Fed up with signal dying, crappy phone battery and having to rely on my phone so i want a proper satnav for the van. Interested in UK mapping + europe trips and live traffic updates

.Have read the garmin does live traffic via DAB on some models and the tom tom does it via bluetooth to your phone. I’m interested in which is better. I have been trawling through some of the amazon reviews and some peoplesaying the garmin isn’t that quick to update traffic details.

2 that stuck out Garmin Nuvi 2599LMT-D and the TomTom Go 50

any recommendations?

Last I looked there was TomTom and Everything Else.

Though, what’s wrong with CoPilot and a microUSB cable? Doesn’t rely on signal or battery then.

Well, if you install a satnav app that hosts all the maps natively on the phone, and keep the phone plugged into the 12v aux or into a USB on the vehicle head unit, that solves two issues, and apps like ‘here’ allow OTA traffic updates, and the downloading of maps for the UK and Europe.
Here is the satnav system developed by Nokia, now owned by a consortium of Audi/BMW/VW.
The app is free.
It’s also what I use every day in my job ferrying cars all over the country for a major car auction business, so from a professional point of view it works just fine.

I realise that there are different Garmin models, but having owned one that got us lost in France twice and still tries to tell me to get off the M4 when leaving London for Cardiff, I wouldn’t touch another one if you paid me.

Never ever, ever anything running software designed by Garmin.

Brilliant hardware. Software written by drunk donkeys.

Ps. Anyone want to buy a BMW Navigator V (by Garmin)

Rachel

Here maps (the recommended by @CountZero) is excellent, and best of all you can use it offline/ Just download the maps and it works well. Otherwise we use TomTom.

I’ve been using Garmin for years and only had one problem with a unit that out of warranty. Called their support line and I couldn’t have asked for more. They were prepared to send me a replacement unit out by 9am next day service but that would’t work as I needed it for a trip down to Spain that I was departing on at 2am. They then spent a lot of hours on the phone with me whilst we resolved the issue and got it running again.
I now use a motorbike sat nav on both the bike and in the car. Lightning quick on getting reception and calculating the route. It will calculate three different routes that can chose from as well as the usual most direct, quickest etc. Road avoidance, live traffic and weather updates. Layout has changed slightly from previous models but all intuitive.
I had the misfortune of using my mothers new TomTom on Sunday before giving up and using Apple Maps instead.
Rachel, I’m using the Garmin Zumo 590LM which has been 100% reliable so don’t write off Garmin just yet, might have something to do with BMW’s modifications.

I have Co-pilot (the version that allows you to put in vehicle size and routes you appropriately) on my phone.

It’ll happily run off downloaded maps and is one less device to worry about finding somewhere to put when you leave the vehicle.

I use Waze on my phone all the time. Plugged in to keep batteries up and it ticks all the boxes. Navigation is good, and traffic/hazard alerts are very effective.

Countzero has it – charger cable and app. I use google maps on Android and have whole of South half of scotland downloaded, it then just runs off satelite, no data needed.

It is far more up to date and accurate than the sat nav I borrowed for last summer holiday in France.

Hadn’t heard of co-pilot. Running an old moto g as my screen has cracked on my chinese cubot x17 so wondering if they’ll be enough space

Not much love for garmin then 🙂

TomTom 5100 with World maps & lifetime updates. not perfect (every satnav I’ve had tries to take you off the M25 & back on again at the Heathrow/M4 junction at busy times)but absolutely brilliant with real time traffic via the built in SIM. Not as customisable as a Garmin but it just works. software updates can be a bit clunky mind you. Just loaded the US maps & used it in Canada for 2 weeks and was an absolute godsend.Lane guidance is a real plus too.Screen mount is good with permanently connected lead and not made of cheese. pricey but good.

I use copilot on my phone, works really well. The eta can be well out though. For instance I’ve driven to Lancaster this morning and knocked 30mins off of the 3hour predicted time driving at the speed limit. I just check google before hand as it’s usually much more accurate.

With Co-Pilot – 4gb of storage would give you all of Europe.

We have old Garmin and TomTom boxes which we hardly ever use now, kept in the car as a backup. They both worked well at a push I’d say TomTom was better. We had all europe road maps but tomtom needs a subscription for decent traffic info.

We are all phone app now and use a cable in the car for power and/or sleep the screen esp on motorway. App works in the background and speaks when its time to give directions

We also use Waze (very good in France, @orange is based there too) which operates like a social network so things like accidents and police speed traps update much faster than TomTom / Garmin. It works well in UK but not as many active users so traffic updates aren’t quite as good.

My Garmin insists that you enter a street name. This drives me crackers if I just want to get to the centre of a place.

My older Tom Tom was better.

I prefer Tom Tom. For me a sat nav is all about live traffic info and avoidance, otherwise it’s just a glorified map.

I have a Tom Tom 510 and find the traffic data via your phone so much better than previous generations that used their own data connection. Via the phone’s 3G/4G connection it typically takes a few seconds to download traffic data. I think the ones with their own data connection still use GPRS which I used to find in old models took minutes at best to download data, if it even managed to at all before you went into a coverage deadspot. You obviously need to check your phone plan allows tethering/personal hotspot.

You can now download google maps to your device, or at least that’s what it told me last night.

Waze is pretty good on my phone, althought it seems to smash through battery like nothing else so you have to plug it in

Built in car sat nav only takes 4 digits so need the full details for random places in the countryside that don’t have a house number

My Garmin insists that you enter a street name. This drives me crackers if I just want to get to the centre of a place.

“High Street.” (-:

My Garmin insists that you enter a street name. This drives me crackers if I just want to get to the centre of a place.

Here will allow you to zoom in on a location, it could be just a lane by a wood somewhere, but you tap and hold on the spot which then gives you a selection of options which allow you to navigate to that spot, no postcode or address required, which is really handy if you’re going to a trailhead somewhere..