questions about navigation system

i'm looking into purchasing a mazda5 (hopefully) within the next 6 months. now, this will be my first mazda... and i've heard great things about the 5. i want to get a navi system in my next car and i was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the one that comes as an option on the 5 (or any other mazda). i did a search but couldn't really come up with anything...

how are the features/usability? should i just buy an aftermarket brand?
 
I don't have any experience with aftermarket NAV so I don't really have anything to compare to. But the factory NAV is awesome IMO. You can select a destination by typing the address, or you can scroll through a ton of different destinations by type; some of the destinations are ATMs, resteraunts (selectable by type; Chinese, Italian, ect.), churches, schools...all kinds of places. There is also a button on the steering when that enables you to use voice commands so you don't have to look off the road. YOu can say "I'm hungry" and it will pull up all the resteraunts in the area, say "gas" and it will bring up all the gas stations in the area. After you've programed your home address in there, you can say "home" and it will plot a course to get you home, from anywhere...and if you miss a turn, within seconds it has a new route picked out for you (great for construction detours).


Yes the $2000 price tag is a bit steep, but I think it was worth it considering the seamless integration and the lack of current mounting options.
 
Speaking of the build in navigation unit, is there a way to set the destination while the car is moving? I understand that it is a safety issue (for the driver) but a passenger should be able to do this.
 
Two more questions about the factory Nav.

1. How big is the screen?

2. How far does it extend up?

This will be my wife's car and she's not quite 5ft tall, so she is wondering if the Nav screen will block her vision to the right when driving.
 
Because of "safety" issues - I don't think that they let you type in the destination while moving - but at least you can set "home" as wherever and you can voice set the destination as home while moving. I love that option. I'll be driving then realize that I'm not quite sure the best way home but I know the general direction - so I'll head that way and voice activate the destination.
 
Wuster - not sure how tall or big the screen is (too lazy to go out to measure if I could find the tape) But I'm 5'1" and the screen doesn't get in my way in the least. The thing that does get in my way occasionally is the driver's side mirror. I have to be in exactly the wrong position maybe at a uphill stop sign - but all I end up doing is leaning a little to see around it. Hope this helps a little.
 
You can give voice commands while in motion like "restraunt", "chinese" or "gas" and it will bring them up, but you cannot select one. So no, I guess you can't while in motion.
If you are stopped (say, at a stoplight) you can get into that menu IIRC, but once you start moving it will lock you out.

The screen measures 7" diag.
IMG_1069.jpg
 
I like that the controls are near the shifter - on my husband's car it has a touch screen nav although cool, it's a bit of a pain to reach and I wonder if longevity may become an issue in the long run.
 
miatafied said:
I like that the controls are near the shifter - on my husband's car it has a touch screen nav although cool, it's a bit of a pain to reach and I wonder if longevity may become an issue in the long run.

I like the placement of the controls in the Mazda5. The controls for the Mazda3 nav system sits just in front and next to the cup holders. I can just see myself accidentally spilling diet coke on it.
 
Navigatios system, one question

Greetings to all from Barcelona, Spain.
Shortly tendre my Mazda 5, I have bought pack with navigator, and I have found out the problems of sailing that it is put in Mazda 6. Sabeis if they share navigator or has changed the soft.
Thanks

Sorry for me traductor.
In Spanish:
En breve tendre mi Mazda 5 con navegador, y me entero ahora que el soft que lleva el Mazda 6 no es demasiado bueno y tiene muchas lagunas, sabeis si este soft es el mismo quizas ya lo han actualizado.
gracias
 
Will movies/vids play in the nav dvd player??

I'm just curious, but don't want to try putting one in my player until someone else tries it first :p
 
AFAIK it will not work. Something about the NAV DVDs being a different format from movie DVDs.

I have not tried it myself though.
 
Back