Are TomTom Updates Reliable?

[KenMO]

I'm looking at buying a CX-5 this spring and taking a hard look at the navigation system. I saw this article http://news.cnet.com/8301-33620_3-57561236-278/tomtoms-lifetime-maps-are-useless-if-it-takes-a-lifetime-to-update/ that drags TomTom over the coals for a poor track record at timely updates. He's talking about portable units though. Does this apply to their in-dash units too?

P.S. I have a Garmin portable unit. Their updater software is horrible. It constantly crashes on my computer.

 

[Nodnerb]

Some people hate the nav in the cx-5. If its a big concern to you, you'll have to look into it and decide for yourself. There are lots of threads on here about the nav system. I personally cant answer your specific question though, just giving you a heads up.

 

[PhoenixINX]

They may drag Tom Tom over the coals, but compare that to other in car devices, many of which don't see an update during their entire lifetime.

I recently updated the software (was SIMPLE on our Win8 PC via the Tom Tom software), and opt'd not to spend the $59 for quarterly updates (yearly subscription), as all of the roads in our area haven't changes in ages.

No complaints for use to date.

 

[MikeM.]

I'm looking at buying a CX-5 this spring and taking a hard look at the navigation system. I saw this article http://news.cnet.com/8301-33620_3-57561236-278/tomtoms-lifetime-maps-are-useless-if-it-takes-a-lifetime-to-update/ that drags TomTom over the coals for a poor track record at timely updates. He's talking about portable units though. Does this apply to their in-dash units too?

Then TomTom has inferior maps to Garmin's but the biggest hurdle is the Nav system offered with the CX-5 is almost unusable unless you are happy navigating to addresses. I like to input routes, not addresses. Sometimes I like routes with multiple waypoints which is not pratical on the TomTom. I like to choose my destination by pointing to a location on the GPS map but this is not practical with the TomTom. I like to look at GPS maps much like a paper map but the TomTom does not have adequate details when zoomed out to look at the big picture and the level of map detail displayed at various zoom levels is not adjustable (not even a little bit). This, IMO, makes the TomTom essentially unusable. Last week I input my holiday destination (as an address) into the TomTom but it took me to a point three blocks away (even though the neighborhood street numbers have not changed in over a decade). I love my two Garmin GPS's but the TomTom is crap. But the CX-5 is so good in so many other ways I am willing to overlook Mazda's mistake with going with TomTom. Hell, even a Magellan would be better.

BTW, the Garmin updater software is stable and good. You may have a bad install or some other incompatibility but I've had good luck with it on three or four different computers (all PC's). The purchase codes can be a bit of a pain in the ass but the software itself seems very good.

 

[KenMO]

Then TomTom has inferior maps to Garmin's but the biggest hurdle is the Nav system offered with the CX-5 is almost unusable unless you are happy navigating to addresses.

.

I almost always navigate to a specific address (or something picked from a POI list). For occasion when I need to navigate to something more generic (such as an intersection or GPS coordinates), I don't mind using a phone or a map.

BTW, the Garmin updater software is stable and good. You may have a bad install or some other incompatibility but I've had good luck with it on three or four different computers (all PC's).

Maybe I'm not doing it right then. The software usually crashes on me. This is on just my one PC put it seems to happen every quarter when I try to update. For all of the update problems I have, I also live my two Garmin GPS units (mine and my wife's). I wish Mazda would've used Garmin for their in-dash software. I think Chrysler does.

 

[davidhbrown]

the Nav system offered with the CX-5 is almost unusable unless you are happy navigating to addresses. I like to input routes, not addresses. Sometimes I like routes with multiple waypoints which is not pratical on the TomTom.

We played a "fun game" with the nav system when we were taking an unusual route home to bypass some severe weather and clogged roads this holiday. It was interesting to see how far it was willing to backtrack, trying to take us back to the main interstate highway even though it supposedly knew that route was full of accidents and slowdowns. (We were not trusting it entirely, having gotten used to Google maps on our phones over the past few years.) Kept canceling the route and trying again... eventually if figured out what we were doing and identified the route we were following.

(I would not have bought it except that we wanted the HID headlights in the tech package.)