Just a few years ago, I would question the value of any navigation system. The cost didn't justify the benefit. Why would anyone pay a few thousand dollars for a digital map -- especially when you could buy a high-tech, hand-held system for a few hundred dollars or a paper one for 99 cents?

The only benefit to some of those navigation systems the hand-helds didn't offer was a backup camera. And while I like the next gadget, how often would I even use it? I know where I work, where I live and the location of most of the places I go, a nav system seemed extravagant and expensive.

However, navigation systems today offer a slew of features that forced me to re-evaluate their benefits. These systems are much more than mere glowing electronic maps mounted in your dashboard, they are personal assistants with the potential to read your text messages, find the cheapest gasoline and route any vehicle around traffic bottlenecks.

Easy to connect other devices

Now, Nissan Motor Co. will begin offering a navigation system for a few hundred dollars this January on some of its high-volume, low-price cars. Call it Navi for the masses.

During a quick test of the system in a Nissan Sentra, I found it on par with some of the most expensive systems available. The 5-inch touch screen and intuitive instructions meant I could do everything I needed without ever consulting the owner's manual or calling Nissan's public relations department on how to connect the phone or find a specific function.

The system, developed by Bosch and Nissan, mounts directly into the dash and comes complete with a host of features such as Bluetooth connectivity for your phone, USB connections for your personal music device, easy operation of your iPhone, XM satellite and XM Traffic NavTraffic. It's complete, simple and 400 bucks.

This thing changes the equation completely on weighing costs and benefits. When it's priced on par with some of the top-of-the-line hand-held navigation systems, I would much rather have it mounted directly in the dash. Sticking something to my windshield can only lead to it falling off and the annoyance of cords mucking up the clean lines of the dash.

Better yet, the system was easy to connect with my iPhone and tuck away in the center console and jam tunes. Additionally, when you arrive at your destination, you can disconnect a fully charged iPhone and head out. If you choose to leave the device in the car, it is out of the way. Other windshield mounted devices have to be stowed and that takes a few minutes. Today's savvy crook also may know a few things about cars and could still bash out your window if he sees that tell-tale suction cup mark on your windshield -- even if the device is out of sight.

The Bluetooth connection with the phone also works very well. A button on the steering wheel allows the driver to answer and hang up, and connecting the phone to stereo means when the phone rings, you don't have to reach for the volume before answering the call. Actually, the moment the volume drops on the stereo, you know a call is coming your way. Additionally, the system downloads your phone's contact list and call register to make finding the right number on the touch screen very easy.

Perhaps the only serious drawback is the screen's size, which at 5 inches gets very crowded with information.

Best deal around

The color LCD screen can provide mapping views from straight above the point or a three-dimensional view that looks as if you're viewing yourself from an airplane. I prefer this view as it seems to provide better context to the map and where you're headed.

If you have XM satellite, you'll have easy touch-screen access to the multitude of channels ranging from pop music and talk radio to lifestyle shows and crass comedy channels. The XM NavTraffic also will keep you updated on specific problems in your area and, if you ask it to, route you around a troubled, slow-moving area.

This system also will create an Eco-Route, which is a greener way of driving. The system calculates the best route to save fuel and cut CO2 emissions. I don't blame Nissan for adding this feature because a lot of consumers seem to want it, but that doesn't mean it's not silly.

What's not silly is this unit's low price. When it arrives in January, it's a feature customers will certainly enjoy. The only other company with an inexpensive navigation device on its vehicles is Suzuki Motor Co., which offers a Garmin GPS navigation device on the SX4 crossover. That system adds the advantage of portability because the Garmin unit can be pulled out of the Suzuki and taken with the driver; the Nissan unit cannot.

However, Nissan provides one feature Garmin doesn't: The new unit also can be connected to a backup camera.

While the new Nissan navigation system feels like a breakthrough with all of its features and low price, I wonder how long it will last. The advent of smart phones seems to undermine many navigation systems and as soon as someone invents a backup camera app, it will hurt them even more.

But until then, dollar for dollar, the new Nissan system is one of the best deals around.

sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217