Whenever you buy a brand-new car, it’s easy to get caught up in wanting the best and brightest model. Do you really need the bells & whistles? When it comes to sign on the dotted line, what you need might not really matter. As humans, we can’t escape our propensity to - at times - be ego-driven.

One of the most popular (and expensive, and depending on who you talk to, wasteful) newer features in new car packages is the built-in navigation system. Holding out for nav can boost your bottom line by several thousand dollars, so I thought we’d take a look at a popular new hybrid - the Toyota Prius - and see how owners felt about their built-in systems, and what aftermarket products were recommended.

There are several multiple-page threads at the PriusChat.com Forums which address this topic. I’ve linked to, and summarized them, here:

PriusChat: Does it Get Any Easier?

This thread has a lot of GREAT information to offer for a new Prius driver who is having trouble with their navigation system, which seems to be fairly common. A good chunk of these drivers were drawn to the Prius, and to hybrid ownership, because they enjoy new technology and many are techie-types who shouldn’t really have a problem navigating a navigation system. And many haven’t had problems with previous systems, either built-ins in other models or portable units from Garmin, etc.

Both kathyb and rposton, along with other posters, had wonderful tips in this thread:

• Read the manual backwards and Program backwards. Start with the Region, then City, then Street and then House number.

• If your route disappears (especially in the country) run a Preview. If that doesn’t help you, the directions should still be accurate but they won’t show on the map.

• You can suspend the Nav by pressing Menu, Suspend, and turn it back on by doing those steps in reverse. You can also force the unit to reroute by not taking the directs suggested.

• The Prius Nav reroutes almost instantly, according to a few drivers, in contrast to built-in navigation in other cars.

• For people with regular stops, try inputting the latitute/longitude coordinates into a PDA device (or, you know, writing them down :p) instead of using map markers. The memory seems to fill up pretty fast. rposton saved his map markers for cheap gas stations and other travel essentials.

If you are really having trouble with your Nav system, several posters recommended checking your preferences. There are a myriad of selections that affect how accurate your routes will be (region, for instance, or whether or not you allow for freeway driving) and others which affect how those instructions are delivered. This is probably Toyota’s biggest roadblock - it’s too complicated for the number of features it offers.

Toyota Navigation or after market navigation?

This is where posters get down and dirty about the drawbacks to Toyota Nav (price, surprisingly, not at the top) and which aftermarket models trump the rest. So, without further ado …

Pros of Toyota Nav

• More than anything, Prius drivers appreciate the larger screen of the Toyota’s multifunction display. They also like the protection that comes with a system attached to the car. You don’t have to worry about removing it every night, or risking it being stolen.

• As part of the car, the Nav system is integrated into the steering, and audio comes through the speakers. (These features are available with some aftermarket models.) Toyota Nav also has bluetooth capabilities and can link to certain PDAs and cellphones. (NOT THE IPHONE!)

• The 2009 Toyota Corolla has an updated set-up that supports XM NavTraffic that hopefully will be available for all future models.

Cons of Toyota Nav

• One of the biggest complaints about Toyota’s built-in GPS comes from a lock-out feature while the car is in motion. An overzealous safety feature, Toyota has forgotten that drivers often have passengers who can program these units on the road, and have offered no means for a passenger overriding the lock in order to do so. Newer models can be updated with Coastaltech Lockpick that allows this, but it doesn’t work on older models.

• Toyota Nav system is only available on the most expensive Prius models. You’ll spend much more on the factory GPS than even the higher quality aftermarket versions.

• Because of the number of preference settings, it can be difficult to figure out your most appropriate settings — unreasonable difficult compared to aftermarket products.

• Toyota Nav doesn’t have text-to-speech for the majority of street names, and has insufficient data for certain areas.

So, now that you’ve learned the Pros and Cons of Toyota’s navigation system, what are aftermarket models like? Which ones are the best? Which will help you be a better, safer, more efficient driver and which will lead you into danger, or make you a liability on the road? You’ll have to take a look at this post here, Best GPS Navigation Systems, Garmin - Magellan - Tom Tom and more.

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