Got the Discover Media blues

[Idle]

Recently I moved from a Mk 6 Golf TDI103 to a Mk 7 TDI110 Highline.

Everyone who drives it (myself included) or even rides in it when the thing's working complains about the spoken directions from the Discover Media SatNav.

"In xxx metres, turn right/left/whatever into the road/street/motorway (incomprehensible mumble.)" all spoken with a very strange accent that reminds me of computerised speech from several decades ago.

The actual maps (NavTeq, I think) appear somewhat better than those on the RNS510 (at least, they're more comprehensive and seem to have less errors) but that awful voice ruins the whole experience.

Also, has anyone found a way to have it avoid tollways without also avoiding freeways and twisting and turning through myriad back streets?

[DV52]

Recently I moved from a Mk 6 Golf TDI103 to a Mk 7 TDI110 Highline.

Everyone who drives it (myself included) or even rides in it when the thing's working complains about the spoken directions from the Discover Media SatNav.

"In xxx metres, turn right/left/whatever into the road/street/motorway (incomprehensible mumble.)" all spoken with a very strange accent that reminds me of computerised speech from several decades ago.

The actual maps (NavTeq, I think) appear somewhat better than those on the RNS510 (at least, they're more comprehensive and seem to have less errors) but that awful voice ruins the whole experience.

Also, has anyone found a way to have it avoid tollways without also avoiding freeways and twisting and turning through myriad back streets?

"Discover Media Blues"? What a great title for a song!
Seriously, your lament about voice pronunciation on the SATNAV is equally shared. I've been trying to get VWA to admit to the problem for nearly 6 months now without any joy. I even have a letter from them saying that the voice function is as designed by their third party provider (nothing wrong with it). Hard to believe that such a good car could warrant such a dud SAVNAV facility.

Can't say that I have noticed the link between freeways &. Tollways. I had thought that what the SATNAV calls motorways was equivalent to freeways. I'll check mine again

[Idle]

"Discover Media Blues"? What a great title for a song!
Seriously, your lament about voice pronunciation on the SATNAV is equally shared. I've been trying to get VWA to admit to the problem for nearly 6 months now without any joy. I even have a letter from them saying that the voice function is as designed by their third party provider (nothing wrong with it). Hard to believe that such a good car could warrant such a dud SAVNAV facility.

Can't say that I have noticed the link between freeways &. Tollways. I had thought that what the SATNAV calls motorways was equivalent to freeways. I'll check mine again

That's about the reply I'd expect from someone who doesn't have to use it.

Maybe we should take it up with NavTeq (Nokia, I think?)

As to bypassing tollways, mine warns you if there are toll roads on the route, but there's no option to avoid them without also avoiding freeways — this may be by design (money talks...)

Just found something else interesting: Needed to go to a back street in Ringwood (VIC) that I didn't know.

Typed RING into the setup and got Ku-ring-gai Chase, with no option for anything else. Repeated attempts had the same result.
Eventually used the postcode option instead (press the PCD button on the bottom left) and it appeared to work except it said the address was Melbourne, not Ringwood.
Cancelled and started over — now it would find the list of towns beginning with "R" — including Ringwood!. And yes, it took me where I wanted to go.

[Nauend]

Navigation pronunciation

I wonder when the map update will be available that fixes pronunciation.

Just driven 1000 kms in the highline, and first time I've used the satnav for long periods of time, and some of the standout weird pronunciation so far:

Real word: roadway (I guess)
What the satnav says: roadworm

Real word: highway
What the satnav says: he why

Real word: Barton
What the satnav says: baaytn?

Real issue with words containing the letter A.

[Lupo]

The pronounciation is definitley a bit odd - I can't decide if it amuses or annoyes me. It depends on my mood.

I believe the system uses "text to speach" technology and many street names from the map provider are written as "Rd" and "Hwy" and therefore these ones in particular are not pronouced properly. When the voice says "follow the road for x kilometers" it pronouces the word "road" correctly. And I noticed that sometimes the road numbers are used instead of the names. That's a European thing. I guess someone needs to revisit the programming.

My dealer told me that the issue has been reported to the factory but no fix has communicated yet.

[Nauend]

And mway (maybe mwy as you've noted) comes out mworm. Twelve as tee elve.

May just be a mapping glitch, but it also just tried to get me to drive up an exit ramp for traffic travelling the other way! I didn't follow it's advice as the cars coming down it would have been annoyed, so went past that ramp, and it then change to advising I use the correct entry way to the motorway.

[Nauend]

and some more feedback, after a trip of around 3000kms up the coast and then back inland.

It gets directions wrong (perhaps map errors?).

Twice the map went black - just the red car symbol showing - I can only assume it did not have base map info of any sort but at least it did not talk during this part.

Is poor in it's routing decisions, or follows some simple predefined paths - one leg of the trip the Sat Nav advised a 6hr/600k path as the fastest route, direct was 30 mins more, and scenic was more again. I new there was a faster path, so added a town as a waypoint, and the recalculated trip dropped to 5hr/500 kms! In a more common situation it can take you three or four more streets further than you need to go to get to a destination.

Restaurant Advice shows McDonalds, Subway - even ones hundreds of KMs away - and not local eating joints even though they may be shown with the knife and fork symbol on the map display.

Pronunciation as mentioned by others before, and numeric street naming which it also cannot pronounce.

If going on a long trip, check your routes first with Google Maps or use a phone which will be more reliable.