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- '24 CX-5 Turbo Premium
Just a bit of whining here about the 2017's MazdaConnect interface with the GPS and other speech warnings.
The fact that the speech announcement system is not tied to the actual volume of the audio system is about the dumbest thing I've ever seen, it's as if no one at Mazda actually tried it in the real world.
Since the right speakers don't reduce volume when the system makes an announcement, if you have the stereo cranked up you can't hear the voice unless you manually turn up the announcement, and that of course can only be easily done when it's actually talking. Then when you turn down the audio volume you get blasted by the voice since you cranked it up to hear it over the music. I love the speed and red light camera warnings, here in Chicago those things are everywhere and are known to be rigged in favor of revenue over safety, (the city got sued for that and lost the case, and they had to refund many tickets) but many times the announcement isn't audible because it got turned down too low or off due to turning the volume control down at the wrong time.
And of course it doesn't help that it only speaks through the left door speakers, which makes it sound like a voice from the grave. Why doesn't it come from the center speaker and turn down all the others? And then have proportional volume level relative to the other speakers? That's how it works in the wife's Acura, and it's always easy to understand the GPS, regardless of the audio system's volume level. In her car you set the relative levels once, then they track together. Simple.
This is the same issue I had with my '15 CX-5, and I would have though they would have fixed it in the '17's and later models. I kind of understood it in the '15 since the whole thing was kind of a kludge between the Tom-Tom and the rest of the system, but with the integrated MazdaConnect you would think they would have a better system.
Other than that the system is worlds better that the '15's and overall I like it. But warning systems you can't count on are worse than no warning system at all. Just ask the folks in Hawaii who thought the nuclear Armageddon was coming.(wink)
Rant over, thank you for listening.(rant)
The fact that the speech announcement system is not tied to the actual volume of the audio system is about the dumbest thing I've ever seen, it's as if no one at Mazda actually tried it in the real world.
Since the right speakers don't reduce volume when the system makes an announcement, if you have the stereo cranked up you can't hear the voice unless you manually turn up the announcement, and that of course can only be easily done when it's actually talking. Then when you turn down the audio volume you get blasted by the voice since you cranked it up to hear it over the music. I love the speed and red light camera warnings, here in Chicago those things are everywhere and are known to be rigged in favor of revenue over safety, (the city got sued for that and lost the case, and they had to refund many tickets) but many times the announcement isn't audible because it got turned down too low or off due to turning the volume control down at the wrong time.
And of course it doesn't help that it only speaks through the left door speakers, which makes it sound like a voice from the grave. Why doesn't it come from the center speaker and turn down all the others? And then have proportional volume level relative to the other speakers? That's how it works in the wife's Acura, and it's always easy to understand the GPS, regardless of the audio system's volume level. In her car you set the relative levels once, then they track together. Simple.
This is the same issue I had with my '15 CX-5, and I would have though they would have fixed it in the '17's and later models. I kind of understood it in the '15 since the whole thing was kind of a kludge between the Tom-Tom and the rest of the system, but with the integrated MazdaConnect you would think they would have a better system.
Other than that the system is worlds better that the '15's and overall I like it. But warning systems you can't count on are worse than no warning system at all. Just ask the folks in Hawaii who thought the nuclear Armageddon was coming.(wink)
Rant over, thank you for listening.(rant)