In support of Sensus navigation

[NitramA]

I know that the Sensus navigation has some problems but I thought I'd share some love for the much-maligned Satnav.

We've just got back from a break in Cornwall where I would generally have defaulted to using Android Auto.
However, I got really fed up with it taking me down tight country lanes where I'd invariably meet up with either locals going too fast or other Satnavers' blindly following their guidance.
Whatever I seemed to do the bloody thing would try to steer me back down these narrow tracks.
In sheer frustration, I switched back to the Volvo system and it seemed to be much better with real-world guidance by sticking more to main roads.
I also traveled through Devon and again it seemed to provide more sensible routes.

I think that Google (and just about all other SatNav apps) use the maximum permitted speed to calculate a route. You therefore seem to find that a single track country lane (60mph max speed) is preferred to a 50mph main A road.
I also think that as the Sensus uses all the screen you can see the general direction you're traveling and can over ride any suspect turns more easily. It's much more difficult on the Tile based AA display.


Has anyone else noticed this or was I just lucky on this occasion?


I still prefer AA to motorway driving as it's much better in providing traffic updates.

[Den48]

Hi
I have also found the sensus navigation to be ok, admittedly I probably don’t travel as much as some people but when I have traveled to the coast etc the navigation has sent me down decent roads unless there is no alternative. I have owned tiguans in the past and they used drive me crazy sending me down single track roads with no apparent crossing places.
I would much rather do a few extra miles on half decent roads rather than single tracks. Volvo have recently had the smartphone integration on offer and if I was not happy with the navigation I would have jumped at it .

[skimm]

One big advantage in the plug-in models, is that the sensus satnav is linked to the hybrid system. It will switch between pure electric and petrol depending where you are (motorway or city)
Without the satnav, the hybrid mode defaults to running on electric until the battery is depleted.

[aj05]

In my previous car (v70) I used a Garmin satnav which used to drive me up the wall with its weird and wonderful routes down minor roads. i find the Sensus is better in this respect I know many people are critical of it as it doesnt have all the bells and whistles but if used as intended as a guide and with a bit of common sense it does its job well

[Deleted User 3629]

Never understood the criticism the sensus satnav has had, it is the best i'v used to date - and after using the Audi Q3 system, its a breath of fresh air

[Felindre]

Yea I generally find it fine, routes are sensible, and as mentioned the full screen display helps you see ahead. My only criticism is the user interface:
I selected a route recently, and it kept wanting to push me towards the motorway. i wanted the A road route, and it took a lot of hunting and sub menus to find "avoid motorways" option. In contrast the misses T-Cross this option is right off the main screen.
I also wanted to route via a particular place, the VW allows you to add way points, on the sensus I couldn't find any way to do this.

Generally quite happy with it.

[Sherwood]

I also wanted to route via a particular place, the VW allows you to add way points, on the sensus I couldn't find any way to do this.

This is a function I use quite regularly on another vehicle (a motorhome, so routing tends to be important).

I was sure I'd found the same function on Sensus, so I've just been and checked. It is easy .

Select your ultimate destination ("set destination"), and when it presents the option "Start Navigation". Then, select your intermediate destination(s) (waypoint(s)) in the same manner, from "set destination", but instead of "Start Navigation" use the "add as waypoint" option directly below. It will create an itinerary of the waypoint(s) and destination.

The itinerary can be accessed/edited by the "three dot" menu expansion in the left-hand frame.

[lovelyvolvo]

Sherwood is quite right, it is possible to set a Waypoint in Sensus. The feature is particularly useful on the PHEV where I regularly set the final destination as HOME when leaving the house and the first stop as a Waypoint. The computer then magically ekes out the electricity over both legs of journey.

[pwliv]

Interesting comments - to me Sensus is by far the worst Nav I have had in a car. Whatever the frequent updates are doing, it doesn't seem to be updating the road network changes, it is more prone to sending me on a much longer route because it thinks you can do 60 on a single lane road, and is very overoptimistic in terms of time, whereas Google is usually spot on (my understanding is that Google uses actual times from tracking users on the route). On a recent trip I stopped for petrol just past a junction it had told me to turn at. To my slight surprise it told me to turn left out of the petrol station instead of turning right and going 200 yds back to the original turning. I followed the directions, but when returning later I realised that that 200 yard backtrack would have saved about 10 minutes. All comes down to your experience, my BMW updated maps every 6 moths and each new map seemed to be up to date, Volvo update every few weeks it seems, and miss most of the changes.

[Andy40]

I find Senus nav works very well for me, full screen is excellent and having it in the drivers display is very good, clear indication and I find the traffic works well and from what I’ve found, accurate.

Only thing I’d like is when you put in your destination, it would give you options of routes to choose - like Apple maps does.