TMAP's Estimated Arrival Time Off by up to 22 Minutes... Hyundai/Kia Genuine Navigation Was the Fastest

The 'recommended route' guidance of navigation systems shows a large difference from actual driving times, requiring caution from users. According to a MOTline video, a recent comparison test of four navigation services (TMAP, Kakao Navi, NAVER Map, and Hyundai/Kia genuine navigation) showed that significant errors occurred between the estimated arrival time announced at the time of departure and the actual arrival time.

TMAP's Arrival Time Delayed by 22 Minutes After Recommended Route Guidance... Controversy Over Prediction Accuracy

The most notable point in the test results was TMAP's prediction error. In the first test moving from Yeouido toward the National Assembly Office, TMAP announced an estimated arrival time of 4:56 at the time of departure. However, the actual arrival time was 5:18, taking 22 minutes longer than the announced time. The presenter pointed out that "if you go by the initially announced 4:56, it took a whopping 22 minutes more," noting the phenomenon where the time continues to increase because the recommended route fails to properly reflect actual traffic conditions.

In particular, dissatisfaction with TMAP's route guidance grew even more during the return trip. The presenter mentioned a situation where the route guided by TMAP kept the driver in congested sections, causing the estimated arrival time to continuously delay, saying, "It feels like it's intentionally picking only congested roads." The presenter criticized, "Most users press the 'recommend' button without separate settings," adding, "They trust and select the estimated arrival time of the recommended route, but it is a problem when the time increases drastically during actual driving." The video specifically depicted situations where the route guided by TMAP passed through city areas instead of taking the Gyeongbu Expressway or kept the driver in congested sections.

Hyundai/Kia Genuine Navigation Shows 'Twist' as the Fastest Actual Arrival Time

On the other hand, Hyundai/Kia's genuine navigation showed the best performance in this test. In the first test, the genuine navigation expected an arrival at 5:02, but it actually arrived at 5:04. This result was actually 5 minutes faster than the estimated time announced at the time of departure. When compared based on the final arrival time, the genuine navigation set the fastest record by arriving at the destination in 57 minutes. Following this, Kakao Navi recorded a 4-minute delay (compared to prediction), NAVER Map recorded a 13-minute delay, and TMAP recorded a 22-minute delay. Accordingly, the presenter added, "I recommend actively utilizing Hyundai/Kia genuine navigation for long-distance driving, such as during holidays."

During the testing process, the initial estimated times presented by each navigation showed large differences as follows. TMAP announced 1 hour 5 minutes, Kakao Navi announced 57 minutes, and NAVER Map announced 1 hour 12 minutes. The real-time estimated arrival times immediately after departure also showed differences from the start, with TMAP at 4:56, Kakao Navi at 4:57, and NAVER Map at 5:03, as they recommended different routes.

Kakao Navi and NAVER Map Show Differences in Route Guidance and Predicted Time

Kakao Navi and NAVER Map showed different results. Kakao Navi expected a 57-minute arrival in the first test, but it actually arrived in 1 hour 3 minutes, which was a 6-minute delay. NAVER Map expected a 1-hour 12-minute arrival but arrived in 1 hour 15 minutes, showing a relatively close performance to the estimate. In the case of Kakao Navi, as a result appeared that was 6 minutes longer than predicted in the first test, the evaluation was that "it seems okay to use when it is congested."

In the second return trip test, TMAP and Tesla genuine navigation showed guidance for similar routes, but TMAP still showed a tendency to guide through congested sections and continuously increase the estimated arrival time. In the video, it was mentioned that although Tesla navigation is based on TMAP, the guided routes do not match completely. On the other hand, during the return trip, TMAP's estimated time (1 hour 4 minutes) and actual elapsed time (1 hour 6 minutes) showed a relatively consistent pattern, showing a different aspect from the first test.