Touch & Go 2 poorly rated by Which

[estate]

The latest reviews by Which magazine, rates Touch & Go 2 poorly and recommends that if your considering an entry-level vehicle, opt for a dedicated Sat Nav, like a TomTom Go 5200, it'll be easier to use and offer much better visual guidance. I agree, that's its poor Sat Nav system that needs some serious work done to it. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

To put the above into context, 9 systems, including Toyota's, were reviewed in Sept 2017, and 5 reviewed August 2018.

Scores were, in descending order:

Peugeot 3D/Citroen Nav - 73%

BMW Professional Multimedia - 72%

Renault R Link 2 - 70%

Kia LG - 68%

Ford Sync 3 - 67%

Mercedes Map Pilot - 66%

Audi MMI Navigation Plus - 62%

Dacia Media Nav Evolution - 62%

Vauxhall Navi Intellilink - 62%

Volvo Sensus Navigation - 59%

Toyota Touch & Go 2 - 54%

Volkswagen Discover Media Pro - 51%

Which? thought a Best Buy standalone sat nav was better value than those systems above scoring below 70%.

[Heidfirst]

Personally I don't think that Touch 2 with Go is that bad (& I say that having spent 2 weeks using Waze as a driver during the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow) & I do think that a lot of users don't explore it fully.

On the other hand, it is a nearly 5 year old system in production (so even longer in design) & I would take bets that the new generation RAV4 & Auris will have a new system.

[DaveAuris]

I completely agree with Which. The Touch 2 system is awful. The user interface is all over the place - sometimes you press buttons, sometimes it’s words, sometimes you have to select options that are not fully visible on screen, sometimes you choose icons. The routing algorithm is poor - it sends me in an infinite spiral, it sends me off main roads only to rejoin them 100m later, it send me along bridleways that are just mud and its time estimates are way off. The bluetooth is difficult to pair with and to reattach to - give me my VW bluetooth any day. It is actually is putting me off buying a new Toyota when my lease runs out. I have just taken the car on a holiday in France and we gave up and used Google Maps, sadly. 

[Heidfirst]

1 hour ago, DaveAuris said:

I completely agree with Which. The Touch 2 system is awful. The user interface is all over the place - sometimes you press buttons, sometimes it’s words, sometimes you have to select options that are not fully visible on screen, sometimes you choose icons. The routing algorithm is poor - it sends me in an infinite spiral, it sends me off main roads only to rejoin them 100m later, it send me along bridleways that are just mud and its time estimates are way off. The Bluetooth is difficult to pair with and to reattach to - give me my VW Bluetooth any day. It is actually is putting me off buying a new Toyota when my lease runs out. I have just taken the car on a holiday in France and we gave up and used Google Maps, sadly. 

which version are you running?

[estate]

Toyota needs to own up and admit that thier system is awful and whoever is responsible for designing and manufacturer it for them, need to be shown the door. When you get some people being swayed away on the choice of thier next car, because of the awfull system they have, its time to wake up. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

15 minutes ago, estate said:

Toyota needs to own up and admit that thier system is awful and whoever is responsible for designing and manufacturer it for them, need to be shown the door. When you get some people being swayed away on the choice of thier next car, because of the awfull system they have, its time to wake up. 

In which case you need to voice your opinion to Toyota rather than on an independent forum.

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, estate said:

Toyota needs to own up and admit that thier system is awful and whoever is responsible for designing and manufacturer it for them, need to be shown the door. 

well, it is the same people that do Mercedes' & many others ... Harman (now part of Samsung). https://www.harman.com/sponser/connected-car-partner

[estate]

So Scott, if its the same company that's producing the BMW system, that's rated very highly in the report, who is "tweaking" Toyotas system to make it so bad? 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Presumably each system is designed to the vehicle manufacturer's needs at the time, and the same goes for mapping. These aren't off the shelf systems.

[DaveAuris]

18 hours ago, Heidfirst said:

which version are you running?

I bought car car in March 2016, but I'm not sure which version the software is. How do I find the version number?

[DaveAuris]

18 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

In which case you need to voice your opinion to Toyota rather than on an independent forum.

I am going to tell the Toyota garage I bought the (new) car from that it is not fit for purpose and does not meet the advertised specification. I assume I will need some very clear evidence, so I will replicate the problems for them to see. I will let you know how I get on.

[FROSTYBALLS]

18 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

In which case you need to voice your opinion to Toyota rather than on an independent forum.

The above comment refers to Toyota GB, rather than a specific dealer.

4 minutes ago, DaveAuris said:

I am going to tell the Toyota garage I bought the (new) car from that it is not fit for purpose and does not meet the advertised specification. I assume I will need some very clear evidence, so I will replicate the problems for them to see. I will let you know how I get on.

The issue with this approach is that unless you've raised the issue with the dealer before, legally as you've had the car for around 2 years 5 months, it will be deemed to have been fit for purpose for that period of time.

[Heidfirst]

1 hour ago, DaveAuris said:

I bought car car in March 2016, but I'm not sure which version the software is. How do I find the version number?

Iirc it is setup>general>scroll down to system information.

Touch 2 with Go received a major UI etc. update during 2016 so it is possible that you are unhappy with a system that hasn't been current for the last 2 years (we'll know when you come back & tell us the version no.) ...

Imo the first thing that the garage will do re. your complaint is ask what system you are running & then say that you should (have) update(d).

[Heidfirst]

10 hours ago, estate said:

So Scott, if its the same company that's producing the BMW system, that's rated very highly in the report, who is "tweaking" Toyotas system to make it so bad? 

Well, they will get an outline design brief from the manufacturer - what it must do, what they would like it to do if possible in budget, what it must interact with & cost (development, unit, through life etc.) etc.

Parts of costings are volume related. Afaik Touch 2 is used by Toyota only in the European market (N. America uses a different infotainment system, Entune) not incl. Aygo (a Pioneer system possibly chosen by PSA) & it isn't standard in all cars so you are probably looking at under 300,000 units per year. BMW's iDrive (once the most reviled system on the market) is now in version 7 & afaik is now standard fit in all BMWs, Rolls Royce & a cut-down version in Minis so probably 2,000,000 units per year.

Also, you need to look at the price of the vehicles that they are fitted to - e.g. it isn't fair to compare a system in an Auris to that in a 750 or a Rolls Royce. Professional is an £840 option on top of the standard nav in a 3 series.

To be fair, iDrive is in version 7 because they appear to change/upgrade the system more often than Toyota Europe - BMW appear to work on a roughly 30 month cycle where Toyota Europe look to be changing infotainment platform on a roughly 4 or 5 year cycle. I have already said that I expect a next generation system to appear in the 2019 Auris & RAV4.

Btw don't think that I am saying that Touch 2 with Go is perfect - it obviously has it's flaws (many of which are shared with other systems/apps) but if you get to know it it is usable.

[DaveAuris]

On 8/21/2018 at 7:28 PM, Heidfirst said:

Iirc it is setup>general>scroll down to system information.

Touch 2 with Go received a major UI etc. update during 2016 so it is possible that you are unhappy with a system that hasn't been current for the last 2 years (we'll know when you come back & tell us the version no.) ...

Imo the first thing that the garage will do re. your complaint is ask what system you are running & then say that you should (have) update(d).

My software version is: 4.5.0WL and the Map ID is: 2015v2. Are the updates free?

[estate]

My Touch 2 with Go Plus is software version 6.8.2WH/ dated 16 Feb 2017. So you'll need to update before complaining about the system. I believe they are free to update for the first 3 years of a new vehicle. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

As far as I'm aware the three year free updates were available on vehicles first registered after a set date - which may be 1st April 2016 - so you will need to check with Toyota/your Toyota dealer whether your car is entitled to the three years free updates.

[estate]

Sorry my software version is: 6.9.0WH and the Map ID: 2017 v1. 

[DaveAuris]

Great thanks for all the help. I will talk to the dealer and let you know how I get on.

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

As far as I'm aware the three year free updates were available on vehicles first registered after a set date - which may be 1st April 2016 - so you will need to check with Toyota/your Toyota dealer whether your car is entitled to the three years free updates.

I think that this is true of the "Low" version which WL signifies DaveAuris has. The "High" version had 3 years free updates prior to that.

& the version that he has mentioned is pre the major UI update.

[Heidfirst]

Maybe BMW systems aren't that much better ...  https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=153&t=1763128