2005 BMW X3

For the most part, I've found automotive navigation systems more of an amusement than a viable tool. I'll turn on the nav screen so the kids can watch as we approach the house, their school, whatever. For them, it's a video game that's very real. I was always good with a Thomas Guide and that was usually enough to get me where I needed to go.

Recently, I found myself 60 miles north of Las Vegas on a deserted stretch of Nevada pavement. According to my $12 map, the road did not exist; when the road split I was twice as lost. I'd literally forgotten the BMW X3 had a navigation system. The screen was folded neatly in the center of the dash and virtually invisible. As the desert temperature rose to triple digits, I pushed a few buttons and literally found myself.

BMW's navigation system is as close to magic as it comes. The very thought that the car is triangulated with multiple satellites flying miles overhead boggles the mind. In the X3, you are never lost. It doesn't matter where you are.

So this road I'm on that doesn't exist shows up on the BMW's screen. Moreover, it shows I need to hook a left at the fork to get back to the main highway. There's no way in hell I would have ever known that without benefit of BMW's nav system. While stopping for gas (average 20-27 mpg), I peered deeper into the nav menus. Within its memory was the name, address and phone number of my hotel. A sexy voice then told me exactly how to get there and how long it would take. Being the dyslexic slob I am, I ended up off course. Miss Computer gently urged me to make a u-turn. When I did not, she simply re-plotted the course.

Although navigation systems have been with us for years, BMW's highly detailed maps and easy interface make Luddites like me re-think using them. As a $1200 option, the nav system ain't cheap but it is very good. Given what I'll save in future map purchases, the system will pay for itself within a year or two. We will also most likely save money thanks to the BMW's electronic parking assist. It's already saved us from several parking garage catastrophes.