SatNav recommendations

Posted by: Steeve on 05 August 2011

After having survived for 48 years without one and stubbornly resisted what I've always seen as a frivolous purchase, I may give in.

If I were to buy, what would you recommend? What advantage is there with a more expensive one over a cheaper one? Etc..etc..

It would only ever be used in the UK and I don't want to be tied to any monthly subscriptions for extras.

 

Steeve 

Posted on: 05 August 2011 by NickSeattle
FWIW, I bought a Garmin 670 in 2008 solely for my UK visit.  Brilliant.  Speed-camera warnings and better-than-expected Bluetooth speakerphone were a bonus.  I continue to use it daily in Seattle, having opted to pay the one-time surcharge for traffic warnings.  Current models can only be better.
Posted on: 06 August 2011 by GraemeH
We used a Garmin in France last month.  'Idiosyncratic' is how I would describe it.  We certainly saw some countryside off the beaten track!
Posted on: 06 August 2011 by Tony Lockhart
I just use the free sat nav app on my iPhone. It gets me just as lost as the £45 Tom Tom app can. Tony PS. I use a road map and experience to get me within a mile or so, then use the ****-nav if necessary.
Posted on: 06 August 2011 by RaceTripper

I had TomTom and Garmin. Hated them both, especially when they did the opposite of what they are supposed to do (i.e. send me in the wrong direction). Now I have Navigon on my iPhone. It's 10 times better. Works, doesn't give me problems, gets me where I need to go, and doesn't cost much.

 

Sadly, Garmin bought Navigon. I just hope they don't ruin it.

Posted on: 06 August 2011 by Graham Hull
Tom Tom is the best, I have had 3 in the last 4 years. Yes the reliability is rubbish. Got a MIO now which is OK for the money.
Posted on: 06 August 2011 by LGCS1
Originally Posted by GraemeH:

       

         class="quotedText">
        We used a Garmin in France last month.  'Idiosyncratic' is how I would describe it.  We certainly saw some countryside off the beaten track!



Mirrors our experience with our Garmin in Umbria.  We never got on the autostrada, although we crossed over/under it and drove on side roads beside it.  We did get to see lots of countryside, and some really steep and narrow gravel hairpin bends!
Posted on: 07 August 2011 by Willy
Would second the suggestion of loading something on your phone if that's an option. Not long back from the USA where I drove nearly 4000 miles using Copilot on my phone. Has a few little niggles but always got me there and best of all only cost $5.

Willy.
Posted on: 07 August 2011 by PJT

Silly question, but where will you be using your satnav mostly?

Here in NZ, cell phone coverage is almost non-existant outside of the city areas, and the data charge is really eye watering!

I have a Garmin (NuVi 760) and find it very useful.  Bleuetooth Cell Phone has been very good, as well as informiong me how late I will be to the destination.  Another really good benefit is locating an exact address, especially in the dark and house numbers are unabvle to be read.

You will find that eventually it will be running all the time in your car.

 

The most important issue IMHO, is the software - in other words try and get a lifetime map for your device.  If not you will be running around on out of date maps in a couple of years time.

 

Of course any device is going to have its route planning idiosynchonities, which are easy to work around if you know the area, and want to use your favourite route, or know that road works are blocking the route.  To get over this, the latest Garmin's (not sure about others) have a route learning facility, which will adjust the calculated route to follow your own driving patterns.

 

Cheers

Pete

Posted on: 07 August 2011 by RaceTripper

The better cell phone nav programs (like Navigon that I use) don't require cell coverage, since they store all the maps on the device. Navigon only uses cell for Google POI search (not sure how live traffic info is retrieved).

Posted on: 09 August 2011 by shoot6x7

TomTom with either the Ozzy Osbourne voice or Brian Blessed's !

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Redmires

I recently bought a new one after the old garmin I had would take over 5 minutes to train up. After a lot of reading up I decided on a Navman Mio V505. Cost was about £90 and it's excellent. Everything works fine on it. Trains up within seconds, gives me congestion alerts, warns me of speed cameras (via free camera POI file - point of interest - found with an internet search). Last but definitely not least, it has a built in Freeview TV tuner which works better than I thought it would. At times, my job entails me waiting for spare parts to turn up and the Satnav/TV helps to pass the time.

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Steeve
Thanks for all the replies. I nearly bought one last weekend but after interesting experiences at both Currys and Comet ended up walking out empty-handed. I ended up impressing myself being able to find my way from Northampton to Brixton and then from Brixton to Swindon without taking one wrong turn just by studying my A - Z beforehand and following roadsigns. Close shave but thanks to masterly corporate incompetence I have saved lots of money! Steeve
Posted on: 15 August 2011 by Pat Mustard
I've found that the tom-tom system is far from perfect, but i couldn't live without it. Doing a lot of local deliveries it has only steered me wrong once out of maybe a couple of hundred uses. As long as you use them with a touch of common sense they're an excellent driving tool. As essential as a cup holder
Posted on: 17 August 2011 by musfed

Tomtom on my iPhone is an excellent app. Use it a lot.

Posted on: 04 September 2011 by Rico

I've just scored a Garmin Nuvi 1390 for father's day.  key influences were lifetime map upgrades (promotion for maps Australia and NZ - runs to about the end of the year on all Garmin in NZ)... and that I can use the open source map of new zealand in it (which is constantly updated and improved, and is not available for TomTom or Navman. 

 

I use "Doctor Nightmare" as the voice, it's entertaining. 

 

Works well with Bluetooth, trains up to the satellites well, and the Lane Guidance (flashes up a picture of the intersection as you approach it where there are multiple exits) is very useful.

 

I've seen a Uniden in use in a taxi recently that had killer 3D, very impressive.  Although eliminated on the basis I couldn't use the open source map.

 

GPS discussions are the first time in my existence I've mentioned "four point three inches" and "enough" in a sentence, without breaking into laughter.

 

HTH