Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Sat Nav - Recommendations Please

When I was looking earlier this year I narrowed it down to Tom Tom or Garmin. I got free European maps with the Tom Tom but the software required to download them is practically unusable, I wish I'd gone for the Garmin.

~iw

I'd also look out for one with free updates....

I agree Ian. When TomTom dropped Linux and created their own operating system they lost a lot of good features.

Had a TomTom for a while. It had a brilliant sense of humour. It could tell if I actually did know where I was going, in which case it would calculate a really good route, via good roads and would give believable journey times and even recalculate when I changed my mind. But, when it detected that I genuinely did not know where I was going then it had an unerring ability to freeze up and refuse to respond to any input, sometimes for several days. I did try for a while to get some sense out of TomTom's technical support but they were about as much use as the complaints department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. Younger members may need to Google "Douglas Adams" for that reference, or even try Googling "Google"

Now have a Garmin which isn't quite as good as the TomTom when the TomTom deigned to work but seems to be willing to get me to destinations that I want to reach. Some people may think that this is a good trait in a SatNav.
I will of course add that YMMV; particularly with a TomTom like I had.
Where is the smiley for getting off of a hobby horse anyway?

I am currently on my second TomTom. The first is still going strong, but it's a bit bulky for use in the Morgan. I have never experienced problems using it, apart from driving in Zurich, where the network of overhead tram power lines completely screwed up the signal.

Route planning is easy using Tyre, and can be easily exported to either TomTom or Garmin - although annoyingly Tyre is a Windoze only app, so you have to run it in a VM if you use a Mac like wot I do.

Tyre has some problems working with the latest versions of the TomTom and is still restricted by the limited number of waypoints that TomTom allows (Latest versions). TomTom has announced some changes for the next generation of satnags that will, once again, incorporate itinerary planning.

I like to throw in my had. In Germany navigon and its products are highly recommended. They are now part of Garmin and the latest Garmin Software looks more like Navigon than Garmin. The Navigon software could be updated easily.
I use Navigon select on my Android phone. The phone is connected to the car receiver by bluetooth. So I can hear the advices over the Speaker also at higher speeds on the motorway.
In further times I used a radio navigation system by VDO Dayton. But it was not loud enough at speeds over 80 km/h.

Keep mogging,

Christian

True, but the waypoint issue is easily worked around by splitting the route into legs and generating a separate itinerary for each leg. My latest TomTom is a 2010 model and works fine, if there are issues with later ones I will avoid buying a replacement until they are sorted out, I guess?

Have a Tom Tom and it has done several trips to Europe. A terrific marriage saver. I now have Tom Tom on my I pad and use that

I have a Garmin bought about 4 years ago and it was great. Last August I bought the lifetime map updates for £79.

I have downloaded the new maps but here is the difference.

Driving up from Cornwall to Aberdeen say 60 miles south of Birmingham on the Motorway it says drive for 40 miles, then two minutes later take a left and it took us through lots of towns and back on to the motorway after 45 minutes.

We were traveling from Matlock to Backwell in the Peak District and it said drive for the next ten miles then 2 minutes later it took us on a magic mystery tour and said you are at your destination.

We then followed our nose and found Bakewell signs again say about three miles off course.

We have since updated it say 5 times and we find if you ask it to take you to a particular post code or say a specific street in a town it is great but again if you just say Montrose or Grasmere for instance it will get lost and take you to say within 5 miles but not to the center of the town.

eddie