Mine has the built-in dash GPS, and I really wish it didn't. Aside from the ugly and antiquated UI, they want $400 to update the navigation software with newer maps. As soon as I heard that, I literally laughed in their faces and went to the local BB, where I picked up a very nice Garmin that did everything I wanted for less than $100. I'm seriously considering swapping out the unit that is in there with a 3rd party one, if I can find one that fits.
Oh, and the built-in GPS won't let me program anything in (destination, etc) if I'm rolling at more than 5 km per hr, with no way to disable that 'feature'. I don't know what these engineers were thinking.
Yeah, that kind of cost to upgrade is insane when you can get a 5" Garmin or TomTom with lifetime maps for under $200 now. Most of the cars I've looked at only have 4" or 5" screens.
Now granted, they do usually offer some other stuff with those packages, but purely looking at the GPS it doesn't seem to make sense.
Get a nice ProClip mount for your smartphone (or for a GPS if you don't have one) and download the Garmin app. Better and way cheaper.
That wasn't engineers, that was lawyers. Fear of lawsuits constantly haunts the auto-tech industry.Originally Posted by tolwyn
And I would pay exactly zero extra for built-in GPS. If it's part of my preferred option package, fine. But I will still use my smartphone.
And yet they have the same warning on the screen as Garmin et al. I wonder if they perceive more liability than the 3rd party GPS manufacturers. I can't even find a way to hack it out (some manufacturers have a back door entry to make changes).
I just saw one of these with dealer plates driving down Bee Caves, so I choose to pretend it was your friend.
Since the portables can be used for something other then a car and aren't directly tied into the car, they can probably get away with just a warning and not the more extreme disabling that happens with the built in units.
It does make me wonder how the cars that are actually sold with portables for their GPS make it work, though. For example, one trim level on the Subaru Forester offers a 4.3" TomTom GPS unit that has a spot in the dash where it fits in but can be removed. Its hard to figure out exactly how much they are selling it for, though, as its part of a package that for $600 more gives you a better stereo and a backup camera (which apparently uses the TomTom screen).
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