[OhRichman]

Hi All,

I have been looking for a custom route navigation app for sometime. The integrated Porsche Nav as well as Google Maps will not allow the import or creation of a custom route. Rather, both options only look at the start and end points and then calculate the fastest route. Of course owning a Porsche is all about driving the back roads that you want with custom routes.

I just discovered the REVER navigation app. It allows you to create custom driving routes as well as import gpx files for turn by turn directions. The best part is it is integrated with Apple CarPlay and uses the in-dash display and car audio. It primarily is marketed to motorcycle riders, but works really well for sports car enthusiasts too. Annual fee is $49. www.rever.co
Highly recommended!

 

[DriveInHouston]

Thank you for the tip.

However, to set the record straight, you can make a custom route in Google Maps (preferably on your computer). You can set the start and end points and then 'correct' the route by picking intermediate points with the cursor and set them on the route where you want.

You can also add intermediate points (as addresses) in a route. Once you are finished designing a route, you can send it to your phone, pick it up and run with it.

 

[OhRichman]

Thank you for the tip.

However, to set the record straight, you can make a custom route in Google Maps (preferably on your computer). You can set the start and end points and then 'correct' the route by picking intermediate points with the cursor and set them on the route where you want.

You can also add intermediate points (as addresses) in a route. Once you are finished designing a route, you can send it to your phone, pick it up and run with it.

Have you done a custom route with Google Maps through Apple CarPlay? Every time I have sent a route I’ve customized on my desktop computer to my phone, it ignores the custom route and recalculates between the start and end point in Google Maps.

 

[DriveInHouston]

I did Austin, TX to New York exclusively on Google maps, with pre-designed routes. A day's route (about 400 mi.) would have 8-10 intermediate points and it is these intermediate points which prevent the re-calculation. It got down to the weeds when I tried to stay on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it stayed the course.

The only catch is when you stop, say for a cup of coffee and take the phone with you, it will ask you a cryptic question about your route and if you say yes, it will try its damnedest to take you back to the initial point in the morning and re-run the whole thing.

Attached is an example of routing (a Google Maps Screenshot)

The intermediate points were chosen, so that Google Maps would not go astray

 

[johan]

As mentioned above, if you pull the blue line and then export to you phone it will not work.
You have to choose every waypoint, and DO NOT fiddle with google maps in the car, just press Start when it is time.
You might loose it all, it happend to me after i had done a route for the local Porsche gang.
I was 20min from the starting point and was fiddliling around the waypoints and then all was gone..

If you have Navi/SC you can use Porsche Track Precision app to build a route but it will not tell you when to turn since it is a "track app"
To be able to use PTP in the PCM it needs wifi so things like Spotify will not work at the same time.

 

[DriveInHouston]

Obviously, this feature is not a prime time player (yet). In 2017 we went from Amsterdam to Bruges on bicycles. After about a month of trying to get Google Maps to

a) Define a course

b) Guide you on this course while biking

I gave up and bought a subscription to RidewithGPS. It has a free version which is quite capable, but the inexpensive $5/mo subscription gave me everything I needed to plan the route (the biking agency gave me .KMS routes which I imported to RwGPS and then added points for voice guidance ('in 50m make a left turn'). It worked brilliantly. I went back to the free subscription when we came back.

Back to the regular programming...

Johan, what I found useful is to send the course to my phone via Gmail. If you want the instructions, or lost them, or you want to start from an intermediate point, you open the e-mail, press the great blue button 'Show in Google Maps' and you get it back on CarPlay. If you are in the middle of the course and you want to restart and Google Maps is lost, you bring it up from the email, erase the start and all intermediate points you've been already past and then you follow directions to the next waypoint.

 

[alf_17]

I also use Google maps and make routes on the computer.
I start by dragging the route where I want it, and when done I can "convert" the drag-points to via points.
Then I just copy the url from the browser to my OneNote document on OneDrive, then open my OneNote document on the app on my phone and click the link to open the route.
It works really great, besides having to press "continue" each time you reach a via point, but it would be great if there was a way to use a "dragged" route directly.

Maybe I should give REVER a try...

 

[OhRichman]

Having experienced all the frustration with Google Maps that was commented on here, I can attest that REVER is way better. You can create a point by point routes and then have it delivered in the Nav with turn-by-turn guidance. Plus, you can import and export gpx files. You can also record routes while driving for future use. The routes can also be shared easily with other REVER users instead of having to download to gpx and emailing them.

 

[alf_17]

I just did a quick test with REVER.
I used a free trial to test the turn-by-turn directions and I started the navigation from my phone as I usually do with Google Maps.
While I was able to get the map on the screen via CarPlay, the route was not shown on the map, neither was any directions. I did however get audio directions.
I might have done something wrong as you would think that getting the route on the map and on screen directions are a must have.
If anyone got this part working I would like to know how.

The biggest problems for me however was the spoken directions.
I am used to the pronunciations of road names even in the Danish version of Google Maps and Apple Maps being a bit funny, but the English speaking woman in REVER is totally butchering the road names.
I guess the some of the letters used in the Danish alphabet like Æ/æ, Ø/ø and Å/å doesn't help much
I think Google Maps might still be my best option, but REVER does look promising.

 

[grasmere]

Anyone compared these with Waze?

not the prettiest map but my daily go to, never failed yet

 

[johan]

I just did a quick test with REVER.
I used a free trial to test the turn-by-turn directions and I started the navigation from my phone as I usually do with Google Maps.
While I was able to get the map on the screen via CarPlay, the route was not shown on the map, neither was any directions. I did however get audio directions.
I might have done something wrong as you would think that getting the route on the map and on screen directions are a must have.
If anyone got this part working I would like to know how.

The biggest problems for me however was the spoken directions.
I am used to the pronunciations of road names even in the Danish version of Google Maps and Apple Maps being a bit funny, but the English speaking woman in REVER is totally butchering the road names.
I guess the some of the letters used in the Danish alphabet like Æ/æ, Ø/ø and Å/å doesn't help much
I think Google Maps might still be my best option, but REVER does look promising.

That would not be the first time it happens to us up in the north.

 

[Racefox]

Would echo positive feedback on REVER. Have been using it for the past 2 months. While it's far from perfect, it seems like the best solution out there at the moment.

Plan your route at home, using their website. Then save the planned route as "Favorite" (heart icon), which will allow you to pull it up in the Rever CarPlay app.

I haven't been using turn by turn navigation, as I would normally have +30 waypoints, so I just follow the route on the screen.

Not sure if the subscription is necessary, tbh. Have been doing just fine with the free version.

If others are using comparable apps, please share your experiences.