XC60 - Google Maps - Endless Problems
 

Hi,

I had a great expectation on Google Maps in my XC60 - 2022 model, and it turn out to be less than Average Navigation application experience . On every OverTheAir update, functionality keep degrading, with latest update I lost keyboard search ability . I can only set destination over the speech (Would be lucky if Google Speech recognizes, most of the time it fail it get German street names) and not by keyboard search as Search text box disappeared from Map view. I can recover by manually re-starting IVI system every time I start the car. It's pathetic to see such kind of basic functionality isn't working in premium car segment.

Other common Google Map issues are
1. Lack of lane view in motorway exits often makes me to take wrong exit in case voice guidance is on mute.
2. It's not possible to search along the route, only standard category search option is provided. I can't search for a place to add a stop over on an existing active route.

Google maps experience is a disappointment even by comparison to what's available in standard Mobile application.

I lose the search bar too
 

I agree the the Google Maps experience is still far from acceptable. That loss of the search bar that you experience seems like a bug. It happens to me too, the search bar is usually there when I start the car, but after I navigate to a location it often disappears and then I can only navigate with voice input. I found an upgrade to google was stuck as pending, and after several resets it finally installed and a different, smaller search bar came up. I thought it was fixed, but after my first use of navigation the search bar disappeared again.
I understand voice input has its limitations, but I find saying "add stop at ...." works pretty well for searching along the route. Seems like they remove the visual search functions maybe for nanny safety reasons and because they don't allow for having a passenger who wants to find stops along the route. Google nav sure seems like a work in (slow) progress.

Things that are needed for Google Maps in version 2.2 of the OS:
(1) a physical dial/button for zooming in and out (as I have in my Porsches); it's just too finicky zooming in and out by tapping the + and - signs on the infotainment screen or pinching the screen ...
(2) better colors and thicker road lines like we have in our iPhone, CarPlay, and laptop/desktop versions of Google Maps, including especially for traffic-flow depiction ... I end up using CarPlay to project Google Maps for this reason (which is also finicky but which makes it easier to view map details at a quick glance)...
(3) The search box at upper left needs to be delete-able ... it just takes up too much space and is a pain to keep tapping to "minimize" ...
(4) When you push "re-center", it also re-zooms to default size (roughly 2 miles on a side); it should stay at the zoom level that you've set when you ask it to re-center...
(5) Getting rid of the bugs in the software so that Google Maps doesn't freeze up; i.e., make it as robust and good-looking as what's in my iPhone...
(6) Add in a permanent scale bar, as I get with Google Maps on my laptop/desktop computers and can get on my iPhone (when pinching to zoom)...
(7) Asking for too much: get rid of the old Sensus vertical screen and create a new horizontal screen embedded in the dashboard, which is better for viewing maps and for viewing multiple panels (maps along with date/time along with music/audio along with car stats or energy diagram, etc.).
(8) Allow Apple CarPlay to show Google Maps on screen 1 (the "home screen"), top panel, instead of just Apple Maps.