Personal pick: An SUV with direction

While my colleagues have discussed the merits of two- and three-row SUVs in their Personal Picks, I want focus this month on a pet peeve of mine that came up while driving models from the August test group. The nit I will pick here is with built-in GPS systems that can't be used when driving.

One day in June, Associate Editor Jim Travers picked me up at my house and we spent the day at the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center driving the full-size pickups we're now writing up. During our drive across Connecticut in the Lexus RX350, we encountered a mysterious traffic jam. There was no warning on the radio. It was just five or so miles of unreported, slow-moving, stop-and-go traffic.

I figured we'd just call up the destination on the integrated navigation system and find a route around the mess. Unfortunately, Lexus had other ideas.

In order to minimize driver distraction (and possibly to avoid lawsuits), addresses can't be entered or modified in the Lexus GPS systems if the vehicle is moving. (Admittedly, this is also true of many integrated systems.) So, in the slow creep of a traffic jam, as the passenger, I couldn't use the GPS. Our choices were to get off the road and stop, pull off to the shoulder, or stay stuck in traffic.

The first choice, getting off of the road at a random exit, defeats the purpose of GPS. You use GPS to KNOW where to go, not guess. Sure, the system could re-route you, but the exit could also put you on a road heading in the wrong direction, without an accompanying on-ramp to return to the highway. Pulling off was unappealing, with the narrow shoulder and clogged, bumper-to-bumper traffic.

So, we stayed in the traffic jam for a few miles, until we reached a familiar exit. Pulling off, we stopped at a traffic light long enough for me to call up our destination.

Jim and I both vented at the system for dictating to us what could be done during this situation. Another staffer ran in to the same scenario recently while on family vacation. In this case, the family was driving down the highway at speed when finding a lunch stop became a priority, yet the front passenger couldn't use the point of interest feature to find a nearby restaurant.

These navigation systems are too expensive to be this frustrating. We both believe it would be better if the built-in navi would link to the occupant classification system in the front passenger seat. If the front seat is occupied by an adult, it should allow him/her to input route and destination changes.

And, if you must know, my personal pick for a mid-sized SUV is actually a sporty wagon such as the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3 Series, or a Subaru Legacy GT.

--Jon Linkov