Best Value - Garmin vs Tom Tom

[mrnemo]

It is time for a new Sat Nav and am wondering what would be best for me. I am not a professional driver and only make a few long journeys a year when I found my old Sat Nav invaluable although its lack of many features. For local trips where I know the roads and where I am going I don’t bother. I did rent a car in Jersey last year and may drive in Europe sometime in the future.

Things such as full postcode entry, lane guidance and traffic alerts would be very useful. Been able to check the route the Sat Nav chooses and alter it would also be useful. Choosing the most economical route for petrol could be a massive cost saver as petrol prices over time can only go in one direction. Not so worried about speed cameras but been given a warning would be nice.


I am looking at the Garmin vs TomTom systems.

More Garmin models seem to offer European maps as standard. Some models such as the Garmin Nuvi 1490 comes with a premium lifetime traffic subscription for the UK and other European countries plus traffic receiver. But is it any good? You can also get life time maps from Amazon for around £60 which if you were keeping it 4-5 years could be seen as reasonable.

The TomTom IQ system seems powerful but how much does it cost a year? Maps at around £20 a year mean that it is equivalent to keeping the Garmin system for just three years.

I suspect many buyers in my situation get something on offer in the summer sales and think about upgrading the map on it or get a new one after about three to four years.


(I have posted this in the Tom Tom section to be fair.)

[Andy_P]

Thread locked. Please continue in the other version HERE.
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