Multi Media

[leddy]

Hi Guys can anyone give me advice on whether or not to pay the extra and go for the MM option on my pending purchase of the 220D SE-L

Reading comment's in here the sat nav is completely NAFF but the ML sound is excellent. Does anyone know if Lexus will be updating the sat nav or what? It’s seems like a lot of money to pay for something that’s not up to the job. Sounds like my £160 Garmin Sat nav will do a better job

Cheers

Leddy

[John Morris]

Just got my IS220d last week wonderful.

I was in 2 minds on the MM kit but it is so much more than just a sat nav. The Bluetooth phone is great and works fine at 90mph, the reversing camera is proving useful and very impressive as is watching dvd's in stationery traffic. It is so well integrated with the rest of the car, audio, climate control etc. all controled via touch screen it should be standard.

So far (7 days) the sat nav has proved pretty accurate.

The best bit for me is that after you enter your destination, it advises constantly of jams or delays on route even telling you how long the que's are or for how long there is slow traffic, road works, lane closures etc. something I think you pay extra for on protable sat navs. plus there is no hassle charging batteries, wires and the dam thing stuck in your line of site.

I came on the site tonight to find out how to burn my mp3 collection to a single DVD, something not possible without MM.

Great choice of car you'll love it especially with MM

[romaro]

Hi Guys can anyone give me advice on whether or not to pay the extra and go for the MM option on my pending purchase of the 220D SE-L

Reading comment's in here the sat nav is completely NAFF but the ML sound is excellent. Does anyone know if Lexus will be updating the sat nav or what? It’s seems like a lot of money to pay for something that’s not up to the job. Sounds like my £160 Garmin Sat nav will do a better job

Cheers

Leddy

I went for it, and was very glad I did.

The ML sound is superb, you certainly won't have any complaints with that.

I personally have no problems with the sat nav. I use it all the time and find it to be accurate, and very quick to recalculate routes if you change your mind. I've yet to see any inaccuracies or missing data - though I don't doubt they're there. The software behind it is the best I've seen, and I'm sure there will be updates to the map data in the future (if there aren't already).

The quality of the screen is also extremely good (and of course allows you to watch DVDs with surround sound courtesy of Mr Levinson!) - a nice touch is that it switches to night-mode once it's dark enough outside. The touch-screen is also where you'll control a lot of the stereo and climate control options - it works well for this, although I suspect good old fashion buttons would be slightly quicker and more intuitive to use.

The reversing camera definitely makes life easier and seems to be the gadget that gets the most "oohs" and "aahs" when showing off your new motor!! :D

The Bluetooth phone connection is also part of the MM package and that works very well (though it can be a bit fiddly to set-up and transfer contacts to the car).

The voice-control is a bit of a gimmick. If nothing else, it is fun to guess at commands and see what "she" makes of them ("she" being the satnav voice, that also responds to the voice commands - sounds like a sensible middle-aged lady...probably called Maude).

[Buzzz]

Hi Guys can anyone give me advice on whether or not to pay the extra and go for the MM option on my pending purchase of the 220D SE-L

Reading comment's in here the sat nav is completely NAFF but the ML sound is excellent. Does anyone know if Lexus will be updating the sat nav or what? It’s seems like a lot of money to pay for something that’s not up to the job. Sounds like my £160 Garmin Sat nav will do a better job

Cheers

Leddy

Go for the MM, if you don't you will regret it! I had a loan car for 2 weeks which only had the standard stereo system installed, I missed everything, sat nav, parking camera, The sound!!, the integrated telephone, had to wear an ear piece for a week to answer the telephone legally. All in all, I would say spend the money and enjoy the investment.

[Sagitar]

Go for the MM, if you don't you will regret it! I had a loan car for 2 weeks which only had the standard stereo system installed, I missed everything, sat nav, parking camera, The sound!!, the integrated telephone, had to wear an ear piece for a week to answer the telephone legally. All in all, I would say spend the money and enjoy the investment.

I agree entirely with Buzzz. The satnav falls short of others I have used in some respects, but it is adequate if used carefully, the display quality is excellent and having it permanently installed is worth a lot. The hands-free is the best I have ever used and the audio controls are made so good by the large display, that I wouldn't ever want to go back to peering at buttons. Then of course there is the ability to play DVDs. I have "The Phantom of the Opera" in the player at the moment and I play it whenever I have to wait anywhere for a few minutes. The sound reproduction is so good. The only problem is that I enjoy it so much that it is difficult to stir myself to drive off when the time arrives.

[Noel]

also will make the car alot more desirable come resale time... ;)

[paulsmansfield]

I've just ordered one without. Can't justify the price. £200 for TomTom is fine with me.

[Northern Boys Luv Gravy]

Well.. I was faced with this conundrum when I bought my 250 SE - whether or not to pay the £2700 extra for the MM. In the end I just couldn't justify the extra money. The Satnav was nice, the ML sound system was a bit better than the standard set up and the reversing camera was a nice gimmick even if you didn't trust it 100%. If it had been say £1000 - £1500 I would have snapped their hand off but £2700 was too rich for my blood and I haven't regretted it. I don't know if 3 years down the line the lack of the satnav will make the car less desirable but the way I figure it is that it won't be £2700 less desirable and the satnav will probably be out of date anyway.

[romaro]

I agree entirely with Buzzz. The satnav falls short of others I have used in some respects, but it is adequate if used carefully, the display quality is excellent and having it permanently installed is worth a lot.

I'm curious about your "adequate if used carefully" comment - personally I find it great and don't give a second thought about using it. Should I be more careful??

I'm probably being a bit of a Lexus zealot here too, but I also struggle to see where it falls short.

[Sagitar]

but I also struggle to see where it falls short.

I suppose it depends upon what others you have used and what facilities you want. My in-car system chooses some very peculiar routes on occasion. For example, it persistently ignores the by-pass around my local town and does not even offer it as one of the three alternatives presented. Its biggest failing lies in its inability to cope with detailed route planning in advance and the lack of provision for retention and storage of planned routes. I assume that this is always going to be a problem with a DVD based system with no removable, re-writeable storage. What it needs is a pluggable, removable, in-dash module with a hard drive that can be connected to a PC. Even a built-in hard drive with a USB connector on the dash that allowed route planning on a lap-top would help.

But if all you want is one-point to one-point navigation and you get into your head a pretty good picture of the route required and don't just trust everything the machine says, then it's fine.

[DarrenJBird]

and don't just trust everything the machine says, then it's fine.

That reminds me a news story this week.

A women turned left down the tracks at a level crossing and he defence in court is going to be because her SatNav told her to

So lets take her to a cliff and get SatNav to tell her to drive off it.... Would She???

[saracen]

I have had my SE-L with MM for over 12 months now and still LOVE it, given the alternative: a TomTom or similar stuck in the window. Plus I prefer the idea of an integrated set-up, just makes the whole car look cleaner without any trailing wires or bits stuck on the windscreen.

Yes it is pricey and personally I wish Lexus had allowed the package to be split so that you could buy the Sat Nav with out the stereo upgrade as I think more people would have preferred this but in comparison to other manufacturers it still represents VERY good value for money. Compare with BMW and you would pay in excess of £3000 for the same set up.

If you can afford it then I can whole heartedly recommend it. If not for the amount of Ooohs you will get when people see the reversing camera in operation :P