MX-5 OC Forum

I have a TomTom One, it does everything I want in a satnav, its taken me (and others behind me!) all over the UK, Scotland, Ireland etc.  But it won't take me to France as its not got European maps.  Now I have looked at the cost to add Europe or just France and it £40.00 - £50.00, so given that all my UK maps will be out of date as well then considered getting a new satnav, which will be as cheap.. So it then gets tricky! The newer bottom of the range Tomtom Start units seme to get a significant proportion of bad reviews so I am put off and Tomtom seem to remove functions as models advance.  I don't want to take a step backward. The Tomtom classic (looks like the One) is still available, and seems OK but I am also tempted to move over to a Garmin.  On average they seem to have got the edge possible these days.(reading Amazon reviews)  So, for a budget of £100.00 or less from current models available what Satnav would you buy to cover whole of Europe. ?

Hi Martin

I have used Garmin and Road Angle sat navs. I have given up with Road Angle but that’s another story.

My Current Garmin is 1490t. (We have two units in the family) I purchased them from Amazon at a very reasonable price. They give traffic info free of charge. (Traffic info also works around some of the major towns in France.) It speaks the name of the road you need to take. It has a slightly bigger screen than most and when in use on motorways it shows a picture of the junction that you are approaching when you need to select the correct lane to be in.

I have used them to get me around France, a trip across France to Corsica and with the additional card, in America.

They do have the occasional hic-cup when the voice tells you to turn one way and the picture shows the other way but that has only happened 3 or 4 times in two years.

I could keep on with its Merits but to sum up, I am very happy with them and have even managed to replace a screen when I cracked it with a replacement from eBay coming from China. Yup, it arrived safely from China.

These cost a little over your stated budget but I think are worth it (less than £120 at the mo on Amazon)

 .

Regards Richard.

 I've still got a Tom Tom go as well - I bought the euro maps several years ago, but frankly didn't really need them. Rob and I went to Remmes, shortly after Haynes 2008 and we moved around as we felt like it, only time I needed a map was when we got lost coming out of Remmes one night - we were staying in the northern suburbs, so switched it on, and we soon found where we were, and where we needed to go. I'm on the yearly update plan -  for cameras, but for about £14 I get updates for the UK, Ireland, Belgium, France and Germany. Still hoping to do one more trip! Rob's a good navigator, though sometimes we have differences of opinion! But getting round is easy, if someone else in the car can at least place names on the map - like where you've just gone through, and what's the next place. Once you're out of Paris (not that we went last time) the roads are pretty quiet. you don't need B roads to enjoy driving, any main road will do! Use the tolls to get from A to M  - wherever, as they are not too bad, except around major towns and Cities, and the added cost is welll worth the time saved. Once you are off the toll roads, then you really get to enjoy driving - there's absolutely no comuparison to the UK. Watch your speed through villages - the gendarmerie love to lurk with their motor bikes in small villages - we passed several like that - and got a friendly wave! French Kids are like Irish kids, they see a sports car, and they point, shout and wave frantically. We even got a minor ovation, driving through one village, don't know if they thought we were in a race or what! (Stripes'll do it every time!)

Thing I hate about Sat/Nav, if I'm on a holiday, I don't want to be told how to get from A to B in a straight line, or in a hurry, but sat/nav always assumes that's the way you want it, which is why I only use if I'm definitely lost! Planning my own route is a lot easier in my head, then using sat/nav. It has it's uses, but not when I want to enjoy driving. YMMV!

Gerryn:

Thing I hate about Sat/Nav, if I'm on a holiday, I don't want to be told how to get from A to B in a straight line, or in a hurry, but sat/nav always assumes that's the way you want it, which is why I only use if I'm definitely lost! Planning my own route is a lot easier in my head, then using sat/nav. It has it's uses, but not when I want to enjoy driving. YMMV!

yeah, agree with that, I still use a map to sellect destinations and good looking routes, then go from way point to way point (village to village or whatever) having stuck them all into the nav, picking nice roads as I go along if left looks better than right, but at least with the satnav you never got lost and you always know which direction you are pointing... and I have already bought a map of France, 

 Sorry - forgot to mention one point - why worry about your old UK map? - we haven't built any new roads for years, junctions yes -  our nearest has changed more than once over the years, but the signs are plain enough, though parts of Leicestershire are still a mystery - - - -

In France, the signs tell you what the next village is, in Leics they till you what the nearest major City is, which get's confusing, if you just wanted a town or village on the way. (Sorry, you Leics lot!)

We have a `wide-screen` TomTom One Europe which comes with full European mapping and works very well abroad, I had a Garmin Navi top of the range effort a while back in a company vehicle which was absolutely usesless in Germany, it would often tell you to take an exit off a motorway AFTER you had aleady passed the `off` sliproad for Garmin read Garbage

You need to be aware however of recent French legislation which now prohibits the use of a sat-nav to show speed camera locations, also every car must now carry a breathalyser in France.....

Dr. Eunos

Gerryn:

 Sorry - forgot to mention one point - why worry about your old UK map? - we haven't built any new roads for years, junctions yes -  our nearest has changed more than once over the years, but the signs are plain enough, though parts of Leicestershire are still a mystery - - - -

In France, the signs tell you what the next village is, in Leics they till you what the nearest major City is, which get's confusing, if you just wanted a town or village on the way. (Sorry, you Leics lot!)

Hey - you forget - in Fance the sun often shines - literally; were you never in the boy scouts!

(Idiot -  I've just quoted the wrong post!)

taff eunos:

We have a `wide-screen` TomTom One Europe which comes with full European mapping and works very well abroad, I had a Garmin Navi top of the range effort a while back in a company vehicle which was absolutely usesless in Germany, it would often tell you to take an exit off a motorway AFTER you had aleady passed the `off` sliproad for Garmin read Garbage

You need to be aware however of recent French legislation which now prohibits the use of a sat-nav to show speed camera locations, also every car must now carry a breathalyser in France.....

Dr. Eunos

I knew France was suffering finanical problems too - but carrying your own breathalyser is a bit much - -

I can see it now - my son enjoys a pint or two - -  he also will try anything once.

"What's this thing?" - -  "A breathalyser" - - - "Why?"   - -  "why what? - - -  "why is it in the car" - - - "To see if we are P-----d" (sounds of blowing) "It's changed colour" - - -  "Oh s--t"   - - -  "why did you say that?" - - " a) because you've just blown in it, and b) because the cop ahead is waving me down"

"No M'siuer, I didn't blow in it, honest - - it was him" - - - "Pardon - -  you want me to go where?" - - - - (sounds of laughter from the car - he's like that.)

I used a Tomtom all around France, Italy Switzerland and Malta, worked fine. Nowadays I use Tomtom on my Ipad, huge screen and you can see it in the glare from the sun

Sorry to interupt

 My friend and I were driving in the mountains above Malaga. We were using a TomTom Go with the voice of Ossie Osborn. We stopped at the village of Competa where we had to make a delivery. Phoned the person concerned to get further directions. It was getting dark by then and we were told to go down such and such road and to turn right on to a dirt track at a particular marker. This we did but forgot to turn off Ossie. The track was just wide enough for the van with a sheer drop on the near side. All of a sudden Ossie ( who was still trying to direct us back to the main drag) says " Turn F---ing left".  No No says I panicking there's only a goat track. We still laugh about it, but it wasn't funnny at the time.

Gerryn:

I can see it now - my son enjoys a pint or two - -  he also will try anything once.

"What's this thing?" - -  "A breathalyser" - - - "Why?"   - -  "why what? - - -  "why is it in the car" - - - "To see if we are P-----d" (sounds of blowing) "It's changed colour" - - -  "Oh s--t"   - - -  "why did you say that?" - - " a) because you've just blown in it, and b) because the cop ahead is waving me down"

"No M'siuer, I didn't blow in it, honest - - it was him" - - - "Pardon - -  you want me to go where?" - - - - (sounds of laughter from the car - he's like that.)

Think it was one of Nicholas Sarkozy`s own ideas, a sort of `empowerment of the people` thing, let the average French person decide if they have had enough red wine or not (they do have a much lesser problem with drunkardness than Britain, but a much higher rate of liver sarcosis than us too, mind)

taff eunos:

Gerryn:

I can see it now - my son enjoys a pint or two - -  he also will try anything once.

"What's this thing?" - -  "A breathalyser" - - - "Why?"   - -  "why what? - - -  "why is it in the car" - - - "To see if we are P-----d" (sounds of blowing) "It's changed colour" - - -  "Oh s--t"   - - -  "why did you say that?" - - " a) because you've just blown in it, and b) because the cop ahead is waving me down"

"No M'siuer, I didn't blow in it, honest - - it was him" - - - "Pardon - -  you want me to go where?" - - - - (sounds of laughter from the car - he's like that.)

Think it was one of Nicholas Sarkozy`s own ideas, a sort of `empowerment of the people` thing, let the average French person decide if they have had enough red wine or not (they do have a much lesser problem with drunkardness than Britain, but a much higher rate of liver sarcosis than us too, mind)

 

you don't need to carry a breath test kit yet, not until 1 July, and then not enforced until 1 November.. according to the AA...

 I bought a Garmin Nuvi a few years ago.....and driven loads of times in France/ Germany, and all those countries in between we fight over now and again !

It has been fine, but I would never rely on one 100%, and still buy the latest map for Europe every year, as in France especially they appear to build new roads all the time.

I recently paid £70 for a "lifetime of unit" upgrade where up to 4 times a year you plug it into the computer and it uploads the latest updates....handy for EU driving....but only useful for the UK where we have "Pinging" from the device every time you go into an area where there were speed restrictions owing to road works, and your not updated

Be careful in France where any device giving warning of speed traps/camera's can get you a heavy fine....though I don't know how they can tell unless your device is giving off a "radar" signature......They also warn you in France of a camera ahead so getting your photo taken would be daft.......

The new breath test kits are going to be around 1 or 2 euro's to buy, and about a 11 euro fine if you don't have one. Not that it will make the blindest bit of difference to the frogs who think your gay if you don't drink and drive !

good luck with what you decide

Use a Tom Tom or basic Garmin to take the fastest route to an address or postcode.

Get a higher spec Garmin that supports Mapsource (or the newer Basecamp software) to plan your routes on a PC and get off the beaten track.

Proper route planning is much more rewarding than point and shoot navigation.

I have been using Garmin all over the world for years.