Honda CR-V EX-L NAVI

I have the Honda Navi on my 2010 Accord EX-L. As you say, they have their "database" on a DVD. My DVD player is in the trunk, beside the speakers under the rear deck. This DVD player is strictly for the Navi unit, the 6-CD changer in the dash is for music. I was hoping that they'd have a USB port, but I guess that'll be next year's model.

I've been using it since January 2010, I find it works rather well. I do find some inaccuracies, as the area I live in is in the midst of major changes (the entire Highway 1 corridor in Vancouver is being rebuilt). You get two (2) DVDs, one for Canada and the other for the US. The Canadian DVD allows you go into upper Northern States (I don't know how far, as I haven't travelled further than Seattle with it yet.) And I suppose the US DVD works in Southern Canada (I haven't tried the US DVD yet, still sealed it the case).

Pros: Voice recognition, large display that can be seen in daylight, fully integrated with the audio system, database of locations also has phone numbers, and with a Bluetooth-enable phone, can call your contacts.

Cons: Annual DVD replacements cost $250.00! I'm hoping that they might have some kind of new release "deal" when the next year's DVD comes out, because that price is unreasonable, especially given that companies like Garmin have a lifetime update program for $99.00. Tom-Tom gives away their lifetime updates when you buy certain models.

scrooloose said:

TechieFreak, have you noticed any problems with map lag? Does it keep up in city driving? The salesmen didn't think there was an option to switch to a 3D map view perspective, only a top down map. Is that true? Does it speak the street names as you're driving?

-Mike

Click to expand...

No lag whatsoever, city or highway. Even if one would "exceed" the speed limit. Take a test drive in a car with the Navi built in, you'll see for yourself. I too was a little concerned with a DVD database, but after a test drive, I was OK with it. Like Stampeder says, it is older technology, but the automotive industry normally is slow to take in newer technology.

There is no 3D view, but in nav mode (or guidance mode), when you approach a turning point, an insert pops up with real-time distance remaining to make the turn, and shows appropriate lanes when the turn comes up. Yes it does state street names, but not by default, you have to turn it on. Instructions to do so are in the manual.

Personally, I can see a day when the "radio" in a car doesn't even have a disc-based player. A simple USB port to connect any player device or flash drive, to play music, and also an external way of updating navigation systems.

Another "con" is the Points-of-interests. When you look up the name of a particular store or restaurant, it would list anything with the name specified, even if it's 4,000 kms away. I'd like to see it limit its search to a 20, 50 or 100 kms radius.

I have a 2009 Honda CRV EXL Navi and love it. I think all of the above points are are very accurate. My biggest concern with the navi unit is that I find in rural areas you tend to enter into "unverified areas" quite a bit which tends to confuse the Navi in a couple of ways:

(1) it won't give you exact routing information to get to your destination in "unverified areas". Just a general "pointer" direction and sometimes up to you to generally work your way towards the destination, sometimes even getting lost doing so!

(2) it does not give accurate travel times when "unverified areas" are involved. For example, my cottage is 90 minutes north of Winnipeg and the last 20 minutes are in an "unverified area". Because of this it estimates the travel time as 150 minutes!

One other strange thing about my Navi is I still haven't found a way to delete entries to my address book. Weird. So if you want to bookmark an address make sure you REALLY want it bookmarked and make sure the spelling is correct. But in urban areas it works wonderfully, integrates with your existing stereo system, responds to voice controls, adds a back-up camera which is nice for blindspots (and really excellent if you also included backup sensors).

You'll love the CRV - awesome vehicle. I wish the 2009 version that I bought offered bluetooth and satellite radio!

As mentioned, I picked up my CR-V on Saturday. This is my third new vehicle, but most expensive to date. Negotiations went very quickly. They had the exact vehicle I wanted on the lot, which helped me a lot, I think.

I picked Black because I though it was the sharpest of the color choices, and there is plenty of chrome trim to compliment it. I added the chrome tubular side step bars and the chrome exhaust finisher, along with the roof rack (together known as the "sport" package). It's not a big vehicle, but it's high, and I have lots of head room, even with the sun roof. The leather interior is classy, with lots of room. I don't feel like I'm being cradled in my seat, as you do sometimes with cloth seats.

The ride is nice, but not luxury. I found that to be true for all of the vehicles I test drove that were the same style and price range. You do feel the road, but it's comfortable. Don't know about handling in bad weather yet. It's 4 wheel drive, but apparently not full time (it only kicks in when you need it!).

The Navigation/Stereo/XM Radio/Bluetooth has been a lot to take in. I really like the display and all the included gadgets. Learning the correct voice commands has been a bit of a challenge. I often say one thing and it does another. Hopefully it will improve once I get the lingo down. Bluetooth is nice, but integrating my Blackberry address book is tedious. You have to give a spoken name for each and every phone number listed. It will take forever! (is there a quicker way?).

Remote Start (an option) is cool and I'm sure it will be handy on those cold winter mornings, especially when the windows are all frozen (it turns on the window defrosters as well). The dongle is a little big, which makes carrying it in your pocket in a little annoying. I may take it off until the cooler weather comes, which might be soon!

The only other option I went for was paint protection. Don't know how beneficial that is, but I've had it done to my last two new cars, and the paint faired well on both of them (both 10 years old).

All that's left to do is get the updated Navigation DVD whenever Honda releases it, and pay for insurance. So far I'm happy.

-Mike