Eta

[mr. shr]

Hi guys,

What is the ETA like on your command?

When ever I enter a destination, the ETA is always way over actual.
For example a journey that normally takes 90 mins will initially come up as taking over 2 hours (with or without TMC).
The ETA gets better the closer you get to your destination, but you need to be about 10 mins aways before it's spot on to the actual time.

I had an APS30 in my W208 and that was always spot on, plus/minus 1 or 2 mins for the same journeys.
The other day I was a passenger in a car with an NavMan and that also was spot on.

Anyone else find their ETA is out by a long way?

 

[pammy]

You will usually find that the longer your journey the more variation you will get. This is because of the variables that you encounter and your driving style which your sat nav cannot necessarily account for. Sat nav will usually work on the speed limit, I think some can be set differently though. so if you drive faster then you will get there quicker. Hit a major hold up and you're stuffed. If your sat nav applies delays for road works and/or delays expected en route and these don't materialise then again you will save time.

The nearer you get to your destination the more accurate your eta becomes.

Basically your eta is a calculation based upon how your sat nav is set up for that specific journey allowing only for the conditions the sat nav expects to prevail - these conditions change, the eta changes.

 

[mr. shr]

You will usually find that the longer your journey the more variation you will get. This is because of the variables that you encounter and your driving style which your sat nav cannot necessarily account for. Sat nav will usually work on the speed limit, I think some can be set differently though. so if you drive faster then you will get there quicker. Hit a major hold up and you're stuffed. If your sat nav applies delays for road works and/or delays expected en route and these don't materialise then again you will save time.

The nearer you get to your destination the more accurate your eta becomes.

Basically your eta is a calculation based upon how your sat nav is set up for that specific journey allowing only for the conditions the sat nav expects to prevail - these conditions change, the eta changes.

Granted,
but assuming no roadworks, accidents, diversions and diving at NSL all the way it is still way out, every time.

Doing like for like comparisons, between the APS30 in my (now sold) CLK and the COMAND in my S, there is a large difference (for identical journeys and conditions). Specifically, I'm referring to a journey we do quite often. Both nav units do exactly the same route and always took/take about 90 mins. Seems strange there's such a difference between the two.

 

[Shude]

I find that my comand ETA is pretty accurate, or at least it would be if I drove at exactly 70mph on the motorway and every set of traffic lights was red.

I can beat the initial ETA by 10 minutes in a 60 minute journey if it's nearly all motorway and no traffic at all.

 

[harveyn]

My eta is typically very good on the comand,perhaps a little conservative.

I have a becker cascade in my other car, where you can select the type of vehicle you are, and if necessary you can adjust it between settings. Despite being a 'fast' driver, for me the best setting was half way between a saloon and a sports car. I don't think the comand is adjustable in the same way.

It would be nice if you could adjust it to your 'style' of driving.

 

[BTB 500]

It would be nice if you could adjust it to your 'style' of driving.

It should pick that up from the adaptive gearbox and/or suspension!

 

[Nibbo]

How odd, I find mine to be fairly accurate.
I even went on a journey that COMAND said would take approx. 4 hours and 10 minutes. It was out by 10 minutes. So pretty good.
If anything mine is a little optimistic on shorter journeys stating miracle times to cross Cheltenham in the rush hour.
On the whole thought pretty reliable.

 

[mr. shr]

How odd, I find mine to be fairly accurate.
I even went on a journey that COMAND said would take approx. 4 hours and 10 minutes. It was out by 10 minutes. So pretty good.
If anything mine is a little optimistic on shorter journeys stating miracle times to cross Cheltenham in the rush hour.
On the whole thought pretty reliable.

Hmmm.........something not right with mine then.

The only reason I questioned it is because my old APS30 was so good at telling me what time I'd be arriving, I was expecting the comand to be even better (or the same) but certainly not worse.

I always use the nav, even on journeys I know, so I know how long I need to stay awake!!!
But it's always so misleading on my S.

Worried about it now.
Why couldn't you all just tell me your comands also gave false ETA'a?!?!?!

 

[comports]

Not sure on your version but are there user preference settings in there. eg. I can set what type of road to use in preference order ie. motorway, then toll then A road then B road etc.. I can also set the standard things like speed for Motorways (I usually set this at 80) and then for A roads (60) and then B roads (40) etc..

I would check these as they may all be set lower than you expect to do hence increasing eta..?

 

[mr. shr]

Not sure on your version but are there user preference settings in there. eg. I can set what type of road to use in preference order ie. motorway, then toll then A road then B road etc.. I can also set the standard things like speed for Motorways (I usually set this at 80) and then for A roads (60) and then B roads (40) etc..

I would check these as they may all be set lower than you expect to do hence increasing eta..?

Good point. I know you can set tyre sizes etc (I've checked and these are fine) but not sure about road speeds etc.
Are these settings that can be changed on COMAND?
I'll have a look later.

 

[caveman]

I'm glad somebody has started this thread. After several long trips (in both the UK and France) with the new ETA enabled E-class COMAND I too have noticed the problems with the default settings. I find that the ETA is reasonably accurate when driving on motor-ways but that it is much too conservative on secondary roads. As far as I know, there is no way of altering these parameters inside COMAND. The real problem with this divergence is that when you set a "Fast" or "Dynamic" route, the computer will usually prefer a much longer (distance) route than the "true" optimum. Many times it would send me on long looping detours on motor-ways or auto-routes when in practise the more direct route would be quicker. My only "fix" for this is to normally have the setting fixed on "shortest" - but, of course, this means that i can't benefit from TMC re-routing. It's very annoying...

 

[MBManInKen]

What is the ETA like on your command?

On mine, I have found it to be pretty accurate, for both short and long trips. On our recent trip to the continent, it was almost spot on for every leg of the journey.

 

[ShinyF1]

Mine is pretty accurate, and improving as we get to know each other better!

It even seems to anticipate when I run just a tad over the speed limit on motorways - very clever.

Just one problem - it gets confused between am/pm occasionally

 

[Spinal]

From what I understand, the new system calculates your journey assuming you will go at 85% of the national speed limit (or was it 90%?). NOT the full speed limit - this might be throwing you off...

Try driving at 60mph on the highways, and you'll notice a difference

Michele

 

[mr. shr]

Try driving at 60mph on the highways, and you'll notice a difference

Michele

How upset would my 4.3 ltr V8 be if I didn't take it above 60mph?!?!!?

Boys and their toys!!