Viewing 30 posts - 1 through 30 (of 30 total)
  • which Sat Nav?
  • Keva
    Free Member

    I need to buy a Sat Nav which has European maps, budget is around £150. I’m not familiar with them as I’ve never owned one before but have used a couple in the past now and again. It just needs to be simple to operate and keep updated.

    Is the TomTom via 52 any good or is there something more suitable for around the same price or less?

    djflexure
    Full Member

    Waze on my phone has been better than the TomTom/ Garmins we have for ease of use/ accuracy.

    Main problem I have had in Europe is that the units occasionally want to route me through a city centre rather than simply stay on/ switch motorways.

    johnners
    Free Member

    I’ve got a TomTom Go 50 which is perfectly fine. Lifetime* Europe updates, connect to phone for live traffic. I’ve not tried any other satnavs recently but I prefer it to Maps or Waze on a phone.

    *not sure what “Lifetime” means in this context but it’s still in support.

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    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    I have a Garmin. Buy anything other than a Garmin.

    Mine very nearly ended my marriage a few weeks ago.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Any compelling reason you want a dedicated unit over a smartphone app?

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Google Maps or Waze on a mobile phone.

    nickjb
    Free Member

    Another phone user here. It’s way better than the Garmin that came with the car.

    rickmeister
    Full Member

    if you have an iPad with wifi it will have a gps function… and will work with offline maps.

    HERE we go is a good app for windows and iPhone. Works off line, is free and maps are easily downloadable and changed.

    That on a gps enabled iPad would be ace.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Works off line

    IMO you need to be online for traffic updates/re routing. Google has saved me from some right jams on the M62 !

    tthew
    Full Member

    If you are going to Europe, there’s no extra data roaming charges now and Google Maps is always up to date and routes around traffic conditions. £10 for a window mount, £5 for a car charger, £135 for beer.

    If you are really stuck on a dedicated unit, I always liked our TomTom, but not used it for yonks for the reasons above.

    elzorillo
    Free Member

    Another vote for Waze.. it’s free and better than most paid routefinders.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I use CoPilot on my phone. It’s not free but it’s very good.

    I liked Waze when I played with it too. Remind me, is it offline mapping?

    Caher
    Full Member

    But there’s still a limit on data and I can imagine that Google maps/Waze would use a fair bit?

    I have a TomTom 5000 and it’s great.

    ransos
    Free Member

    But there’s still a limit on data and I can imagine that Google maps/Waze would use a fair bit?

    I’ve done a fair bit of driving in France and have never come close to breaching my data limit.

    gavinpearce
    Free Member

    *Lifetime maps is for the lifetime of the memory capacity of the satnav. I had a TomTom with LTM and after a couple of years the memory required for the updates was more than the sat nav had so wouldnt update anymore! Built in obsolesce I think. I use a mix of the one in the car and the phone. I do like TomToms though – never let me down, nice size screen. If you go for a sat Nav I would go for the cheapest one with euro maps.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    We have a TomTom and. Garmin which we never use now, Waze for everything. Now the downside is that you can lose data signal at a very inconvenient time (happened to me once 5km from Paris just as roads got complicated). If you really need an “old fashioned” SatNav i would be tempted to buy a used one off ebay

    Cougar
    Full Member

    The last time I looked at dedicated units was 10-15 years ago, but back then there was “TomTom” and “everything else.”

    CountZero
    Full Member

    Speaking from the point of view of someone who uses satnav every day for work, I’ve used Google Maps, Apple Maps, Here, Navmii, CoPilot, and Waze, and the one issue I have with all of them is the way roads are rendered, I find the graphics to be just not bold and clear enough. They’re fine for casual use, but I work with a team and it’s important that everyone gets to where they should be on time, and personally I’ve found the TomTom Go app works best, it gives good redirects if there’s a holdup or accident, but it’s the clarity of the display especially the zoomed junction view that I prefer.
    It’s pretty much identical to the actual satnav that my team leader uses and I use it even when I know the route, just in case there’s a traffic issue.
    The fact that you have to pay for it to get the live traffic may be why it’s that bit better, I don’t really know, but it works for me.
    CoPilot has recently had some updates, il give that another go on some non-critical journeys, see how much it’s changed, that might be a worthwhile app on a phone for the OP; the thing with using a phone app rather than a stand-alone device is that you’re unlikely to leave your phone in the car and have some thieving scumbag put a window in and nick it – I’m forever seeing reports in the local paper where a car’s been broken into and a satnav taken from a glovebox or even off the screen!

    dannybgoode
    Full Member

    I like a standalone sat nav unit personally and use a TomTom Go 50. Traffic updates etc via tethering to phone. Works very well and has always got me where I need to be.

    Find phone apps lag quite badly sometimes and for some reason find the screen harder to read.

    As per the above don’t get a Garmin. They produce some of the weirdest and most pointless routes known to man.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    if you have an iPad with wifi it will have a gps function… and will work with offline maps.

    Are you sure about that?

    Mine doesn’t.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    But there’s still a limit on data and I can imagine that Google maps/Waze would use a fair bit?

    I use google maps all day every day (online) and it hardly uses any data compared to my overall useage.

    Unless you only have a tiny data allowance (or you dimrive everywhere with sattelite view on) it wouldn’t be an issue at all)

    EDIT- just checked. In the last month I’ve used 405MB in google maps.
    That’s using it constantly 10 hours a day all week. Driving roughly 5400 miles.

    johnx2
    Free Member

    no expert but I personally wonder how satnav companies stay in business with google maps being so good.

    I particularly like Ms Google’s stern mispronunciations of Spanish, French, Italian place names.

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    Think mines a tomtom 5200, lifetime maps (worldwide) lifetime updates, on speed cameras and maps.

    Built in sim for traffic too, no subscription, lifetime

    WiFi too so it updates (every few days) without connecting it to a PC

    It’s been brilliant.

    rickmeister
    Full Member

    if you have an iPad with wifi it will have a gps function… and will work with offline maps.
    Are you sure about that?

    You are correct Neal, my fault. Its the Sim enabled one. Basically a big phone…

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    But there’s still a limit on data and I can imagine that Google maps/Waze would use a fair bit?

    Just download the (Google) maps covering the area you’re travelling in beforehand, then you’ll use hardly any data at all.
    No way would I ever buy a standalone satnav now.

    prettygreenparrot
    Full Member

    Like others have said, google or waze. Downloading the google maps ahead of time can help in areas of low reception anyway. And get a proper, printed, roadmap/atlas.

    As for data, if you don’t think you’ll have enough then get a ‘boost’ package from your cellphone provider or use a temporary SIM for the trip. Mobile data roaming charges in Europe are now only pricey rather than exorbitant.

    simondbarnes
    Full Member

    If my 12 year old TomTom died I’d get another TomTom. I have no desire to have a phone on in my car.

    nickjb
    Free Member

    You can turn the phone bit off and still use it as a satnav

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Mobile data roaming charges in Europe are now only pricey rather than exorbitant.

    Not exactly “pricey” when You can use your normal monthly allowances for free in Europe.
    So really it costs nothing.

    And as above, even if you are on the lowest 0.5GB allowance, and you are planning a 5000 miile month long road trip round Europe, you would still be ok using google maps online.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    I have no desire to have a phone on in my car.

    Airplane mode (if you really can’t control yourself not to check Facebook 🙂 )

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