I am thinking of buying a portable sat nav for my 2006 octavia (manual).

Can anyone recommend a model and advise where to install it in the car?

and is there anything I should look out for when considering the purchase.

thanks

1) Tom Tom or Garmin.

Tom Tom for me as the menu's are very simple to follow.

2) UK or UK & Europe.

I need Europe for work - bumps up the price.

3) Screen size.

User preference, again cost dependant.

I Have a Tom Tom 720t , superseded by the 929t , it has all Europe map bluetooth for your phone even reading out or showing on the screen text messages , updates peoples map-share and traffic hold ups for free. You can buy 2 discs from the tom tom shop to attach the sat nav to. I have a disc on the top of the opening lid of dashboard ,so no suction marks on windscreen

I'd go Garmin - I've had two TomToms over time and both broke quickly, the ones at work broke and my friend has had about 5 of the things and they all broke. I won't anywhere near one in the future!

Well my brother in law jumped up and down on his garmin he was so fed up with his, never had any bother with tom tom , and customer services are great.2 year warranty on tom tom 1 year garmin

Edited 23 October, 201015 yr by bluvrs2

I've had both and as far as I'm concerned TomTom gave the more sensible directions which is the main point of a Sat Nav...

My original Tom Tom one from 2005 is still going strong. Tom Tom has a good grip of what makes a good sat nav.

Unfortunately all the ones ive seen working are all inferior to mine in terms of real time following of position, and changes in speed etc. and picks up signal everytime. Never had a problem with it.

im sure you can pick one up very cheap from ebay if you looked.

C

I have a TomTom 940 live and can honestly say that it is by far the most compete navigation system I have ever used (all in my humble opinion of course). I’ve had several built in systems over the last 12 years (Golf/Octavia/BMW and Audi) and although the car systems plot and correct quicker, they can’t do half the things the TomTom can.

It easily wins for me. as it does full post codes (as most portables do) and POI, but the killer apps are the Speed camera data base (from Road Angel) and real time traffic info. This is way more accurate and informative than the TMC system (it utilises the Vodafone mobile network to plot vehicle movements apparently). As someone who drives 25-30K a year, I couldn’t live without it. Oh and it does Google search for destinations (similar to Goole search in Google Maps)….BRILLIANT!

They recently did an big software update to their models and this has caused me an awful lot of problems as my unit is an early one and didn’t get on with the new update. It subsequently went into meltdown and restoring the unit to an earlier version of software caused further problems. However it is now sorted and TomTom have always got back to my emails reasonably promptly and have offered my several free months as compensation. Excellent customer service.

I also use mine with one of those bean bag type mounts that sits on your dashboard to mount my TomTom. It doesn’t leave a suction mark on the windscreen as a result and only falls off if I am trying to kill the car

I should add I have dropped it a few times too and it seems fine.

Other features of note are the Bluetooth hands free (works very well), FM transmitter for playing from SD card and a clever text service that lets 'TomTom Live' friends send basic messages between themselves.

Edited 17 October, 201015 yr by Lady Elanore

I have a TomTom 940 live and can honestly say that it is by far the most compete navigation system I have ever used (all in my humble opinion of course). I’ve had several built in systems over the last 12 years (Golf/Octavia/BMW and Audi) and although the car systems plot and correct quicker, they can’t do half the things the TomTom can.

It easily wins for me. as it does full post codes (as most portables do) and POI, but the killer apps are the Speed camera data base (from Road Angel) and real time traffic info. This is way more accurate and informative than the TMC system (it utilises the Vodafone mobile network to plot vehicle movements apparently). As someone who drives 25-30K a year, I couldn’t live without it. Oh and it does Google search for destinations (similar to Goole search in Google Maps)….BRILLIANT!

They recently did an big software update to their models and this has caused me an awful lot of problems as my unit is an early one and didn’t get on with the new update. It subsequently went into meltdown and restoring the unit to an earlier version of software caused further problems. However it is now sorted and TomTom have always got back to my emails reasonably promptly and have offered my several free months as compensation. Excellent customer service.

I also use mine with one of those bean bag type mounts that sits on your dashboard to mount my TomTom. It doesn’t leave a suction mark on the windscreen as a result and only falls off if I am trying to kill the car

I should add I have dropped it a few times too and it seems fine.

Other features of note are the Bluetooth hands free (works very well), FM transmitter for playing from SD card and a clever text service that lets 'TomTom Live' friends send basic messages between themselves.

I can second this. Mine is a refurbished GO 540 Live, mounted well down on the r/h side of the screen where it provides the least obstruction to your forward vision. As Lady Elanore says, Live is excellent. You can of course get the speed camera database from Pocket GPS, (and I think it is a little better than TT's) but since it comes as part of the Live package, and the Traffic info on Live is remarkably good, it's not worth going anywhere else unless you want to pay twice for the same thing. I think most TT GO units come with Bluetooth, which gives you the hand-free facility for your phone. The only downside to Tom Tom is their tendency to issue upgraded software before it has been properly road-tested. (The secret here is not to accept any major upgrade for a few weeks, until others have tried it and ironed out the bugs!) Apart from that they are about as good as portable satnav can be. I started with TT on an Ipaq 2210 in 2003, and they have come a very long way since then.

If you are looking for a recon or refurbished unit, try Total PDA. I have bought 2 from them - their prices are pretty good and their service is excellent.

I use a NAVIGON system and it is superb. Looks really classy and bulletproof.

the menus are really concise and it has never let me down on a route-always gets me there and bang on the time it estimates.

The navigation display has some neat features such as Lane Assist ( this gives you a realistic 3D view of a junction/motorway exit), TMC system which tells you of any traffic problems on your route which you can them route around or carry on. 3D City view (3D view of important landmarks/buildings etc) and Speed Camera warning pre-installed.

You don't even have to sign up for a costly update service if you don't need to.

Had a Road Angel before and it cost 3 times that of the Navigon and it was terrible to the point of throwing it out the window.

As others have said, you won't go wrong with either a Garmin or TomTom. Get down to Halfords and try some out to see which you prefer. I wouldn't be tempted by cheaper less well known brands.

I bought an entry level Garmin, refurbished but as new from Amazon for only £60. Been delighted with it for a first satnav - does exactly what I want without any fuss.

For me, the best place to mount it is to the right of the steering wheel using the windscreen mount in the bottom right corner of the windscreen. It's also just above the fusebox so easy to wire in permanently. Hopefully this gives you the idea:

Edited 17 October, 201015 yr by Phil_P

I have a Garmin and i find it is absolutely spot on, had a cheapo brand before and it was completely crap. I have fitted the round disc to the underside of the lid of the storage box on top centre of dash, so i just open the lid and mount the sat nav bracket to the lid. I am going to have an electric point fitted inside the storage box. I find this position ideal as it is easy to see and doesn't distract from watching the road etc. Also this leaves no marks on the windscreen to give scumbags an indication you have a sat nav.

Edited 17 October, 201015 yr by BillyT1903

Another vote for Garmin - I have a 775t and I'm completely happy with it. I have also bought a lifetime map update for Europe, which means you get a complete map refresh roughly every quarter, which seems to limit the number of duff directions.

Traffic, safety cameras and Bluetooth all works well. Its also possible to have the voice dirrections through the FM radio - although I never bother with this. The Good Beer Guide is the best collection of waypoints available - never more than 5miles from a decent pub!

I have mounted it to the right of the steering wheel on the top of the dash. Doesn't interfere with forward view and I route the FM aerial up the A-pillar.

Always had Navman's (Navmen?) and currently have an S80 which is a couple of years old. Recently updated the maps (which actually turned into a bit of a nightmare and I was reduced to seeking tech support!) but now OK and so it should be good for a bit longer yet. The newer Mio/Navman units seem to get mixed reviews but are generally a bit cheaper than the feature-equivalent TomTom or Garmin.

I do also have a TomTom One, but never really use it as I much prefer the mapping and user interface on the Navman. That said, TomTom do seem to offer the better update service/support.

Mounting has been discussed in numerous threads before, including this one here

I've got two units!

1/ Tom Tom 750 Live: The only good thing about it is the Live traffic updates, the other features like speed cams are poor compared to PGPSW, the fuel prices are a bit hit & miss too, the mapping is to say the least pretty poor, on more than one occasion its said I'm driving on a railway line or in a field! Loads of updates are missing.

Updates are to say the least problematical, it took me around 8 hours to sort out the mess that occurred when I tried to use the latest map guarantee to update the one that came with the unit, you need a MicroSDHC card of at least 4Gb, prefrerably 8Gb for it to be of any use.

Routing on the unit is pretty quick, as is the offer of a different route when traffic gets bad.

2/ Garmin 3790T: This is the 3rd unit I've had due to problems with the others. Mapping is superb & more or less spot on unlike the TT750. The traffic facility is a bit hit & miss unlike the TT750 Live which is good.

If you want traffic cameras other than Garmin's own then you need to delete them from the unit first. You also need to download two bits of software POI Loader & Web Updater before you can do anything much with the unit (Software updates, PGPSW cams, POIs etc).

The screen on the Garmin is beautiful to look at, the TT 750's is quite bland by comparison.

The 3790T has a card slot again for a MicroSDHC card, a 4Gb card is recommended, I've tried a 8Gb & that works too, useful for storing POI etc.

The routing on the Garmin can be slightly eccentric & erratic, but you can override it easily.

So which do I prefer?

Well for plain ease of use the TT750, however the Garmin trumps it in so many ways, I'd tend to choose the Garmin, just because the mapping is better.

I have a TomTom Go 530 and it sits in the same place as Phil_P's

it also fits perfectly in the cubbyhole bottom right in the dash, just below the steering wheel.

Bluetooth handsfree and traffic - its great.

I also have my vrs as the car icon.

Tom Tom every time.

And get a Brodit bracket which remains attached to your dashboard (without screws or any fixing so no holes) between the central airvents. A few black sticky fixers on the driver's side of the bulkhead to keep the cable tidy (the business end just hangs over the steering column out of the way). You don't want to use those messy suction things on the windscreen. Satnav stows in the (optional - I've got one under the driver's side - £14) box under the seat.

dill

As others have said, you won't go wrong with either a Garmin or TomTom. Get down to Halfords and try some out to see which you prefer. I wouldn't be tempted by cheaper less well known brands.

I bought an entry level Garmin, refurbished but as new from Amazon for only £60. Been delighted with it for a first satnav - does exactly what I want without any fuss.

For me, the best place to mount it is to the right of the steering wheel using the windscreen mount in the bottom right corner of the windscreen. It's also just above the fusebox so easy to wire in permanently. Hopefully this gives you the idea:

I'm looking to have a permanent feed for my phone / sat nav and the right hand side is spot on (at present it's in the middle above the centre console and restricts view).

How have you wired this up into the fusebox?

Garmin is my personal preference, nice little touches like being able to lift the GPX file from the device at the end of a journey and see where you've driven in Mapsource (Garmin's map handling product). I understand TomTom have unwittingly withdrawn support for 3rd party POIs, too, according to an article on PocketGPSWorld, though they plan to put it right now they've realised.

As far as where to fit it, I've had success by installing a cigar lighter adaptor in the top dash storage box and mounting it there, handy for the co-driver to take control of.

More details in this thread http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/155009-has-anyone-installed-a-cigarette-socket-in-the-top-dash-box/page__hl__lighter__st__20

My original Tom Tom one from 2005 is still going strong. Tom Tom has a good grip of what makes a good sat nav.

Unfortunately all the ones ive seen working are all inferior to mine in terms of real time following of position, and changes in speed etc. and picks up signal everytime. Never had a problem with it.

im sure you can pick one up very cheap from ebay if you looked.

C

I second that

My Tom Tom One XL now a good few years old - keep it up to date with map updates

Put it in the dash top box - I hate the tell tale window suction marks

Edited 19 October, 201015 yr by InexEng

i just got a Tomtom GO1000 with HD traffic and i have to say over the 530 and 730 even with the updated Nav core on this is the dogs b******s with the HD traffic services, its taken me routes home from work i didnt know and saved me huge ammounts of time, it pulls live traffic info over the air via some kind of a GPRS connection with vodafone built into the thing not just the RDS traffic updates, also tomtom have some crazy deal with vodafone where it uses every handset on the network to feed positioning info to them they turn into traffic mapping info. Very clever and really seems to work well!

My car does not have the lid on the trim any idea how much one would cost, or has anyone got one lying about

i just got a Tomtom GO1000 with HD traffic and i have to say over the 530 and 730 even with the updated Nav core on this is the dogs b******s with the HD traffic services, its taken me routes home from work i didnt know and saved me huge ammounts of time, it pulls live traffic info over the air via some kind of a GPRS connection with vodafone built into the thing not just the RDS traffic updates, also tomtom have some crazy deal with vodafone where it uses every handset on the network to feed positioning info to them they turn into traffic mapping info. Very clever and really seems to work well!

I was recently working in London and my the landlord of my digs suggested lots of routes from his house to the places I was working. He has great local knowledge having spent most of his working life as a Police driver. Anyhoo, I couldn't remember all his instructions so used my TomTom940 instead.................and it took me exactly the same way as he had described (I had to get the unit out of the car to show him though ) By contrast, my Audi inbuilt system sent me via Istanbul or somewhere :(

I'm looking to have a permanent feed for my phone / sat nav and the right hand side is spot on (at present it's in the middle above the centre console and restricts view).

How have you wired this up into the fusebox?

Take a look at this thread:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/153109-wiring-question/

I went for the quick and easy option and used a spade terminal (same size a one blade on a fuse) into the front of the fuse box in a spare slot for a switched live feed. I then used an inline fuse and a cigarette lighter socket all hidden in around the fuse box. From there it's relatively easy to feed the wire up through the dash trim and leave a small amount dangling on the dash.