting and helpful post. I was on the verge of swapping out my Bolero for a Columbus, purely for the nav. I was keen for the integration but even then I'd still be missing bluetooth. But I think now I'll stick with the cheap plug in tomtom which works just fine.

[Ozsko]

Darkshadow- yeah mine does that but after starting out it is like "well you picked route 2 so no matter where you go I'm going to try and force you back onto route 2" And there starts the battle between what I know is better and its incessant in 400meters turn right (repeated 40 times as I ignore all its corrections). I would strangle it if it were human!

If you know where you are going why have you used the GPS for the journey, you obviously don't need it so don't complain. Anyone else not knowing the journey would not know the difference so no problem to them.

[spaz74]

If you know where you are going why have you used the GPS for the journey, you obviously don't need it so don't complain. Anyone else not knowing the journey would not know the difference so no problem to them.
I'm only pointing out the fact Ozsko that the car can't auto correct like most other off the shelf units for a fraction of the price.
If you didn't know where you were going then you couldn't make that critical assessment of the software limitations could you because you'd be, well ignorant? Only by using a known route is it possible to make this very valid assessment. One might call it complaining, I call it testing its capabilities.
And having had units for the past 15 years here and overseas that self correct I know a good unit from a bad one when I use it. Hey, some people are happy to be blissfully unaware but I'm not.