Re: A 4000 mile road trip in my '03 LS430

While I agree with most comments about the LS430 I certainly take
exception to the NAV system remarks. Other than southern CA or other
very major centers there is no route guidance and even in Phoenix it
had trouble locating one of the Lexus dealers. It also makes using the
radio and AC system a chore as you are continually accessing screens
for commands. Save your money on the NAV. You might want to look at a
portable system that can be modified through a computer and also be
used in more than one car.

Jo-Anne,

For the vast majority of my trip, I didn't experience the "No route
guidance" issue you mentioned.

A few times I did experience that, but only at the smaller, more
recently created locals. Even then, the Nav system got me close
enough (within a block or so) so I could easily find what I was
looking for.

The Nav system is not perfect, but I found it a tremendous help on my
journey, and would want it on any trip I take.

I agree with your comments about the radio and AC systems being more
cumbersome, but I've gotten used to the screens now, and find it only
minimally annoying.

On 24 Jun 2003 06:20:26 -0700, goodman (AT) c2i2 (DOT) com (Jo-Anne) wrote:

While I agree with most comments about the LS430 I certainly take
exception to the NAV system remarks. Other than southern CA or other
very major centers there is no route guidance and even in Phoenix it
had trouble locating one of the Lexus dealers. It also makes using the
radio and AC system a chore as you are continually accessing screens
for commands. Save your money on the NAV. You might want to look at a
portable system that can be modified through a computer and also be
used in more than one car.

Although I live in Southern California, I have found the NAV system to be
almost flawless. I typically drive between Mexico and San Luis Obispo and
enjoy the accuracy and time to destination feature. Regarding the audio and
climate, I don't typically do any adjusting of the climate control other
than to move the temp up or down if I have someone else in the car. The
steering wheel controls can change both the station/CD tracks as well as
from one CD to the next. It can also cycle through all of the audio choices.
All without the screen being active. Radio stations and CD tracks can also
be cycled with the control to the right of the cassette slot. The control
to the left cycles the CDs. The buttons below the cassette slot take you
directly to the desired feature with the exception of FM which has three
alternatives.

I only have 10,000 miles on the car but I have rarely used the screen for
any audio or climate functions. I took a bit of getting used to but it's
great now.



"Helmar Herman" <BenAndMarsha (AT) mail (DOT) com> wrote

Jo-Anne,

For the vast majority of my trip, I didn't experience the "No route
guidance" issue you mentioned.

A few times I did experience that, but only at the smaller, more
recently created locals. Even then, the Nav system got me close
enough (within a block or so) so I could easily find what I was
looking for.

The Nav system is not perfect, but I found it a tremendous help on my
journey, and would want it on any trip I take.

I agree with your comments about the radio and AC systems being more
cumbersome, but I've gotten used to the screens now, and find it only
minimally annoying.

On 24 Jun 2003 06:20:26 -0700, goodman (AT) c2i2 (DOT) com (Jo-Anne) wrote:

While I agree with most comments about the LS430 I certainly take
exception to the NAV system remarks. Other than southern CA or other
very major centers there is no route guidance and even in Phoenix it
had trouble locating one of the Lexus dealers. It also makes using the
radio and AC system a chore as you are continually accessing screens
for commands. Save your money on the NAV. You might want to look at a
portable system that can be modified through a computer and also be
used in more than one car.