Car H2.0, Where Are You?

Buying Advice
>>Don’t waste time looking for differences in the map information—all automotive GPS manufacturers get data from the same two companies, NavTech and Tele Atlas.


>>The GPS tech itself also varies little among manufacturers. One unit might track a few more of the 20 orbiting GPS satellites than another, but in everyday use these differences are nominal.


>>More important are factors such as how good the maps look, how intuitive the interface is, how quickly it calculates routes, and how easy and expensive it is to update map data. (Factory-installed systems generally update via a DVD, others use CDs with regional data, and portable units typically rely on data downloaded from the Web. Costs range from $30 to $100 for a new version or region.)


>>Avoid any device without automatic route recalculation, which constantly updates your route based on where you are right now—useful if you stop along the way, or miss your exit while fiddling with the iDrive.

Using Your System
>>Heed the warning screens—don’t tinker with these things while driving. Do your programming while at a standstill, or let your passenger do it.


>>Likewise, don’t become hypnotized by the moving maps. We know the little arrow is cute—that’s you!—but it won’t keep you from roaring into the back of a slow-moving minivan.


>>Specify all the functions you want enabled or disabled. Enroute from Washington, D.C., to New York, my test Lexus RX330 kept demanding that I take the next exit and head west to the Pennsylvania Turnpike—something that just isn’t done on this trip. “Why? Why!?!?” I screamed at the female voice emanating from my dashboard. The answer: I had told the unit to avoid toll roads.


>>Don’t fret if your display shows you jumping between the north- and southbound lanes—most units are programmed to snap to the nearest road. Generally, GPS will place you within 50 feet of your actual location though newer units use WAAS—a combination of satellites and ground stations—to nail it to within 10 feet.


>>The little point-of-interest symbols that show up on the screen can tell you something about a community you’re driving through. Swanky Old Town Alexandria in northern Virginia, for example, was all knife-and-fork icons (restaurants). In a blue-collar burb in northern Baltimore: little wrenches (mechanics). You can cut this social profiling—and declutter the screen substantially—by activating this function only when you really need a bite, a museum or a state park.