The better half wants to invest in a SatNav, they all look good but I want some real-life experiences/advice what to look out for.
Budget is £100-150 & thanks for info.

If you’ve a smart phone some of the apps are great.. google maps or Waze, live traffic updates as well

Otherwise I think the default answer is the tom tom you can afford…

I’ve got a Garmin. Unless they have improved significantly in the last few years I wouldn’t have another.

My ancient Tom Tom that preceded it was way better.

I use my phone. Way better than the Garmin that came with the car.

As above, I ditched the seperate sat nav device recently as the Google maps on the phone works so much better.

To be honest I’m scared to touch my phone in the car these days, 6points risk is too much.

As above I’ve got a TomTom and it’s been faultless, grab one with lifetime updates and you’re golden for years. I use this rather than the inbuilt car satnav, it’s just better.

Last time I looked at dedicated units, which was a while ago, there was Tom Tom and there was everything else.

On a phone, Google Maps requires data (or some very careful preloading of maps). Waze is a good free solution, CoPilot isn’t free but superb (and is what I use these days).

Our Garmin was awful. Could never reliably work out how to view the route it had decided upon. Not very intuitive to use.

I always use my phone now if I need to. Google maps and my 11 year old to hold it 🙂

wideboy – Member

To be honest I’m scared to touch my phone in the car these days, 6points risk is too much. I thought this was only if you held it. i.e. you can touch it if it’s attached to a surface.

Correct. If it’s mounted to the vehicle then it’s considered hands free. You’re not supposed to be fiddling with any Sat Nav while driving though….

The only good Garmin I found was the 3598LMTD, quick, looks like a mobile phone and about the size of one too.

As below the laws states you cannot hold a mobile phone while your engine is running. I am not sure if this also applies to touching your mobile phone that is in a mount, eg to turn the volume up or down. IMO you shouldn’t be able to touch your phone while driving or receive any form of texts.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-how/mobile-phone-laws/

I think I see nearly 50% of drivers using their phones at traffic lights. The amount of people I have to beep because they are looking down at their phones and not at the car in front that pulled away 10 seconds ago is getting stupid.

Tom Tom – just does it right.

[especially if you stick it on the windscreen, right in front of your face]

TomTom on a phone, easy-peasy. Of course, if you want to use it properly, it’s £19.99/year, but having used Navmii, Here, CoPilot, Google Maps and Apple’s Maps over the last year, driving something like 40-50,000 miles, TomTom is, without a doubt the easiest to use, the maps, routes and directions are much clearer, and the phone app is identical to the standalone unit, which my team leader uses, so I’ve been able to compare the two.
Advantage with the phone is you’re unlikely to leave your phone behind in the car and then have it stolen, or else have to carry two items around with you.
Combined with a BT headset for the occasional call the app gets live traffic updates like the standalone does, and which does work very well, a diversion off the M5 near Tewksbury on one trip took me from 11a to 10, and as I drove over the motorway I looked down directly at the car and caravan blocking the road, the satnav told me to turn off just as the matrix signs lit up showing an accident ahead.
If all you need is occasional usage, then some of the others would probably be perfectly OK, and they’re free, but TomTom is the best, no doubt.

A holder for your phone, and Google maps.

I’ve got a Garmin. Unless they have improved significantly in the last few years I wouldn’t have another.

Obviously YMMV. We’re on our third Garmin (first was stolen while on holiday, second was 5+ years old and maps were aging). For us they just work.

Newest one was £90 from Aldi. 5″ screen, Lifetime maps for Europe, FM traffic. (Garmin Express says it’s a Nuvi 58 but I think they have ‘retailer specific’ model numbers for some places if you’re having trouble working out differences)

Around London I sometimes use my phone (an iPhone SE) for the live traffic but I find the display on the Garmin much easier to read and interpret while driving: the next turn info on screen, how it displays junctions, the lane guidance. The Garmin screen is pretty low res but it’s enough. The FM traffic info on the Garmin is surprisingly good – it’s a lot more accurate on journey time than the old one and very similar to Google now.

Until this month the main reason for having it was Europe (roaming data was expensive) but relying on the phone means you’re relying on data and there are still mobile dead zones.

Our Garmin was awful. Could never reliably work out how to view the route it had decided upon. Not very intuitive to use.

You just pan out of the map to see the whole route. You can get ‘alternative routes’ but true It’s nowhere near as intuitive as Google to view or alter the route.