Do You Think Navigation is Still an Important Option When Puchasing a New Vehicle?

[Ballzo]

With all these small hand held devices that are coming out with GPS and especially the iphone and blackberry. Have we reached a time when a built in GPS unit is not that valuable or do you still think its an important feature to have in a new vehicle?

[Rated S]

With all these small hand held devices that are coming out with GPS and especially the iphone and blackberry. Have we reached a time when a built in GPS unit is not that valuable or do you still think its an important feature to have in a new vehicle?

Yes.
My phone's Navigation is 10x better then the RNS-D I put in my car; however I still use my cars Navi because of the integration.

[a4_matt]

As much as i love using my phone for a navi, i think a in car navigation is still a good way to go. Like Rated S said, the integration is good, keeps the phone fresh (not draining battery) and open to get calls and stuff, and not have the poss of missing a turn or something... all that junk... but it is still redic expensive for what you get. My Garmin on my BB has built in traffic and rerouting for it, whereas w/ an in car one (i'm pretty sure for any company) you need to buy the xm/sirius traffic for it to do it.... but still, in car is a nice feature to have.

[BASARAB]

In dash navigation is so much better, because u do not have to worry about wires and all that stuff. However not for a price tag of 2-3k.

[BigGreenBuds]

From personal experience I can say that the integrated in-car navigation systems are well worth the money. I use my iPhone when driving my Honda and am constantly having to look away from the road and fumble with the screen. With my Audi, everything is right there in front of me with voice recognition and that makes it a lot safer. I don't know which one is more accurate but since I'm not targeting missles, the in-car system is more than adequate.

Also, if you're already paying 50 grand or more on a nicely outfitted Audi, why skimp on the nav?

[Coderedpl]

I will say not really due to the fact that you can always purchase it on your own for cheaper than what dealer charges but I'm not sure how that works with the q5/q7 and the new b8's...
I have a dynavin unit in my b7 and it has navi, but i see myself many times mounting my phone to the car dock and looking at traffic and other alternative routes. I use a bit of both. Long trips i think the navi would come in handy, locally i have both :)

Google maps on my phone has the navi option so i see myself using that too.