Recommend a Sat Nav

tonc76

Hi,

I'm going to but a sat nav soon and have been reading reviews for the last few days. I'm leaning towards the Garmin Nuvi 250W at the moment as it seems to have all that I require. I've just seen it on www.elara.ie for €191 which is €20 + cheaper than anywhere else. I would however be willing to go as far as €300. I'm flying outside the EU in March via Heathrow so would it be advisible to try pick one up in duty free in Heathrow? I will be travelling in Europe this year and The States next year so any that include maps for both would be great

Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

brophs

I bought a Garmin Nuvi 250 from Elara for €162 a couple of days ago. Great value, nice little entry level unit. Worked really well for me so far. Very easy to use.

As for having Europe and USA maps, I think that would work out quite expensive, but maybe someone else could confirm this..

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfullat.asp?productcode=ECE1445677#spec

KoolKid

I've gone trough a few in the last few years but Garmin Nuvi 610 is by far the best.

McSween

is there any real advantage in getting the widescreen version?

you can;t exactly watch it when you're driving

Lex Luthor

widescreen is a waste of money

I hear TomTom is better for Europe & US

tonc76

brophs wrote: »

I bought a Garmin Nuvi 250 from Elara for €162 a couple of days ago. Great value, nice little entry level unit. Worked really well for me so far. Very easy to use.

As for having Europe and USA maps, I think that would work out quite expensive, but maybe someone else could confirm this..

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfullat.asp?productcode=ECE1445677#spec

Thanks for the info. The "vehicle mount" that is included - what is this like? Is it the same as https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1370

or is it https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8127

and how do you find it works?

Thanks to everyone else for advice

Krusty_Clown

Lex Luthor wrote: »

I hear TomTom is better for Europe & US

As long as you don't count Ireland as part of Europe..

brophs

tonc76 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. The "vehicle mount" that is included - what is this like? Is it the same as https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1370

or is it https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8127

and how do you find it works?

Thanks to everyone else for advice

It is this one https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8127

I find it excellent, very easy to attach (and detatch) to the windscreen, and you don't have to attach it permanently. Can't ask for more from a mount really.

coylemj

It's the second of the mounts, the one that sticks to the windscreen. Some states in the US don't allow this for fear that it would become a flying missile in the event of an accident in which the windscreen gets a direct hit but the alternative is to permanently glue that stand to the dashboard which would not be a good idea - it advertises the fact that you have SatNav and an oportunist thief will break your side window to see if the unit is in the glove box.

The same issue arises by the way if you use the windscreen suction mount, you need to remove this every time you park the car and you should wipe the inside of the windscreen so the tell-tale circular mark on the windscreen doesn't give the game away.

I agree with the other contributor about the widescreen models, I really don't see the point and they are far too bulky for pedestrian use i.e. you'll look like a plonker watching a pocket television if you whip the W model out of your pocket to see where you are in a strange city.

The windscreen suction mounts works very well, the procedure is that you lick your finger, wipe it on the disc and then attach it to the windscreen, it holds very well and you can swivel the unit around without worrying about it coming away in your hand.

Lex Luthor

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

As long as you don't count Ireland as part of Europe..

well ya....my TT is not bad over here but in the UK its to the inch accurate

Krusty_Clown

The difference between Garmin (NavTeq) and Tomtom (TeleAtlas) for my area is incredible. TeleAtlas maps (which you can see in googlemaps) are very poor. Roads which are hundreds of years old are missing, inaccurate (through roads appearing as cul-de-sacs) and incorrectly labelled (all of the roads in the area given the same (wrong) name.

I'll stick with Garmin/NavTeq. It's never failed me on my travels (throughout Europe and the US), but would advise anyone to check out the areas they'll be travelling to and do a comparison. Both Navteq and a TeleAtlas maps are viewable online.

coylemj

A colleague of mine needed to drive to the UK at short notice last summer to deliver some kit and the company allowed him to hire a SatNav unit so I sent him to mysatnav.ie over in Sandyford Industrial Estate. They had an interesting third mounting option, it's a little beanbag which sits on the dashboard, has a friction underside (so it doesn't slide around) and was pretty useful in terms of quickly allowing you to hide the unit under the drivers seat when parking, might be worth checking out.

It's 24 Euro on www.lara.ie and you can pick it up in Park West and save on delivery. Mysatvav.ie sells it for 33, it's called 'Garmin Portable Friction Mount' :

http://www.mysatnav.ie/garmin-portablemount