Navigation impression

[Burtman]

I have had my 2011 Edge Limited for just about a month and I must say I am very impressed with the Navigation system. I have owned a 2007 BMW X3 and a 2008 BMW X5 with Navigation and ford is by far superior. Better graphics, easy to use, along with more choses in the way you can view the screen and directions. I have used the navigation by voice and by touch screen and was very easy to do. My only complaint is that the SD card maps are not up to date and at this time there are no current updates available. The street that I live on is three years old and is not on the map. My portable GPS is two years old and has my street listed. All in all a great Navigation system.

[Ridbidge]

I have to agree! Several others have talked trash about it on this forum, but I am also impressed. I have a TomTom handheld unit that I have used for just over a year prior to purchasing my '11 Sport. I have never had any problems of any kind with the nav system's functionality, and the graphics are absolutely gorgeous. My TomTom One XL cannot plot an off of the freeway course from Silver Spring MD to Hopewell VA. I was always required to plot from Silver Spring to Fredericksburg, and then once in Fredericksburg I could plot the rest of the way to Hopewell. I had no problems doing this (with several route choices) using the nav in the Edge.

[Edgieguy]

my only observation of the navigation so far is that it seems to be lagging a little. I've missed several turns because it told me after I pass the street but I had to turn.

[Ctrl-z]

The quality of the navigation on my 2011 MKX depends greatly on where you are at the time. In my home city, it is downright pitiful. It has decent street coverage (for streets that are at least 5 years old) but outside the city it shows virtually no highways let alone secondary roads. Heck, it doesn't even show the provincial border! Adjusting the zoom range doesn't really help in rural areas either which came as a shock.

 

But I have used it in a neighboring city of slightly higher population and it is much better. There I see city areas marked in different colours, much more rural detail and even specific lane access for major intersections. Except for the last point and a few other neat features it has, it still isn't as good as my 3 year old Garmin but it's acceptable in a clumsy kind of way.

 

I will definitely want to get updated maps when they become available as that is the only way I'm likely to make much use of the navigation. If I'm going to need to find a local address in a newer area or find alternative highways or travel to an area that is not a major city, I have to remember to pack my Garmin. And that is not the way it should be with such an expensive navigation system.

 

I suspect Ford now uses (less than current) Tele Atlas maps instead of NavTech which traditionally provided superior North American mapping . That's the only reason I can think of for the often terrible coverage outside of major Canadian cities.

[rwolson]

The nav's very good, but mapping database from whatever vendor definitely needs updates. Also, would like the capability to generate our own list of POIs and install. For example, I downloaded a list of rest stops someone on POI Factory created for Garmins; great feature.

[ecb]

I agree with Edgieguy.... the navi is slow. I've found it to be 2 -3 seconds behind. If your driving in a city where your route may have multiple turns interspersed together, you need to pay close attention to make sure you don't miss a turn; you can't rely upon the voice prompts. Also it can take a long time to calculate/recalculate a route. Being able to have your next turn displayed on smaller screen to the right of the speedometer is very handy,

 

I've also noticed that the live traffic is hot or miss. By that, I mean that most of the time I get live traffic, but sometimes there's nothing. I don't know if this is an issue with Sirius or with MyTouch (my guess is that it's MyTouch)

 

The POI database is a little quirky as well. It has a fairly new restaurant close to my home, but it doesn't have a local Best Buy that has been around for a few years.

 

The voice commands are great for selecting a destination and having the ability to send a destination from Google Maps to the car s very cool. Both those are necessary since there is lag in typing in a destination. I also like the various route view modes

 

Overall, the navi is adequate...but barely. The overall lag in the system is bad and makes it tough to trust. On the plus side, it looks fantastic and has some very nice viewing options. :Like the rest of the MyTouch system, it could be fantastic but just suffers from poor performance

[sandpiper]

I've used several Garmins throughout the years and really like them. But, so far, I like the nav on my new Edge better. I took one of my Garmins on our first long trip in the Edge just in case I had problems. Never needed it or even thought about it.

[cirockets]

I've used several Garmins throughout the years and really like them. But, so far, I like the nav on my new Edge better. I took one of my Garmins on our first long trip in the Edge just in case I had problems. Never needed it or even thought about it.

 

That's good news. I love my Garmin and have been using them for years, I found the Edge Nav. maps are years out of date. I think they are probably more up to date for the larger centers. I have decided, after using the ford nav, that I will be ordering the new Garmin (23-24 series) in the near future. I find the Edge Nav maps lack detail and I have an issue with the POI's. I guess everyone has different requirements and glad to hear that the Nav. on your Edge serves you well. I did a 30,000 Km road trip last spring and summer and it was so nice to be able to program routes in advance on the Garmin and loading up with POI's. I think you can program 100 routes into the new Garmin Nuvi.

[AmyLovesHerEdge]

I agree with Edgieguy.... the navi is slow. I've found it to be 2 -3 seconds behind. If your driving in a city where your route may have multiple turns interspersed together, you need to pay close attention to make sure you don't miss a turn; you can't rely upon the voice prompts. Also it can take a long time to calculate/recalculate a route. Being able to have your next turn displayed on smaller screen to the right of the speedometer is very handy,

 

I've also noticed that the live traffic is hot or miss. By that, I mean that most of the time I get live traffic, but sometimes there's nothing. I don't know if this is an issue with Sirius or with MyTouch (my guess is that it's MyTouch)

 

The POI database is a little quirky as well. It has a fairly new restaurant close to my home, but it doesn't have a local Best Buy that has been around for a few years.

 

The voice commands are great for selecting a destination and having the ability to send a destination from Google Maps to the car s very cool. Both those are necessary since there is lag in typing in a destination. I also like the various route view modes

 

Overall, the navi is adequate...but barely. The overall lag in the system is bad and makes it tough to trust. On the plus side, it looks fantastic and has some very nice viewing options. :Like the rest of the MyTouch system, it could be fantastic but just suffers from poor performance

Two things that would be nice some day for the Ford Nav designers....

 

A lady at my work can create a custom route on Google Maps in her office and send the entire route for download to her onboard car navigation. Not just a destination. She has a Mercedes. That would be real handy on long trips when you do not like the suggested routes the Ford GPS gives you.

 

The second thing is the breadcrumbs option. It would be nice to run the breadcrumbs on a trip, and save to favorites. Then reverse it, and use it for the trip back with turn by turn directions. This can be done on some handheld GPS models.

 

The Edge is the first car I've owned with in-car navigation. Overall it has been handy for simple destinations, and connected with the Ford Sync Trips/Traffic, it has gotten me out of two traffic jams and suggested detours before I got stuck. The one was a bad accident and people were stopped on the interstate for hours. The Sync Traffic feature warned me and got me off on an exit ramp before the traffic jam. Without it, I would not have known and would have got caught like everybody else. It then detoured me through a part of the city I was not familiar with, and got me back on the interstate past the traffic jam. Way Cool!

 

Amy

2011 Edge Limited AWD.

[rwolson]

I mentioned above I like the Edge nav. I still do, but would like to see a few enhancements and updates to the mapping software.

 

IMO, if you've used a Garmin or TomTom gps in the apst you'll find the Edge nav needs several updates. For example, my Garmins feature a turn by turn route list I can review before I start my desitnation. Also, ways to add "via points" along a destination in case I need to make a quick stop along my route. I can come up with more.

 

Amy meitoned breadcrumbs; great feature. Also, custom routes.

 

One thing I truly miss, I can create routes on my Garmin while sitting in front of my PC then take the gps on the road. A bit difficult to take my car into the livingroom.

 

I still carry my Garmin because of the number of off the wall destinations stored on it. I periodically head to various lighthouses in Maine. I love photographing lighthouses and in many cases you can't find a real address. I don't believe you can enter lat/long for location in the Edge.

 

Finally, I use one of the ProClipUSA mounts to hold my Garmin. I've owned several of the mounts and they're great.

 

Suggestion, we compile a list of enhancements, etc and post it on SyncMyRide; maybe the right people will read the list and implement some of our enhancement requests.

Edited March 9, 2011 by rwolson

[akirby]

Also, ways to add "via points" along a destination in case I need to make a quick stop along my route.

 

You can already do that - they're called waypoints.

[seabee78]

Nav option on the left instrument panel is cool. I knew it showed a 3D ball compass and the street name but last night I was cruising on a provincial subroad where the speed limit was 70kph ( I was doing 80) Anyway, in the compass view, there also was a small speed limit sign that said 70kph on it. I never noticed that before. LOL It went out when I reduced speed to within the speed limit.

Edited August 11, 2011 by seabee78