[lambocars]

Over here in Belgium the nav system is beyond poor ... the voice can't even pronounce several of the city names and sometimes gets the direction completely wrong, telling you to take the far right lane on the highway quoting the name of a city ... which is only reachable taking the far left lane of that highway ... very funny once you know about it, but not so if you have to travel several extra miles to take an exit and get back onto the highway in the opposite direction.

My previous car was a Renault with a built in TomTom navigation ... much, much better in fact.

I do have to admit the voice control works nicely in my case, no complaints there ... I just had to get used to some of the quirks from Volvo like the electronic handbrake not engaging automatically when you remove the key, the rain sensor that has to be activated each time you start and the cruise control that stays active if you press the clutch ... I guess the Volvo engineers had some totally different ideas here compared to my earlier Renault.

Still I really love my V60 R-Design ... drives great and looks amazing.

 

[Bmo Pete]

Still I really love my V60 R-Design ... drives great and looks amazing.

I have to agree, quirks and all, the car is awesome!

 

[Jexx]

Too bad that some of your legitimate points get lost in the sea of exaggeration, above.

I have been traveling all over LA and Southern California and until I got to know the area very well, the system never failed me. It never got me lost, it never took me on a longer road unless there was traffic or an accident ahead of me. Up to MY15, is it slower than I would have preferred? Yes. Is it repetitive until it executes a command? Yes. However, it does the job quite well, it is accurate, if I miss an exit it reroutes me very quickly even when moving at 60+ mph.

I drive over 28,000 miles per year and on occasion rely to the Nav to get me there around the horrible LA traffic or circle around an accident or get me back on a major highway if I try to wing it in an area I am not really familiar with. Again, it has NEVER failed me.

I think most would agree the actual navigation is pretty good, but the problem is actually inputting the information. It's actually extremely disappointing coming from a company that essentially focuses so heavily on the human factors of operating a vehicle. It really is a poor way to design--sell on flashy technology that doesn't actually function. It's an advertising trick that electronic manufacturers often use: advertise and sell on features and technology, but not on usability. I mean, people don't usually think of usability when they're first looking at technology and are somehow more persuaded on features. Volvo had a really great design on the older stereos (most car companies were like this) with easy to understand and well-laid out single function buttons and fast interfaces. But usability doesn't sell like features so alas, we get crappy input systems like Sensus.

 

[ecoDrive]

But usability doesn't sell like features so alas, we get crappy input systems like Sensus.

I wouldn't call the input system on Sensus crappy but there was definitely room for improvement. I really love the fact that you can input destinations by voice while driving. Our previous Lexus, in addition to having to "Agree" with the lawyers at every start, you had to pullover and come to a complete stop before entering a new destination. That was very frustrating! That system was touch screen too but the interface was so slow it would often miss "button" presses. And the icons they used were so cryptic you needed the Rosetta Stone to figure them out. I would call that a crappy input system. I've never been frustrated by Sensus.

 

[Warpedcow]

Nav systems built in a car will always be limited in some way, compared to what you can do on a smartphone/phablet/tablet.

Here's what the Waze app does for me:
1) It learns my typical routes so:
a) Weekday mornings it automatically asks me if I'm driving to work, I just tap yes or no.
b) Same deal at the end of the day at work, asks me if I'm driving home
2) It integrates with Google calendar, so if any event on my calendar coming up has an address, it knows I probably want to drive there, and asks me. I just tap yes or no.
3) Crowd-sourced traffic, accident, weather, speed trap/police reports and warnings.
4) Integrates with Facebook (if you choose) so you can see where your friends are driving. Handy if you're trying to meet up somewhere, etc...

I don't know of any car built-in Nav that does any of this, much less all of this.

 

[weedy]

I agree that the system is very poor. That said, the only company that is really getting this right is Tesla. And even their UI is basically just the "car version" of Apple's design philosophy.

Volvo should just try to do the same thing. No need to reinvent the wheel, particularly if you're not going to do it well!

THAT is exactly right.

the Volvo system seems no worse than the other in-car systems I've used.

they're ALL not as good as the Garmin; or the iPhone.

people here have talked about "custom orders" before.

Isn't it possible to custom order a car with the "platinum" features, such as leather seats, but WITHOUT the navigation?

 

[weedy]

... I really love the fact that you can input destinations by voice while driving.

can do that on a Garmin, and it works better

and bring up the voice command menu by just calling out a phrase. no buttons at ALL.

 

[loco-diablo]

Isn't it possible to custom order a car with the "platinum" features, such as leather seats, but WITHOUT the navigation?

It may be cost prohibitive if ordered ala cart. Plus you may not be able to get ALL the other desired platinum features outside the package.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GrecianVolvo]

Isn't it possible to custom order a car with the "platinum" features, such as leather seats, but WITHOUT the navigation?

No, that cannot be done.

 

[no more saab stories]

As I've posted in the past, I opted for the Platinum trim because I thought that I was getting the new Sensus system. Of course, I got the old system which is utterly useless. I did get folding mirrors, which the salesman suggested I disable in order to avoid future repair issues. I think that I got some extra ambient lighting, but it is so dim as to be useless. Finally, the one really useful Platinum feature was extra light in the cargo compartment (XC60) built into the door, but $3,200 ($2,850 US) is a lot to pay for a light.

 

[geokilla]

As I've posted in the past, I opted for the Platinum trim because I thought that I was getting the new Sensus system. Of course, I got the old system which is utterly useless. I did get folding mirrors, which the salesman suggested I disable in order to avoid future repair issues. I think that I got some extra ambient lighting, but it is so dim as to be useless. Finally, the one really useful Platinum feature was extra light in the cargo compartment (XC60) built into the door, but $3,200 ($2,850 US) is a lot to pay for a light.

You got an upgraded sound system as well, though the base speakers are very good already. Not nearly as good as the ones in our S70 but it's near there.

 

[no more saab stories]

You got an upgraded sound system as well, though the base speakers are very good already. Not nearly as good as the ones in our S70 but it's near there.

Sorry, yes, I forgot about the upgraded sound system... because I rarely listen to it.

Actually, come to think of it I know of a certain wife who a few years ago bought a new VW Bug in the top-of-the-line trim... navigation, premium sound, big wheels and a sunroof.... notwithstanding that she had no interest in navigation, premium sound, big wheels or a sunroof... because the particular shade of blue that she was (and is) in love with was only available in the top-of-the-line trim.

Actually, it was her birthday present, and she turned down my suggestions (Q5, RX350, X3, GLK 350 and XC60) so I saved a bit of $$$

Of course, this year I ended up buying the XC60 for myself. She drives it when she needs to haul more stuff than the Bug can haul, but she still says that she likes the Bug better. Too bad Volvo does not offer that shade of blue (although the new blue offered in the 15.5 MY is pretty close).

Of course, I prefer the XC60... although she got the better navigation system.

 

[GrecianVolvo]

I did get folding mirrors, which the salesman suggested I disable in order to avoid future repair issues. .

Heck of a "sales consultant"...

 

[no more saab stories]

Heck of a "sales consultant"...

Someone else on this board was told the same thing. Apparently it can be a problem when they get covered with ice.

For now at least I am using the folding mirror function, if only to confirm that the car is shut off and locked.

On a couple of occasions I have accidentally left the car unlocked... with the engine running... while I went shopping. Fortunately it seems that not many people want to steal a MY15 XC60.

Perhaps they've heard about the navigation system and are holding out for a MY 15.5.

 

[weedy]

No, that cannot be done.

thanks, but then (slightly off-topic) I'm confused again about custom ordering.

what can and cannot be ordered?

 

[GrecianVolvo]

thanks, but then (slightly off-topic) I'm confused again about custom ordering.

what can and cannot be ordered?

Any combination within the parameters of the order guide (colors, options, etc).

You cannot deviate by breaking up packages.

 

[Stigs NJ cousin]

Heck of a "sales consultant"...

Reminds me of top gear episode when they discussed driving in India, and how people don't use lights at night because "you know, you wear them out"

 

[chris@swedespeed]

I like Garmin and I like when manufacturers partner with Garmin and use it for navigation. My '13 Jeep JKU has Garmin built in and for our '06 Project V70R and '12 XC90 R-Design I installed Kenwood HUs with Garmin.

App integration would be nice then owners can select their preferred navi app.

 

[volvobuff]

As I've posted in the past, I opted for the Platinum trim because I thought that I was getting the new Sensus system. Of course, I got the old system which is utterly useless.

Perhaps some due diligence might have been in order. Thanks to advance information that was readily available on this forum and elsewhere, I cancelled my original order for a 2015 V60 Platinum placed back in February and opted to wait three months (by extending my previous lease) and ordered a 2015.5 V60 Platinum when I learned that Sensus would be replaced by Sensus Connect in the new MY. I am nothing if not a sucker for the latest and greatest technology. Of course, the CTA doesn't work worth a damn in my 2015.5 V60. I have been reminded, once again, that "those who live by the cutting edge of technology die by the cutting edge of technology." To which I can only add that Volvo's technology has a rather dull cutting edge.

I did get folding mirrors, which the salesman suggested I disable in order to avoid future repair issues.

Heck of a "sales consultant"...

Mmm. Taking that advice to its logical extreme, one should simply leave a new car in the garage and not drive it at all. :facepalm:

 

[Ride S40T]

Agree with most of the "opportunities for improvement" (negative aspects) of the system described to this point.

Question: Does the 15.5 and later still use the NavTeq mapping?

Don't mind (too much) the many steps to "accept" a destination, my issue is that it doesn't find rural destinations (houses). Said it here many times, we have a $50 TomTom that is more accurate and provides shorter routes than the in-dash nav. On long trips, we load the destination and then double check it with Google maps on our phones just to be sure we're not being taken out of the way (extra miles). On some calculations (routes) on the in-dash, we had to cancel and use Google on the phone because it simply would not find "the fastest route". It had plans to take us an extra 20-45 minutes out of the way.

Sent a customer inquiry to NavTeq asking why their software won't take us to specific rural destinations (places that have been in existence for 9 years). No reply. Wonder if Volvo bought the cheapest version of the map software to save money or is the NavTeq product is simply crap?