Citroen's marketing department pulled a bit of a coup getting SmartNav satellite navigation as standard equipment on duty van, but how good
There was a time when the possible revision of the technical characteristics contained in a panel van would have exhausted the subject immediately after the motor that drove the wipers and the hinge that stopped the visor from falling. Today is a different story with the leading commercial vehicles sporting all sorts of gadgetry as something obvious. Send Citroen is one of the most tech-laden trucks on the market and our long term test that was given a golden opportunity for us to get a bit nerdy with both, em count, satellite navigation systems.
The car satellite navigation gadget of the moment. The technology has promised to send a tattered road atlas of the nation's history and the elimination of in-car argument between spouses that proliferate at a dramatic pace, but all vehicles tested by the microscopic citycars in luxury rooms, the Citroen Dispatch was the first of up to two satellite navigation systems installed. Yes, that's right, it took two Sat navigation settings and a van.
The reason for this odd little provision may be traced to the link between Citroen commercial vehicles and TrafficMaster. The agreement is that all Citroen Dispatch vans have SmartNav TrafficMaster as standard but Citroen also offers a full screen map Sat navigation system as an option. Our mission was to install an optional setting, but as the system is free SmartNav was chucked out anyway.
"SmartNav is more than a standard package of satellite navigation
This game of fate presented the perfect opportunity to assess both sides regime to another. Not only is the cost of separating them, but as always, is a critical factor. When SmartNav comes standard with sending a package that includes a three-year subscription to the navigation and stolen vehicle tracking service, the voluntary system comes at a premium of just over £ 1.000. This is where fleet managers in the form of a separate national trend toward SmartNav.
The reason why the mission is able to bring us the system is that standard SmartNav SmartNav is averaging satellite navigation system. The small blue touch screen is mounted on the upper right corner of the dashboard Allocation what you have is a real time interface with the control center TrafficMaster. You can program your destination, just as you would an integrated system, then, SmartNav connects to the remote computer TrafficMaster which feeds the route. This enables TrafficMaster to incorporate real-time traffic updates using information derived from the average speed of SmartNav users as they cross different parts of the road. The mission package includes a 3-month subscription to the service that informs you of delays and allows you to re-routing to avoid them.
SmartNav is more timeless than most competitive products such as software can be upgraded remotely by TrafficMaster. The screen is the only item on board and act as liaison with computer mapping and processing back TrafficMaster HQ. The lack of any expensive computers on board, CD mapping also helps to keep costs low and means that there are companies with fleets of vehicles are forced to invest in expensive technology on board which is not highly regarded by the secondhand market. The question is, how well does it work?
NaviDrive Citroen's onboard system provides for competition in our mission and there is no doubt that the large color screen of the map is easier to follow the small screen SmartNav monotony of it. It offers individual graphics to indicate the direction to turn or to correct exit off the roundabouts, but you are largely on the expressed instructions. NaviDrive One drawback is that the CD mapping should be inserted in the CD player in the mission for the system to function. Navigate NaviDrive and listen to your favorite music is not an option.
When SmartNav excels is in the use of live traffic information. TrafficMaster monitor the average speed over the whole road network in the United Kingdom and can detect delays feeding information back to customers. When a delay is detected on your route and there is a faster alternative, the system offers SmartNav to recalculate to avoid it. This has the potential to save companies significant amounts of time, but found that it is also useful when you're stuck in traffic. SmartNav continuously adjusts your ETA based on road conditions ahead so that you know everything about how long the trip will take. This can be brutally depressing when your time of arrival spirals out of control as you sit motionless, looking at the rows of brake lights slipping away into the distance, but at least you know.
SmartNav is less effective when dealing with human error. Take a wrong turn and the system can be flummoxed, the collection completely, linked to the re-established plan for the route. Usually sorts itself back in time, but without a map screen that shows you how to get back on track, you have to wait and take the actions which are not always easy.
The final toss-up between SmartNav and integrated NaviDrive certain factors must be considered. If it comes down to the basic act of coaching, is to get drivers to destinations in the simplest possible way. The system NaviDrive large-screen map and button control interface, just about shades. The choice SmartNav gets a bit too long to react when a foul by the path of a wrong turn and lacks a map of any kind, although the touch screen controls are fairly intuitive.
This is not the whole story though. SmartNav provides an extra dimension to real-time traffic updates and the ability to lead you around the worst hold ups. It appears, too, when approaching a fixed speed camera position at speeds in excess of the threshold and has integrated Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking system. SmartNav is more than a standard package of satellite navigation and is free to the mission. Although we can see the logic in some companies paying a premium of £ 1.000 NaviDrive system that covers the basics better, SmartNav do a decent job for much less.
You get to use three years to navigate and locate services SmartNav but the standard package for the mission includes just three months of live traffic information and a month of speed camera alerts. Having tried them, we believe that most owners will want to continue recording after the expiration of the initial period. It's what SmartNav apart.
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