[RostokMcSpoons]

I've made a few extended trips in my new 320i now, and I've enjoyed the pro nav screen with the split screen functionality - that's very impressive.

But the core Sat Nav just seems to be unfit for purpose.

I've driven from Milton Keynes down to Salisbury and Taunton, two routes I know well, and the damned sat nav has offered me all sorts of weirdness.

Travelling up a clear A34 back home, is there any good reason to drive through Wantage? Do they only sell winning lottery tickets there, and it's the BMW concierge trying to do me a favour?

On a motorway or A-road, is there really any need to divert off to a slip road, just to cross a roundabout and immediately re-join the same road? Will I get an unexpected view of a snow-jewelled Kilimanjaro, or attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion? I think not.

On a clear motorway where I'm zooming along at [exactly the national speedlimit], is there any reason to divert off from that, through some twisty backroads and villages, just to shave a couple of miles off the route? Even though I selected 'fast' in the guidance start-up?

Of course these are routes I know well, so I could safely ignore the strangeness... and maybe, just maybe the Road Traffic Information detected a herd of migrating wildebeest crossing the carriageway ahead of me, but it had all cleared up a few minutes later... but what happens when I start travelling brand-new routes?

What if I do that grand tour of Europe that my wife and I fancy making?
BMW's sat nav can't even get my wife's 4 mile commute right, so I'm worried it'll get me lost so often we'll give up!

Is there any hope, or do I relegate the sat nav to second place behind Google Maps on my phone???

[Scottiedog]

To be honest iv never had any trouble with the sat nav and find it really good. Not much help I know but just my view

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by Scottiedog

To be honest iv never had any trouble with the sat nav and find it really good. Not much help I know but just my view

Ditto. Mine is absolutely perfect.

[Gabreigns]

Likewise. No issues here. Actually the HUD makes me want to use it more often.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Robbie, Scottie,

Well it's good to hear it's working for some people - and I know I can't expect a Sat Nav to be perfect - there are enough instances of people trying to drive up rivers etc as evidence of that. Even Google Maps tried to make me drive up a bridleway quite recently!

I'm just disappointed an expensive sat nav could make so many wild / inexplicable routing choices in such a small sample of journeys.

[Chris Peacock]

I have only got the lowly basic NAV and having covered 98k miles in my car using this I have to say I find it rather good.

Only negative comment would be that it does occasionally lead me into a traffic jam rather than taking evasive action.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by RostokMcSpoons

Robbie, Scottie,

Well it's good to hear it's working for some people - and I know I can't expect a Sat Nav to be perfect - there are enough instances of people trying to drive up rivers etc as evidence of that. Even Google Maps tried to make me drive up a bridleway quite recently!

I'm just disappointed an expensive sat nav could make so many wild / inexplicable routing choices in such a small sample of journeys.

Have you set all the options up for the sat nav correctly?

Having Eco and shortest route can bring problems, as can fastest when in heavy traffic.

[Watsey]

I've not had the problems you describe. Have you played with all the route options ie fast, dynamic, short ?

[ZeroFx]

its poor. i bet i use it more than most

[JustChris]

That's odd Op as I find it really good now. Check the setting in case they have a weird option ticked like no motorways and what not.

[RobUK]

Believe the underlying map data is from Navteq (or does anyone know if it's changed?), and if that's duff then who knows where you'll end up! Used to really frustrate me that when travelling to a particular place the satnav would direct me along three sides of a rectangle, rather than along the shortest route. Turns out some spanner had incorrectly flagged the shortest route as one-way when it wasn't!!

Anyway, there's an old thread here about it.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

its poor. i bet i use it more than most

I find it good, however point taken you likely use it more than most.

Tends to be the case with taxi drivers..

[ukbeemerboy]

It's usually only poor because the options within it are not set correctly. I've never had any trouble with any of my cars with Pro Nav.

[Andy30D]

I rely on mine for work every day, and have yet found another car (even on £60k plus cars) with a better more accurate and easy to use system.

In my view it's brilliant.

[DickieGibbo]

Originally Posted by ukbeemerboy

It's usually only poor because the options within it are not set correctly. I've never had any trouble with any of my cars with Pro Nav.

+1

Use mine daily and been very good. Done 40k with it and never had any issues. I have mine set to automatically re-route if traffic problems and has always got me to appointments on time.

Check your settings

Dickie

[teaston]

In the two days i've been using the pro nav on the 5 series it has taken me on a few strange routes that made no sense at all!

What are the correct settings to have it on?

[Ice Man]

Originally Posted by DickieGibbo

+1

Use mine daily and been very good. Done 40k with it and never had any issues. I have mine set to automatically re-route if traffic problems and has always got me to appointments on time.

Check your settings

Dickie

Where is the option to do this? I find it a bit annoying that it doesn't auto reroute. But it obviously can.

I suppose I could but that's not a very bloke thing to do

[Mark1966]

Originally Posted by RostokMcSpoons

Robbie, Scottie,

Well it's good to hear it's working for some people - and I know I can't expect a Sat Nav to be perfect - there are enough instances of people trying to drive up rivers etc as evidence of that. Even Google Maps tried to make me drive up a bridleway quite recently!

I'm just disappointed an expensive sat nav could make so many wild / inexplicable routing choices in such a small sample of journeys.

Lucky you didn't get a Merc, their command satnav is abysmal, the BMW prof set up is miles ahead.

[ZeroFx]

it has real problems with birmingham city.

Some roads been closed for a year on satnav which are open. Some been closed for real and not on satnav.

It thought aston expressway was shut but never was.

It doesnt use some smaller roads even if they are faster than using the main roads. For example it wants to go 500 meters around the block rather than cut across using a road.

It wants to save 1 minute travel time by going 20 miles further across country rather than using the motorway. RTTI has a tendancy to fail when you need it most and TMC kicks in.

[Ice Man]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

it has real problems with birmingham city.

Some roads been closed for a year on satnav which are open. Some been closed for real and not on satnav.

It thought aston expressway was shut but never was.

It doesnt use some smaller roads even if they are faster than using the main roads. For example it wants to go 500 meters around the block rather than cut across using a road.

It wants to save 1 minute travel time by going 20 miles further across country rather than using the motorway. RTTI has a tendancy to fail when you need it most and TMC kicks in.

Ah yes I have had enfuriating problems with it in Birmingham to It never takes me on the Ashton express way always avoids it

[teaston]

So what are the correct settings??!!

[Tengocity]

OP, I do think there are odd cars where the sat nav has odd logic. I'm 57k miles in the F31 pro nav and it is quite superb I've found. I've used it all across Europe as far as Croatia and Poland, up to the highlands and down to Cornwall, and round most major cities of the U.K. It's had very occasional strange route, or perhaps had out of date info on a road but that's it.
But I've had it on 5 different cars now and one of them had issues like you describe- wife hated it and completely lost confidence in following its directions! I could usually tell when it was doing something weird but she just goes where it says!