I have a 2008 with Navigation, version #4. Are the newer versions like ver. 7 or 8 that much better? Are the graphics better?

 

if i am not mistaken isn't it just a database difference of the DVD maps???
or does the look change too?

 

The only difference is the info on the disc(s), the nav radio and the appearance are identical.

Newer is better, but never perfect. We have the latest disc in our C6 and two other maker's cars, none of them show some streets that have existed in our area for 4 years.

Having said that, we buy a new disc for the other cars about every 3 years because they are mostly driven locally. But the C6 gets a new disc every year because we drive it all over the U.S. and use the nav system more.

If you are satisfied with last year's disc, they can usually be had for about half price in the For Sale section. Be careful on the internet, some discs are for other GM cars and won't work in a C6.

EDIT-
For a few years (2009-2011, or thereabouts) the "disc" was actually a 2 disc set. The discs were identified as East and West, with a big overlap in the middle. The various regions in each disc still had to be set in order to enter an address in that region, but each disc apparently had the actual maps for the entire U.S./Canada. We presumed the 2 disc idea was to allow more POI information, because the maps seem to have the same detail as before.

We just got a 2012 disc, and it's back to being a single that covers the entire U.S./Canada for both maps and POI, though you still need to set the region. We don't know whether they dropped some of the POI information (which was pretty crummy to begin with), or if they found a way to get more info into the single disc.