Sat Nav/GPS which one ??

[Chas]

Hi folks

could some one recommend a good satnav/gps for my S320 (2001)

tomtom, garmin or navman ??

thanks for your help

cheers

 

[jberks]

Depends on what you want. Personally I have a PDA with tomtom software and find it perfectly ok. It will never be as accurate as a fitted unit as it doesn't have the speed inputs and the reciever will not be active as much so wake-up can take a few mins but mine has reliably taken me anywhere I wanted. It is sometimes a little confusing e.g. "turn left" was actually straight on, but it depends on your perspective and a map system can never be 100%, plus I find its a few feet late ,but once you realise and allow for this it's no problem.

I'm sure the garmin ar equally as good if not slightly better (though I can't se how) but my view is that the tomtom winds hands down if you use a PDA to drive it as you also get a free PDA into the bargain! Plus the tomtom has a wider installed base and hence far more points of interest etc that can be easily loaded up, such as gatso sites, national trust, petrol stations etc. and they're all free.

 

[GrahamC230K]

I take it it has to be a mobile solution?

If not, you drive an S-Class and have chosen three budget units. These are EXCELLENT if you need them to be mobile, but will never win against a superior system with a proper gryo etc and wired into your cars speed pulse.

 

[Ethos]

If you try www.totalpda.com you´ll find some good deals on PDA´s pre-loaded with Tom Tom etc....

 

[996jimbo]

I looked at various mobile ones before getting the TomtomGo 300. There's little difference between Garmin & Tomtom, in the end the TTG had the better, clearer speaker.

The perspective view map (or '3-d map' as it's rather oddly called) is much easier to follow than conventional birds-eye view maps and that alone makes them better (in my opinion) than any fully fitted systems. Plus any fully fitted systems are 6 times the price of a mobile.

Touch screen is excellent as it means no need for buttons around the screen and is easy to use. Don't be put off by the size of the screen as the perspective view means it's big enough. I've found it every bit as accurate as built in systems altough the 300 doesn't have predictive locating so if you loose the signal (heavilly wooded areas) it gives up until it regains the signal.

 

[television]

Navman 635

One thing to think about is where are you going to put it when you are parked. I n my case I have a SL320 and the navman fits perfectly in the top storage box. I bought the 12v power supply so I can use it parked without the ign on and no wires over the dash. I also need it in my V70R. The sound is very good, as is the screen that's larger than the Tom Tom and the unit is under half the thickness at 34mm. When using it at complicated road junctions and she tells you to turn left at 0.6 mile you must measure that distance. Most of the inbuilt systems are too low down for me,though the voice alone will get you there. The range of fitting kits is supurb, no drilling.
I have downloaded the camara data base, very good.
In all its the best thing that I have ever bought,apart from my SL