996 Sat Nav - how good?
Discussion
Straight question; looking at used 996's and wondering whether this is an option worth differentiating on?
My nav experience with Land Rovers has been very good - their system is excellent and works well with UK postcodes. A lot of (very pissed of) friends and aquaintances tell me BMW nav is s
t as far as postcodes go and my own (brief, 6 months) experience with an Audi A6 proved frustrating with regard to the navigation system. Hence the question.
My nav experience with Land Rovers has been very good - their system is excellent and works well with UK postcodes. A lot of (very pissed of) friends and aquaintances tell me BMW nav is s
t as far as postcodes go and my own (brief, 6 months) experience with an Audi A6 proved frustrating with regard to the navigation system. Hence the question.Not 100% sure but I think there were two different systems on the 996 depending on the age, upgraded as part of the facelift I think.
I had a 2004 car with the later nav and although I didn't think I'd ever use it (was already running sat nav on my iPhone prior to getting the car) I ended up using the built-in one all the time and got on well with it. If you like postcodes then it will not be for you though... it doesn't take them!
I had a 2004 car with the later nav and although I didn't think I'd ever use it (was already running sat nav on my iPhone prior to getting the car) I ended up using the built-in one all the time and got on well with it. If you like postcodes then it will not be for you though... it doesn't take them!
I have a 996 Turbo with PCM1 (early) Nav.
I find it surprisingly good with the only exception that it doesn't accept postcodes.
It is good for addresses and I have found every one I have needed so far. It is really accurate (i.e. turn now is actually exactly where you need to turn), much more so than my iPhone Sat Nav.
You will need to upgrade the maps but I got the most recent map disk for about £20 and it really does have every road on it.
I don't think the PCM2 (later) Nav is particularly different with the main difference being it has a CD player rather than cassette on the PCM1. Both use a separate DVD player for the Nav Disk I believe.
Upgrading to an after-market Nav will probably be better but beware that doing this on a PCM2 is near on impossible given the fact that they use optical connections. Upgrading a PCM1 system is very easy I believe.
HTH
M
I find it surprisingly good with the only exception that it doesn't accept postcodes.
It is good for addresses and I have found every one I have needed so far. It is really accurate (i.e. turn now is actually exactly where you need to turn), much more so than my iPhone Sat Nav.
You will need to upgrade the maps but I got the most recent map disk for about £20 and it really does have every road on it.
I don't think the PCM2 (later) Nav is particularly different with the main difference being it has a CD player rather than cassette on the PCM1. Both use a separate DVD player for the Nav Disk I believe.
Upgrading to an after-market Nav will probably be better but beware that doing this on a PCM2 is near on impossible given the fact that they use optical connections. Upgrading a PCM1 system is very easy I believe.
HTH
M
The issue with Porsche sat nav of the era is that it doesn't allow address entry by way of post code.
It actually gets a little worse than that. You need to know what Porsche thinks the town you're going to is - not necessarily where you or I might think you're destination is located ! We, as an example have a postal address of Iver Heath. We are very close to Uxbridge (closer than to the centre of Iver Heath, but Porsche had decided we are located in Iver, a few miles away. You come across this quite a lot.
It's not a bad thing to have sat nav fitted and often it comes with a few other bits and bobs as well, the first owner got a bit tick happy. Don't lose sight of the fact that the 996 is getting on a bit now, so I'd be more worried about the fundamentals rather than what bits were fitted when new.
Henry
It actually gets a little worse than that. You need to know what Porsche thinks the town you're going to is - not necessarily where you or I might think you're destination is located ! We, as an example have a postal address of Iver Heath. We are very close to Uxbridge (closer than to the centre of Iver Heath, but Porsche had decided we are located in Iver, a few miles away. You come across this quite a lot.
It's not a bad thing to have sat nav fitted and often it comes with a few other bits and bobs as well, the first owner got a bit tick happy. Don't lose sight of the fact that the 996 is getting on a bit now, so I'd be more worried about the fundamentals rather than what bits were fitted when new.
Henry
It depends what you want really. I have a Ford OEM and although it isn't great, it is very quick to set up and use and so convenient.
I have TomTom on my iPhone and while is is good, setting it up is awkward especially having to stick it to the windscreen etc. If I want to change anything while I am going along it is fiddly to do and it is very quiet plus can't mute my music or deal with a phone call (separate car phone).
The Porsche I thought was rubbish but having used it a few times I am quite liking it. One gripe is that it doesn't show you the whole route like TomTom and my Ford one do. Where I live, going West can mean either going down to the M25 or round the top of the A14. I almost always want to go the A14 route which is always quicker but usually slightly further on paper. The Porsche Sat Nav always sends me the M25 way but it just means I have to ignore it until I am some way along the A14.
M
I have TomTom on my iPhone and while is is good, setting it up is awkward especially having to stick it to the windscreen etc. If I want to change anything while I am going along it is fiddly to do and it is very quiet plus can't mute my music or deal with a phone call (separate car phone).
The Porsche I thought was rubbish but having used it a few times I am quite liking it. One gripe is that it doesn't show you the whole route like TomTom and my Ford one do. Where I live, going West can mean either going down to the M25 or round the top of the A14. I almost always want to go the A14 route which is always quicker but usually slightly further on paper. The Porsche Sat Nav always sends me the M25 way but it just means I have to ignore it until I am some way along the A14.
M
Henry-F said:
It actually gets a little worse than that. You need to know what Porsche thinks the town you're going to is - not necessarily where you or I might think you're destination is located !
Even the LR system has blind spots - towns or villages which are not listed, as I recently found trying to locate Ramshorn when following the Tour of Britain bike race - but postcodes, if you have one, it will find every time. Hence my interest.Henry-F said:
It's not a bad thing to have sat nav fitted and often it comes with a few other bits and bobs as well, the first owner got a bit tick happy. Don't lose sight of the fact that the 996 is getting on a bit now, so I'd be more worried about the fundamentals rather than what bits were fitted when new.
Thanks and agreed. As sleep_envy says, best rely on aftermarkt add on, although the inconvenience of having to hide them every time you park the car is unwelcome.If the car has other options such as sport chrono, PSE, Bose and the like - forget the satnav. It's out of date now and will be out of date when you sell it.
I just bought a C4S with PCM2; waste of my time. Use a map or your existing sat-nav, you'll live without it and downstream other buyers will see it as either retro (cool) or a waste of 5 square inches of dashboard (pragmatic).
Go for performance options, you'll enjoy the car better in the long run. Besides who cares if you get lost, you're in a Porsche!
I just bought a C4S with PCM2; waste of my time. Use a map or your existing sat-nav, you'll live without it and downstream other buyers will see it as either retro (cool) or a waste of 5 square inches of dashboard (pragmatic).
Go for performance options, you'll enjoy the car better in the long run. Besides who cares if you get lost, you're in a Porsche!
You also need to consider that most portable units (especially Tom Tom) allow you to connect the device to your computer to download all manner of useful additions - updates, personal points of interest, extra maps, dodgy voices etc.
You simply can't do this with fixed units, hence they tend to "age" the car in a time of rapidly moving technology.
Come to think of it is there a correlation between the life of the engine and the time the sat nav is out of date? mmmmmmmmmm interesting!
Perhaps we have reached the age of the truly throw away disposable car. Sat nav out of date, engine buggered - buy a new one!
You simply can't do this with fixed units, hence they tend to "age" the car in a time of rapidly moving technology.
Come to think of it is there a correlation between the life of the engine and the time the sat nav is out of date? mmmmmmmmmm interesting! Perhaps we have reached the age of the truly throw away disposable car. Sat nav out of date, engine buggered - buy a new one!
I don’t disagree with the comments regarding the NAV's functionality BUT the system (PCM2) was great in my 996 Turbo.
I drove all over Europe and it never once let me know nor failed to get me to my destination. This was most apparent when heading to the Nurburgring. My fellow traveller was heading there in his own car using his TomTom (affectionately referred to there after as StopStop. Every time someone called him and the Bluetooth function kicked in he lost his nav. worse, whenever running through a densely wooded area he also lost signal and therefore his way.
The Pork nav is based on satellite and wheel movement sensors meaning it can still keep track of you through very long tunnels, handy for the Italian/French/Swiss/Austrian borders.
Yes the lack of post code input was a pain but my current Audi S5 nav is the same! allows street level post code entry but that’s a bit rubbish when you’re looking for an address on "Manchester Road".
The Virgin pretty much sums it up. Tis a nice to have if the rest of the car checks out.
I drove all over Europe and it never once let me know nor failed to get me to my destination. This was most apparent when heading to the Nurburgring. My fellow traveller was heading there in his own car using his TomTom (affectionately referred to there after as StopStop. Every time someone called him and the Bluetooth function kicked in he lost his nav. worse, whenever running through a densely wooded area he also lost signal and therefore his way.
The Pork nav is based on satellite and wheel movement sensors meaning it can still keep track of you through very long tunnels, handy for the Italian/French/Swiss/Austrian borders.
Yes the lack of post code input was a pain but my current Audi S5 nav is the same! allows street level post code entry but that’s a bit rubbish when you’re looking for an address on "Manchester Road".
The Virgin pretty much sums it up. Tis a nice to have if the rest of the car checks out.
I don’t disagree with the comments regarding the NAV's functionality BUT the system (PCM2) was great in my 996 Turbo.
I drove all over Europe and it never once let me know nor failed to get me to my destination. This was most apparent when heading to the Nurburgring. My fellow traveller was heading there in his own car using his TomTom (affectionately referred to there after as StopStop. Every time someone called him and the Bluetooth function kicked in he lost his nav. worse, whenever running through a densely wooded area he also lost signal and therefore his way.
The Pork nav is based on satellite and wheel movement sensors meaning it can still keep track of you through very long tunnels, handy for the Italian/French/Swiss/Austrian borders.
Yes the lack of post code input was a pain but my current Audi S5 nav is the same! allows street level post code entry but that’s a bit rubbish when you’re looking for an address on "Manchester Road".
The Virgin pretty much sums it up. Tis a nice to have if the rest of the car checks out.
I drove all over Europe and it never once let me know nor failed to get me to my destination. This was most apparent when heading to the Nurburgring. My fellow traveller was heading there in his own car using his TomTom (affectionately referred to there after as StopStop. Every time someone called him and the Bluetooth function kicked in he lost his nav. worse, whenever running through a densely wooded area he also lost signal and therefore his way.
The Pork nav is based on satellite and wheel movement sensors meaning it can still keep track of you through very long tunnels, handy for the Italian/French/Swiss/Austrian borders.
Yes the lack of post code input was a pain but my current Audi S5 nav is the same! allows street level post code entry but that’s a bit rubbish when you’re looking for an address on "Manchester Road".
The Virgin pretty much sums it up. Tis a nice to have if the rest of the car checks out.
It's not great, especially as time/technology moves on, but it'll do the basics and, despite its shortcomings, it's still useful for resale (it's nice to have the screen there, even if you don't use it for sat-nav).
Various version over the years, PCM1, PCM2 etc etc.
When PCM2 came out, everyone waxed lyrical about how wonderful it was, and how much better it was than PCM1. Now PCM2 looks archaic next to the most basic of Tom-tom units. It's probably the same situation with the 997 units.
That's just how technology is....
Various version over the years, PCM1, PCM2 etc etc.
When PCM2 came out, everyone waxed lyrical about how wonderful it was, and how much better it was than PCM1. Now PCM2 looks archaic next to the most basic of Tom-tom units. It's probably the same situation with the 997 units.
That's just how technology is....
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