Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced and effective sat nav that covers Europe ?
Many Thanks
PETERA
Many Thanks
PETERA
sat nav
- Thread starter PETERA
- Start date
TomTom are as good as any,if you wait till after christmas there will be lots of secondhand ones on ebay,I bought a top of the range 930t for £110 last year.It's the model that has the feature of telling you which lane you should be in when leaving the motorway,handywhen motoring abroad.
I recently bought a Tom Tom and find it VERY slow when in use. i.e. when you are going around a roundabout the picture is slow to catch up with your actual position so if you are slightly unsure of which road to turn off it's not much use looking at the screen to confirm where you are.
On the plus side the verbal instructions are pretty good though.
I used to have a Medion GoPal (german made) and the speed of it was excellant but it was almost impossible to get updated maps.
On the plus side the verbal instructions are pretty good though.
I used to have a Medion GoPal (german made) and the speed of it was excellant but it was almost impossible to get updated maps.
technology is a wonderful thing. Really depends on what you want,but these days sat navs are much more affordable, so you should look at what is on offer and what you want from your sat nav, lane guidance, live service ect ect .
If by chance you have a smart phone, you could kill two birds with one stone and save a packet to. Co pilot 8 is around £50 for a Europe map [on sd or micro sd card] and is as good as any stand alone sat nav.
If by chance you have a smart phone, you could kill two birds with one stone and save a packet to. Co pilot 8 is around £50 for a Europe map [on sd or micro sd card] and is as good as any stand alone sat nav.
We use a TomTom 710, I have had it for a few years now but have bought updated maps for it.
We find it is very good on the whole but it occasionally gets it wrong on roundabouts i.e exit numbers. We always use maps as well, towing a van and slavishly following SatNav instructions is a recipe for disaster.
Dave
We find it is very good on the whole but it occasionally gets it wrong on roundabouts i.e exit numbers. We always use maps as well, towing a van and slavishly following SatNav instructions is a recipe for disaster.
Dave
You should never trust you sat-nav over what you see actually in front of you on the road.
I have both a Garmin i3 and a Tom Tom satnav. I have found the reation of both to be slow especially on the multi roundabouts (egg beaters) at swindon. As a "driver" I always look at where I'm going and use sat nav as assistance. I have come across routes around roundabouts clearly telling you to negotiate roundabouts in a counter clockwise motion. I used my brain and eyes and negotiated the roundabout correctly. But of corse there could well be some fool who just believes the satnav!!!
Tomtom is probably the best value for money. I'd buy new as you are open to satnavs that have been corupted with downloads that don't work or even a stolen one if your buying secondhand. After all you do have to question why people want to sell a current upto date model. A family friend of mine bought what he thought was a good tomtom from a boot sale. The owner had the original purchase recipt and instructions, but when he got it home and started playing with it, he found that the screen was empty. My wife being a PC savy person, rebooted it to the onboard factory settings but found that there was a virus very stubernly encripted into the mother board chip. The dust bin was the safest place for the satnav.
At least with a new machine you get 12 months peace of mind of guarantee.
Finally don't forget to keep your map reading skills up to date. You never know when you'll need to resort to the map book.
I have both a Garmin i3 and a Tom Tom satnav. I have found the reation of both to be slow especially on the multi roundabouts (egg beaters) at swindon. As a "driver" I always look at where I'm going and use sat nav as assistance. I have come across routes around roundabouts clearly telling you to negotiate roundabouts in a counter clockwise motion. I used my brain and eyes and negotiated the roundabout correctly. But of corse there could well be some fool who just believes the satnav!!!
Tomtom is probably the best value for money. I'd buy new as you are open to satnavs that have been corupted with downloads that don't work or even a stolen one if your buying secondhand. After all you do have to question why people want to sell a current upto date model. A family friend of mine bought what he thought was a good tomtom from a boot sale. The owner had the original purchase recipt and instructions, but when he got it home and started playing with it, he found that the screen was empty. My wife being a PC savy person, rebooted it to the onboard factory settings but found that there was a virus very stubernly encripted into the mother board chip. The dust bin was the safest place for the satnav.
At least with a new machine you get 12 months peace of mind of guarantee.
Finally don't forget to keep your map reading skills up to date. You never know when you'll need to resort to the map book.
I have an in built sat-nav and after travelling all over europe and the united kingdom never had a problems so far and never needed a map
with the exception of the last mile when going to a CC site I use the small map from them.
With regards to roundabouts and tunnels in Austria and Switzerland works perfectly because it has a built in hard drive and a system that calculates distance from the satelite when not in sight of said satelite when going through tunnels.
Admittedly it was expensive being a factory fit but all considered worth the extra money
with the exception of the last mile when going to a CC site I use the small map from them.
With regards to roundabouts and tunnels in Austria and Switzerland works perfectly because it has a built in hard drive and a system that calculates distance from the satelite when not in sight of said satelite when going through tunnels.
Admittedly it was expensive being a factory fit but all considered worth the extra money
I had a Tomtom until some scrote stole it from the car. I now have a Snooper Ventura. This unit gives the option of entering the caravan size, and getting a more appropriate route.
I've used it for 2 years now in France Spain and Portugal and it has not given us any problems
I've used it for 2 years now in France Spain and Portugal and it has not given us any problems
Can any of the Tom Tom's have their audio routed through the Bluetooth system in the car so that you can hear it over the car speakers similar to using a mobile phone? I don't suppose any Satnavs take voice commands. We have an Nokia X6 which as Satnav on it, but it is more for walking around as you cannot see ahead when using it in the car and have to rely on voice instructions.
MY tom tom 750 takes vioce commands, and i would be surprised if it was the Only one to do so,many sat navs come standard with blue tooth, and again mine comes with the ability to be herds over the radio, although i can gear it OK in its norm, and I don't have the best hearing anyway.Uvongo93 said:
Sorry to hear you had your satnav nicked Clive.
A point to consider is how a satnav is fitted in most cars. The obvious thing is to use the suction pad adaptor. When the sat nav is put away, folks leave the sucker on the winscreen or if they've put that away, a circular ring is left on the screen, thus giving the game away that there's a nav in the car.
I used to site my Garmin at the top right of my windscreen so I could see it while driving. On the outside of the screen I put a sticker, large enough to cover the suction base of the mounting. This hid the give away sucker ring.
On my Rover 75 I utilise the pop out cup holder on the center console. I made a dummy cup out of wood and glued a plastic disc to the top of it to form the base for the satnav bracket.
There's just a couple of ways of mounting satnav's without giving the game away.
After all, they are an expensive gadget.
Satnav's are great tools but they are only as good as the info put into them. Hence why some caravan sites give a different post code to their address, to guide your satnav better than the post office service.
A point to consider is how a satnav is fitted in most cars. The obvious thing is to use the suction pad adaptor. When the sat nav is put away, folks leave the sucker on the winscreen or if they've put that away, a circular ring is left on the screen, thus giving the game away that there's a nav in the car.
I used to site my Garmin at the top right of my windscreen so I could see it while driving. On the outside of the screen I put a sticker, large enough to cover the suction base of the mounting. This hid the give away sucker ring.
On my Rover 75 I utilise the pop out cup holder on the center console. I made a dummy cup out of wood and glued a plastic disc to the top of it to form the base for the satnav bracket.
There's just a couple of ways of mounting satnav's without giving the game away.
After all, they are an expensive gadget.
Satnav's are great tools but they are only as good as the info put into them. Hence why some caravan sites give a different post code to their address, to guide your satnav better than the post office service.
I have a Garmin Nuvi which has proved a Godsend for most journeys - but definitely has inexplicable brainstorms. For example, it misses out a complete junction as you approach Setthorns in the New Forest, but triumphantly tells me I have arrived at my destination when I arrive at the entrance (I wouldn't hjave been there if I hadn't have gone the way I knew was correct!). In Swanage, the Garmin insisted that I take a left turn into a road which simply did not exist (and never had done), and in Studland it tried to take us down a dirt-track to a pub which proved to be at least a mile away on the opposite side of the road! We now have Mercedes Comand, which is excellent, and only use the Garmin for camera alerts.
Prob with factory fit satnav is that often the expensive system does not get covered when the car is traded in and often they are expensive or difficult to update with new mapping or extra detail.
Garmin update mappping 4 times a year now so if you've not updated it Collin that might help. Wife has a newer TomTom that is very good but my Nuvi gives better warning time before telling to turn. With caravan in tow last minute instructions are not good and quite a few review reports complain that TomTom software gives turn instructions a little late.
Garmin update mappping 4 times a year now so if you've not updated it Collin that might help. Wife has a newer TomTom that is very good but my Nuvi gives better warning time before telling to turn. With caravan in tow last minute instructions are not good and quite a few review reports complain that TomTom software gives turn instructions a little late.
After we lost ours and reported it to the police, they gave me a device to put the sat nav on.steveinleo said:
It's a sort of weighted "bag" that has a non slip base. The sat nat is fitted to this so that when it is taken off and put in the glovebox there is no telltale ring left on the windscreen.
Other posts have mentioned brainstorms, we had one where the Tomtom wanted me to turn left up a narrow alley in Spain that was so steep it was stepped
! have both tom tom and garmin, tom tom 750 garmin c 550.and the tom tom can be set up to warn you in advance of possible change of lane or turn, upto 2 miles in advance!. have trouble with both in centre London in the build up areas, although this doesn't happen every time, but you simply learn to remember you are taking the next or 2nd turn as it arrives in view.OmOnWeelz said:
For me the real downside of the tom tom is if it gets corrupted whilst updating which has happened to me twice and the helpline seems to think by sending you an email telling you how to de corrupt so to speak, you should be happy! and they feel a little put out when you tell them to send packaging so you can return it for them to fix. never had this problem on my older garmin, but then there was nothing to corrupt it as it never went near my PC
I have the Garmin 1490T which can pick up live traffic conditions from the roadside FM transmitters (the blue ones) in UK and abroad. This gives you the option to re-route if required, but with the van in tow I ignore this choice. The satnav can also be programmed from the PC so I can route myself right into sites using their directions. It uses Mapsource software that came with it.
I have the Garmin 1490T which can pick up live traffic conditions from the roadside FM transmitters (the blue ones) in UK and abroad. This gives you the option to re-route if required, but with the van in tow I ignore this choice. The satnav can also be programmed from the PC so I can route myself right into sites using their directions. It uses Mapsource software that came with it.
Age and spec of Satnav make a quite a difference, Budget end basics don't give all the options of the top flight models.JonnyG said:
Loaned my Satnav to visting 'Rellies' I'd been in to London to their hotel and got around all day with no problems. They put it in their hire car to meet friends at the same hotel and get around the sights.They ended up going around in circles with no signal and I had to talk them back to the M3. The sat nav had been mounted centre screen just under the rear view mirror, problem explained. For big city driving, mount right of steering wheel and as far forward as possible to avoid your car roof blocking signal.
Quite a few serious Satnav reviewers and testers advise to site the satnav as near to the road centre as possible and far forward.
High rise building or narrow streets and the car block the signal lock-on. On my older Nuvi you can fit an additional external aerial. Cost £9.99, with the cable tucked away it is routed outside via the rear tailgate and sticks via magnet on the drivers side. Both aerials work together, but start up is a little slower but you never have city driving problems. If you drive on the left on holiday, site Satnav passenger side near road centre to rediuce problems when city driving.
I`ve used TOMTOM for years now, and to be honest it`s probably better in Europe than in GB, never had a problem, and that was using it in a artic, as well as the caravan.
i have tomtom navigator on a pda ( ita out of date now - by about 6 years) , garmin on a smartphone, 2 x nokia with ovimaps, a blaupunkt and a navman. None have given any trouble what so ever. Any one with a nokia smart phone can download ovimaps for free and you can sync your phone to a pre planned route ( download ovimaps to your pc and you can select a route or routes and stored them in your phone for later use).
The ovimaps recalculates routes faster than anyother system and considering is free, its not bad. It can use GPS or assisted Gps or just the mobile network if you want.
The ovimaps recalculates routes faster than anyother system and considering is free, its not bad. It can use GPS or assisted Gps or just the mobile network if you want.
Our Tom Tom suffered from turning it's self on even if put away in the hard case designed for it. We go a repair update from tomtom. It seemed to work for a bit. But the glitch is back!!
As I seldom need to use a sat nav, as my knowledge of the UK road network is qite good, it then becomes a pain in the butt when just as you wanta satnav right now, it is always flat and needs 30 mins charge before you can get a peep out of it! No small wonder I see local cars with their tom tom running all the time. They're frightened to turn it off just in case tom does a moonlight flit.
My Garmin i3 on the other hand, works fine but you need binoculars to see the 35mm screen.
If anyone has got a permanent fix for the tom tom fault, other than throwing it over the hedge, I'd love to know.
As I seldom need to use a sat nav, as my knowledge of the UK road network is qite good, it then becomes a pain in the butt when just as you wanta satnav right now, it is always flat and needs 30 mins charge before you can get a peep out of it! No small wonder I see local cars with their tom tom running all the time. They're frightened to turn it off just in case tom does a moonlight flit.
My Garmin i3 on the other hand, works fine but you need binoculars to see the 35mm screen.
If anyone has got a permanent fix for the tom tom fault, other than throwing it over the hedge, I'd love to know.
We have the adaptor that plugs into the cigarette lighter so even if it is flat, once connecte dfires up straight away. Ours is the original TomTom Classic just with updated maps etc and works fine most times.
Philspadders said:
Problem with that is you need to have a phone signal - get to an area of bad or no signal (like round most campsites
My satnav is on my Nokia but installed locally, so can be used anywhere, regardless of phone signal.
not sure i get any of these quotes? "recalculates routes faster than any other" who said? nokia? my tom tom is slow at times but its maping engine is working out live routes and hd info, so its doing a lot of recalucalating. My old garmin which did not have these featurers was quick very quick to recalulate. its all down to the mapping engine.nelmo said:Philspadders said:
Problem with that is you need to have a phone signal - get to an area of bad or no signal (like round most campsites) and you've lost your navigation abilities.
My satnav is on my Nokia but installed locally, so can be used anywhere, regardless of phone signal.
My co plot live 8 on my smartphone is quick and only uses GPS as it a 2gb card job of all of Europe, no need to rely on downloads from a computer or over the internet, and like both the tom tom and garmin is not just a basic sat nav, it comes packed with users featurers to match the best of the stand alone sat navs. not free but for £20 its become the benchmark of what to beat on smartphones. and nobody come close to beating it yet......
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