I am getting ready to order my MINI here in So. Cal. and I was wondering if anyone has any feedback (good or bad) on the factory GPS. If you are familiar with the Lexus, does it contain the points of interest that Lexus has?
I have the CD GPS in my MCS, wish it was the new DVD GPS. It works great and I use it all the time. If I were to do it all over again, I would order it without a second thought. It has gotten my wife and I out of a jam more than a few times. As far as the points of interest, the nav has that too. To be honest, I have not used it much.
Didn't like the implementation in the Speedometer housing.
A member of my motoring club has one which has helped us navigate through some moderately rural lands, but there were a few streets which were named differently to the NAV maps.
Not sure about Lexus, but Infinity's works quite well, is integrated into a flip-up on the dash, and has points of interest.
I want MINI to do something similar or have a Heads Up Display.
If the MINIs is anything like the BMWs Nav which, i think its same... i read its no where near as good as lexus nav or any Japanese Nav. I could be wrong tho... hope someone with both can chime in.
but check this out... Funny MINI NAV... trying to play hide and seek in the atlantic ocean...
I have the DVD Nav in my 3 week old 03 MC and it's fabulous. My father has a Lexus LS430 with Nav and it's comparable. Not the same. First the MINI Nav doesn't have a touch screen. The UI takes some getting used to. And I believe the MINI Nav requires you to THINK a bit more. For instance, when you approach a turn in the LS 430, it'll ding ding to let you know to turn now. On the MINI, a voice will say in the next 400 feet, turn right. So you gotta be able to judge 400 feet! Sometimes it'll say in the next 400 feet, take the 2nd right and that can get confusing!
But you learn quickly. Within a few hours, I had no trouble.
I used my Nav extensively while driving my MC back from Memphis, TN to Los Angeles, CA. I visited 12 states and used the Point of Interest for gas, motels, and restaurants. It was very accurate.
Now that I'm back in Los Angeles, I use the POI much less, and use mostly the realtime Mapping Overview set to 1 Mile or 1/4 Mile to help me identify street names. Today I was motoring in San Marino, and the NAV allowed me to stay away from dead end streets, allowing me to explore as much as I wanted, and easily be able to get back to my friends house.
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Square peg in round whole....no, it's good from what everybody says but why bother....
Garmin StreetPilot 2610 ($730 at Amazon.com) can be installed for little more than half the price ($1200 - yikes!!) and can be moved from car to car if you want. Just bought one for my coming Mini. Use the extra dough to get another option like driving lamps (mmm.....driving lamps).
Whatever works for you. Moving from car to car is good if you have another car! Not me. But there's nothing like having an integrated GPS where you don't have a wire running on your dash, or need to hide it everytime you park for fear of it being stolen.
But while the integration and peace of mind is cool, the power of a Garmin is way higher. I mean it's on the realm of comparing a PDA to a desktop computer. PDA's are great for what they are but most lack the power to do really cool stuff a Power User might crave.
My friend with his Garmin has a lot more control over routing than I do with my stock system, but oh well. I use it to drive, and get me from Point A to Point B, and it does it's job very well!
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Excellent points Octaneguy....btw I didn't mean to question your choice, it sounds like the built-in Nav fit you better . I guess I'm a little prejudiced against the built-in system because of the price. But here is how it came down for me.
Built-in Nav:
Pros: Good quality, ease of use, built-in so no hanging wires for power, not a theft magnet
Cons: Moves the speedometer from the central console, expensive, and some minor bugs on some units
Third-part Nav:
Pros: Much cheaper, good quality, more functionality, portable (move from car to car)
Cons: More complicated (for the unit I chose), hanging wires and mounting, theft magnet if not hidden
Garmin Streetpilot 2610 for me...but like Octaneguy says, you can't go wrong with the built-in Nav either.
Hey no problem. People question it all the time. I only question it when I see my friends Garmin. . But One day I'll make my Nav screen, tuner capable, for the wireless cams that I run, and that will be cool. An integrated TV showing the outside of my car from different perspectives. Yeah!
Thanks for the summary. You are right on!
Polishing paint is not just my profession, it's my obsession.
I've used both the iQue 3600 and the Garmin SP 2610. Except for a vertical vs horizontal screen layout and a slightly higher resolution on the iQue screen they are identical in software operation. The key difference is that the iQue is designed around a stylus interface and the 2610 is built for finger use. Also the 2610 is car only while the 3600 can be used as a handheld. You can use your finger on the 3600, but in a moving car it just isn't practical due to the precision required IMHO. The 2610 was faster at routing and kept a better lock on the satellites than a friend's built-in Nissan Murano system. Finally the touchscreen interface was slightly faster at entering addresses than the Murano joystick.
For me the 2610 fits just about perfectly. I use the sandbag mount and sit it behind the rev counter when in use. For storage the base unclips and both parts fit in the drivers side parcel shelf. I ran the cord down next to the steering wheel and out the back of the parcel shelf to keep things clean.
My vote also goes against the OEM navigation system. I’ve had the Garmin Street Pilot III for a couple of years now and think that it’s great! Much better functionality that the OEM unit in my wife’s ‘04 Lexus.
I use the bean-bag mount and switch it between cars with ease. In my MCS it fits perfectly above and behind the tach. If you want to use it for really spirited driving in unfamiliar twisties it is pretty stable - - unlike using it in my Z3 - - and it does let you anticipate the sharpness of blind curves. Garmin does sell a permanent mounting plate for about US$10, but I haven’t felt the need for it.
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So. Cal GPS Navigation 
Funny MINI NAV... trying to play hide and seek in the atlantic ocean...
. But One day I'll make my Nav screen, tuner capable, for the wireless cams that I run, and that will be cool. An integrated TV showing the outside of my car from different perspectives. Yeah!
