I've been thinking about a satnav unit with TMC for my car. I've got a few problems though.

1. The OEM unit is nice, but expensive, and the TMC and Bluetooth Hands-Free upgrades even more so. On the plus side, it integrates well, I won't have wires trailing everywhere, I can keep the CD Changer and get a cheap line-in adaptor or I can get a PC and run video into the satnav display.

* OEM Skoda Satnav from some Lithuanian dude on eBay

I dont know a lot about various forms of sat nav but hope this helps.

We have a std Skoda system in the Superb & a Tom Tom for the other cars. Tom Tom is much easier to use, dead easy to load up extra info from the Internet (cameras etc) covers all of Europe, with the Skud system you have to buy extra CD's Also with Tom Tom you can update the maps on the net, Im guessing to upgrade the Skud unit you buy a new disc. The Tom Tom touch screen is much easier to use than the twiddling knobs & pressing buttons on the Skoda unit.

The fitted system I agree looks better & you dont have to remember to keep taking it out but the portable system is just that. When we took the Superb to france we took the Tom Tom to save buying extra discs & when the Skoda was at the French dealers for over a week we just put the Tom Tom in the Renter & carried on.

If I was paying extra for sat nav I would personally save the money & buy a portable unit

I've got a TomTom One. It cost £210 and is brilliant. It's portable - but you can run the power cable up the back of the dash if you dont want wires trailing everywhere

You can upgrade the card to full Europe mapping and speak cameras like Stuart said easily and the unit is so simply to use - even SWMBO could use it

All these new systems that play MP3 and do phone calls etc are pointless in my opinion. The only good latest feature of sat nav is the new TT feature that speaks the road names - but this is a high-end feature only.

I've got a TomTom One. It cost

GArmin for me. I have a Garmin Nuvi which covers all of Europe down to street level. Also can load in travel guides so it is like an electronic guidebook which is cool, as is the language translator Getting the TMC for it soon.

I prefer these (Nuvi, TomTom etc) as you can move them from car to car to van to hire car to bike to use on foot etc

I had the misfortune of buying a Tom Tom 512? for work.

In the open they are fine, quick and easy to use but in a built up area they cannot hack it. The map starts to rotate and it keeps recalculating, sending you of in all directions. I took it back and exchanged it for another just in case it was the unit, still the same.

I also have a Pioneer AVIC X1 in the Red Devil which we used on the CZ trip. It performed very well, never missed a beat and the Pioneer does a lot, lot more besides.

I have a small GPS received on the dash (under the tax disk holder onthe left), and I use Dell x50v running tomtom. This I sit down on the fag-ash tray infront of the gear leaver. All I need to do is remove the pocket pc unit when I park. The cabling i have run under the carpet to the lighter socket under the dash, but I will get around to re-wiring properly at some point.

I spent an age on this dilema but eventually opted for a portable unit. If you're after a TMC unit with bluetooth consider the Mitac Mio C710. It has a built in TMC aerial to reduce the amount of wires and full Eurpoean coverage aswell.

If you can do without the bluetooth have a look at the Navman range. I bought an ICN 530. It's just been replaced so there are some really good deals going around at the moment (try Handtec). It can be brought with a seperate TMC aerial (just sits on the dash) and also full european maps included. I've been all over Europe with this unit with no problems at all. You can even upload points of interest and speed cameras from Pocket GPS world. I'm sure the replacement models are just as good mind you although there will be a premium on price!!

If you don't want to look like everyone else on the motorway consider a Brodit clip that can be attached to the central console. No drilling required, it just slots in between the facias. It also reduces the distance between the cigarette lighter and the Sat Nav, important as not all units have long cables!

Finally, everyone seems to have their favourites, Tom Tom, Garmin, Navman etc. I suggest you just decide exactly what you need and find the best deal on a unit that fits your requirements. None of the manufacturers are perfect at present!!

I had the misfortune of buying a Tom Tom 512? for work.

In the open they are fine, quick and easy to use but in a built up area they cannot hack it. The map starts to rotate and it keeps recalculating, sending you of in all directions. I took it back and exchanged it for another just in case it was the unit, still the same.

I also have a Pioneer AVIC X1 in the Red Devil which we used on the CZ trip. It performed very well, never missed a beat and the Pioneer does a lot, lot more besides.

The avic-x1 unit is awesom! go for that!

Got the Garmin i3. Really small (but not too small), and easy to use. Down loaded camera locations onto it from the net. they were £100 a few weeks ago, best money I have ever spent to be honest. Even works on batteries if need be, so just take from pocket stick on window and away you go.

Bl**dy ebay! I've managed to buy myself a Skoda SatNav unit :eek: I didn't really want one - I was going to buy a Mio C710. But it was there, so I put a low bid on it and now it's mine! I forsee a long shopping list of extras ahead of me (starting with GPS aerial, wiring kit, then maybe a TMC unit...).

Be warned kids, like shopping, don't eBay when you're hungry

J

Well, it's here and it's in. I can't quite get it flush (still about 3mm proud) - the wiring is a real sod as the wires tangle with the plastic beams at the back of the Double DIN slot - but it looks really good.

It also took me a while to find anywhere to mount the GPS aerial. In the end I removed the glovebox and stuck it to the metal beam above the air vents in the middle of the dash.

Having played with it for a while, I've noticed:

* Entering place names is a bit long winded, with it not having full postcode support. It only takes a minute or so to enter the name once you're used to it though, and you can store a big list of common places, as well as a Top 10 (although if you go there that often, do you need directions?)

* The map looks very 1980s Autoroute for DOS. I think this is because the roads are just strips of colour rather than having a neat black outline. The low resolution of the unit is probably responsible for this. It also doesn't show street names on the map. Having said that, it is quite clear and easy to follow.

* The turn-by-turn mode looks better than the map - big clear arrows and roundabout symbols.

* Listing the six radio station presets by name on screen is very neat.

* Being able to change radio station / compact disc while the map is on display is also neat, and something I didn't expect. Basically, the shortcut buttons 1-6 aren't used for navigation at all - just the turn-and-click dial.

* It has a four minute traffic announcement memory, like the Symphony, but it seems to be able to show information about each traffic bulletin.

* GPS reception in the middle of a city seems perfect - takes me around my local terraced streets without any problems.

I think, in summary, it's a decent replacement for the Symphony. I don't have to remember to take it out of the car with me (I already have to juggle sunglasses, keys and mobile), it looks really sweet and it only cost

We need pics!

Well, I got it to fit flush. We, umm, had to remove some plastic *cough*. Basically the bracket at the back of the Double DIN slot was completely in the way, so it's gone. :eek: The Symphony would probably be a bit sloppy now, but hopefully it won't have to go back in...

...although it nearly did this morning because the crappy CD-R I got with my Nav unit packed up. The unit refused to read it and just said "Navigation is starting. Obey the RTR!". I'll be getting myself a proper disc sharpish. :(

Just to add to my fun this afternoon, the clutch pedal snapped, leaving me stranded at a road junction. Fortunately I was just pulling away from some lights and not going across the middle of the junction! Will be throwing the keys at the local stealer tomorrow.

J

Jon

If you have VAG-COM check for a CD error in the MFD, have seen this twice in MFD2 now with the same symptoms.