Prius V with or without Nav?

We took possession of a V with ATP six weeks ago. It is our first hybrid car. We just returned from a 9 day 2500 mile road trip. The car is not perfect, but my wife and I love it.

 

The Nav is awesome and you'll love it!... is it worth the money when you consider the options... probably not!..... Its mostly whether you can afford to get what you want...

If you can afford it and buy it, you won't regret it, but if money is very tight, I would get a tom tom.

Most of use didn't buy a prius because it was the smartest financial option.

 

Well I love my Nav...I love the integration built in. I use the voice recognition and it's quite user friendly in my opinion.

I hate having to take a separate unit in and out of sight. That to me, is a pain and attraction for trouble when leaving the car parked.

I enjoy mine, and would rather find the phone compatible IMO if your's isn't. And sound quality is great and I have no LAG in my answering the phone via the steering controls.

 

For "loving" the Nav, wait until you try to travel and find things
in any of the many, large, "non-covered" areas.

 

You may find it very very difficult to locate a V without nav. I was fortunate and did a couple months ago.
I had a great portable GPS and had a perfect rearview camera system installed. Absolutely do not miss a built-in GPS especially with many of the operational issues I had seem before getting my car, and...still. If money was no object it would not have been a problem - but $1800 is simply gouging in my opinion. I am happy for those that have it and are pleased, but my application works perfectly. My Garmin powers down when the Prius is off, and one snap - it's in my pocket. Also I can take it with me for rental cars etc.
I would make the same decision if I bought my Prius today. But you may have another personal opinion. Continue your research and take test drives.

 

You won't be able to get a consensus on this topic. The only thing we all agree upon is that factory nav is more expensive than the portable units. That's a fact.

I have the factory nav in my 2006 and like it a lot, and the 2010 unit is even better. Your satisfaction with the unit will largely be predicated on where you use it. Some areas are very well covered, while some are pathetic. Big cities are usually pretty good.

Should you buy it? If you have the money, I would. Is it perfect? No. Chances are you won't find a Prius V without it, so the decision is probably automatic.

Tom

 

If you plan a car in December, you have time to special order this car because on the western seaboard, you can't get a V package with no NAV system. Just an FYI. You'll get terribly frustrated in December if you start looking for the car then. Ordering right this instant will enable you to have exactly what you want in late December/mid-January.

Dianne

 

Ask the dealer to show you the Coverage Maps (Info, Maps, Coverage).
If the non-covered areas will not be a big problem for you, then getting the Nav might be OK for you.
Keep in mind that this is NOT an "advanced-featured" GPS system.

 

I have both a Toyota built in Nav system and a Garmin NUVI 760.

The Garmin is easier to use and has some very nice features such as the ability to store routes. The purchase price is much less and map updates are less expensive for the Garmin. In the areas I travel the Garmin maps are no better than the Toyota system maps.

The Toyota system is perfectly useable but you need to spend some time with it, at least I did. It has a bigger screen and a backup camera (good safety feature). It also gives you a good display for the audio system. It's really big advantage is that it's built in and I don't have to hide it when I leave the car.

Don't know about the Bluetooth phone connection I haven't tried it yet and mine came without the USB interface.

I would say if you are comfortable spending an extra $1800 go for the Nav system, otherwise you will be perfectly happy with a Garmin or a Tom Tom.

I don't know about availability. There were no Prius Vs available in this area when I decided to buy mine so I ordered it and waited 6 or 7 weeks to get what I wanted. If I had it to do over Iwould get the same options again.

 

First of all, it will be hard to find a Prius V without Nav.

But let’s just assume that it is possible. Have you had built-ins Nav before and love it? If yes, ignore the forum and buy it, because, regardless of the quality:

1-Most folks bashing the Prius Nav here, like myself, thinks that the extra money paid to have it is a completely waste when compared to a $300 Garmin that can do a similar but often better job without mentioning the criminal charges for updates in the built-in system compared to the much cheaper and more frequent updates in the portable.

2-Most folks who have bought the Prius Nav are loving it and DO NOT regret the extra cash because of its greater screen size, integration with the sound system, much less attractive to thieves, no need for wires running inside the cabin, and in most cases, the Prius Nav is getting people where they need to go.

Very simple!

Oh BTW, I'm driving my Honda Odyssey today to WI. It does have a bult-in Nav system, but I'm taking my Garmin 780 with me for the navigation piece and limiting the use of my Odyssey Nav screen to play with the satelitte radio and other sound sources.

 

Just be careful. If you replace the JBL in the Prius V by the system displayed in the Audio and Electronics section, you WILL LOSE the built-in sattelite radio capability.

 

I installed one of those *other* HUs. There are pros and cons (if you've read the threads, you know). From a straight NAV point of view, you can't compare the Toy to an aftermarket that runs WinCE. The CE devices can run the *latest* from iGo, ROute66, Garmin, TomTom, Navigon. Along with the latest maps. Upgrades are often free, and the Navs are customizable (with speed cam, red light cam alerts, speed alerts etc etc etc).

My all in - including a HU that plays DVDs, a DTV box w/antenna, picture in picture, reverse cam, parking assist (shows backup cam - but adds distance to the picture) ,USB, SD Card interface, DVD MP3s etc was around $700 (???) - oh - and far better sound (from stock speakers).

You can also navigate while the car is moving

 

Many contributed - but keep in mind - there is now a generic plastic insert - so you can buy any HU... I know for a fact that my reception is due to the power antenna (power not connected) - I just haven't tackled that (it works fine - just not perfect).

{IMHO) With all the options available, and the silly cost, aftermarket is the only way to go... One other negative - I don't have the voice buttons on the steering wheel.

 

Yes - you press a button on the nav...