SD Sat Nav and detour

[Holymoly]

So I was on the M6 at the weekend travelling back to Scotland and the sat nav alerted me to an incident about 35 miles north. Shortly thereafter the traffic report broke in telling me it was an overturned caravan between Preston and Lancaster. I was caught between despair and excitement. I feared a mighty tailback by the time I got there however another part of me looked forward to finally seeing the sat nav do its stuff and detour me around the jam. As I got to about 20 miles away the sat nav began to do its calculations. Now bear in mind that this part of the M6 has plenty of junctions and that the A6 runs pretty much parallel to the motorway. By this time I was getting road reports saying two lanes had been shut down so I was expecting the satnav to have no issues whatsoever finding an alternative route that would save me time.

Imagine my dismay when the nice satnav lady told me she could find no alternative that would save me any time whatsoever!

Ever the optimist I hoped that this meant that the holdup was going to be minimal. Unfortunately I was disappointed. I ended up being held up for over an hour!

I've only had my A6 for a couple of weeks and was hoping the satnav would be able to out perform my old XTrail but in terms of detouring it can't compete at all. Anyone know if there are any tweaks I can apply to my setup to help it work a little more helpfully?

My Xtrail, while quite prepared to offer detours was always a little reluctant to return me to my original route and would just keep me going on the new route until I reset it to allow it to get back onto the motorway. Anyone got any idea if the A6 has any chance of just rerouting you around the incident then returning you to the original route once you are passed the problem?

I do feel that in this instance the Audi satnav didn't quite live up to expectations, or am I expecting too much?

[d3mon]

I gave up on the Audi Nav (which once suggested a 2 mile detour to come back to the very same roundabout I was waiting at!) and now exclusively use the Waze app on my mobile.

[isleaiw]

Unfortunately I have had similar experiences with a couple of VW satnavs (Passat and Golf mk7) and the audi seems about as good.... I have yet to come across a built in unit that is anywhere near as clever as Tom Tom or Garmin for rerouting. Its got to the stage where I read the matrix signs and listen to the radio reports and then force it to find me a new way by just turning off and heading in broadly the right direction (and carry a Garmin just in case :))

Ian

[Bar Shaker]

The biggest problem is the traffic speed input data that it bases the diversion decisions on. If there is only one TMC unit in a 20 mile traffic jam, it is unlikely that your sat nav will divert you. If there are several in the jam, it most likely will divert you.

The system is very like a chess programme in that it analyses all the alternatives and looks at which will give the most gain. I regularly drive from Essex to Hamble. Which way I am sent around the M25 will always be as a result of the data from multiple TMC reporting points.

[Pikey Narna]

Can't beat carrying a good old fashioned AA road atlas (others are available) £4.99 from the local garage

[Holymoly]

Can't beat carrying a good old fashioned AA road atlas (others are available) £4.99 from the local garage

While I don't disagree with you in principle it's a bit tricky to look at a book when you're bombing up the outside lane at 85mph with Beethoven's 9th blasting out making full use of the subwoofer.

[asr]

Holymoly don't you mean 70mph?

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[fest0r]

Obviously it was on the autobahn (Beethoven etc.) and while in the passenger seat... officer :D

[Bar Shaker]

I still rue the day I lost my Little Chef map of Great Britain.

[Holymoly]

Holymoly don't you mean 70mph?

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Oops......yes.....damn autocorrect...

[noscream]

So I'm not going to disagree with anyone here because:

I've had the detour that ends up 100 yrds further down the road.
I've had the route that makes no sense and puts you back in the traffic.

BUT

I have MMI Navigation plus
I have tech pack which gives Audi connect.
I have realtime traffic licence on Connect.
I have TMC Data turned off
I have set my car to find "Quickest route"
I have Traffic data on. (via TEL MENU connections)
I Have NAV - Criteria - Dyn. Congestion Avoidance.

Now it works & reroutes, the worst bit is learning to give it a bit of trust, it rerouted me but did not tell me why, so I ignored it, only to find myself in a jam 5 mins later. But generally, I find the route on-line if it's new and get a general idea & alternative if needed.....

The system takes about 2 mins to get settled on-line and then it works well.

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[wildbore]

How about this for a pointless detour:

Every week I drive down the M6 Toll from the North. Every week -every single week - it tries to take me off the toll half-way down and onto the A38 for about 8 miles (for the duration of the A38 that runs directly adjacent to the M6 Toll) before putting me back on the toll, at which point I incur a second toll charge.

The first time I thought it was helping me avoid a traffic problem so I followed its advice; once I was back on the Toll and subsequently the M42, I then spent a happy twenty minutes with my passenger playing the "Ooooh! do you remember that lime green Micra? We passed that back near Stafford" game.

I have looked on the map and I can't see much in it mileage-wise, but it shouldn't do this as it adds about 5-8 minutes to my journey.

Anyone else had the same experience?