I'm Mad!! U.S A6, no Navigation Plus?
03-19-1999, 06:06 AM
#1
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I'm Mad!! U.S A6, no Navigation Plus?
Just read Autoweek. They stated that U.S bound V8 A6s will not receive the Navigation plus system found in Europe. They were concerned about the 5-inch display having twice the accident rate as vehicle without the system. Bad move Audi, They are systems in the U. S that already have 5-inch displays. The U.S bound A6s will have a system that works using a combination of arrows and voice commands. What kind of NAV system is that? People want a Navigation system that shows a MAP, and a little dot that signifies where your car is in reference to the map. Audi, you are screwing up. Most of the NAV systems in the U.S are like the one I just mentioned. I was seriously considering the V8 A6, to replace my A4 when my lease is up. I'm not to sure now. I'll probably end up with a Lexus GS400. The GS400 has a NAV system that includes a 5-inch display. If Audi wants the A6 to compete with the GS400 BMW 540, E430, it has to match or beat the Them in every area. However if the V8 A6 is priced aggressively, I might reconsider.<p><br>Tony
03-19-1999, 09:01 PM
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A4 to 540 is a better move, IMO!
I'm getting a 2000 540 this summer/fall. I've done a lot of research on this. If you liked your A4, you'll LOVE a BMW 540! It has the same general proportions as the A4 (just bigger and faster), looks MUCH better than the GS400 IMO, is more of a driver's car (Lexus is a bit antiseptic), and it's German and thus has more character. <p>While the Lexus corners and brakes better, the BMW is faster, still brakes and corners very well (60-0 in 122 ft, lateral acceleration is .85) Plus, the 540 has the option of a manual or Steptronic (like Audi's Tiptronic, but more sport oriented) which is MUCH better than the Lexus auto. So the 540 is more of a driver's car.<p>The GS400 seems to have more problems and quirks than you would typically expect from a Lexus. So don't go with Lexus just cause of reliability/quality issues. All these high performance sedans seem to have more problems because of their very nature (they're on the edge of the performance envelope).<p>The Mercedes isn't as athletic as the others (0-60 6.2-6.5 vs. 5.8 for the BMW (5.5 for the manual) and 5.9 for the Lexus); leaning more toward luxury. It's bigger (more rear seat room), but looks more balky. You just don't get as much sporting finesse with the E430. Now, you could go with the supercharged E55, but then we're talking BIG bucks (over 70K)!<p>I'd certainly take the Audi V8 A6 over the Lexus! The BMW 540 is just considered the best sports sedan by most auto publications.<p>Rick
03-20-1999, 07:29 AM
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This is what we were told when we were in Germany.
We had dinner one night with a guy from the Marketing department at Audi AG. He told us not to expect the Nav Plus system in America for a couple of years. The reason behind this was that the U.S. "wasn't properly mapped yet". There might have been a little mis-comunication between us, but I took it as that the company that supplies Audi with mapping CD-ROMs for the Nav Plus system didn't have the maps for the US available yet. Once they get a supplier for US maps that work on the system I'm sure that it will be available shortly after. I would guess that the 2001 model will have it in it or shortly after.<p>As for the Navigation System itself, we had the Plus system in our A6 and it was pretty cool. While the map feature was neat, 90% of the time we had it set up to just an arrow (in the trip computer and main disply) and voice commands. To me the map was just a neat little toy and not really all that helpful when driving in the city. If you tried following just the map with no voice commands/arrows I can imagine that you would get in an accident quick. But on the open road it was pretty cool to see the map scrolling around as you drove. One other thing, I personally think Audi should work on the software interface a little bit. It was kind of a pain in the a** to input street names and city names, I think we could have found the places on the map and drove to them in the same amount of time that it took us to imput the names into the computer. But it was a life saver when trying to get around a forgien country. <p>BTW, we actually used it in German for the first 1/2 day, until we figured out how to set it to english. <p>Matt<p>
03-20-1999, 08:16 PM
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Owing a BMW 540 is too blend in with other 5-series on the road, that's why I decided to wait for the A6 V8...here's my list:
2) Lexus GS400<br>3) S-type V8 (haven't driven it, but sounds good)<br>4) Mercedes E430 (has more character than 5-series)<br>5) BMW 540