NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Right....my Audi A4 Avant doesn't have SatNav. I'm about to start a lot of journies into the wilds of Scotland. So tomorrow I intend going out to purchase a SatNav system for the car. I DO NOT want a PDA powered unit. I want an all-in-one unit that does SatNav only. I thought of buying an upgrade from my Road Angel II to a Road Angel Navigator but I'm extremely pissed off that after only 11 months of ownership they'd want £299.99 + my RAII up upgrade. That's a disgrace IMO. So I'll keep the RAII and spend up to £400 on a decent SatNav unit. One problem this will give me is the situation of the 12v socket in the A4 so I guess I'll have to have one or both of the units hard-wired in. Anyway, swift recommendations please because I want to go buy one tomorrow as I start my trips on Monday. NOTE: TomTom Go 300 seems quite good from what I've seen so far online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Just wanted to add that after reading Jimdiesels review of the Garmin I3, and the thoughts of dazdot and Lodders, this sounds pretty much perfect for what I want. Can someone confirm it just plugs in the cars 12v socket? Bit awkward in the A4 that. Who's stupid idea was it to put the cigarette lighter next to the handbrake!!!!! I won't have time to get it hard wired in by Monday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domus Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 I have the basic Tom Tom GO bought it over a year ago and can't get hold of it now as my three daughters keep borrowing it. I like the battery life, around 6 hours when fully charged, so no trailing wires. On the A4 Avant I have a Brodit bracket fixed on a centre air vent. This I think looks better than the windscreen mount and stays in the car without attracting undue attention. Easy to use, works straight from the box. Mrs Domus loves it, it has given her much more confidence on the road, no need to worry about getting in the wrong lane at busy junctions etc. "Jane" tells her to "Turn right, then keep in the left lane" Brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Bit awkward in the A4 that. Who's stupid idea was it to put the cigarette lighter next to the handbrake!!!!! [/ QUOTE ] Great for lighting cigarettes. Crap for plugging things in! I think a lot of those units are rechargeable Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_C Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 I agree with Domus - the TomTom GO is an excellent device. I've got the 700 and on a recent trip to France I only had to charge it up twice, and that was a 7+ hour drive each way not including the driving I did whilst down there. I too looked into the RA Navigator option as I have a RAII, but dismissed it on the same grounds as you, not to mention the fact that it seems the general consensus is that it's not the best solution anyway. I've recently installed the camera database onto the 700, and so far its alerts have all been as accurate as the RAII's. I'm going to run them in parallel for a while, and if the 700 turns out to be as reliable as the RAII has been, it's bye bye RAII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Tell you what....the Garmin I3 is available for £169 if it's ordered online with Comet!!!! Garmin I3 for £169 with Comet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigR Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Chris, buy yourself an cigarette lighter extension cable from maplins, you can plug that into fuse 5 in the drivers side of the dashboard. Saves all those unsightly wires hanging down to the handbrake,try a search in the a4 forum there is a picture thread in there. or wait until you are near Aberdeen and i'll do it for you Look at the pics here Chris, its very easy and you can hide the wires between the dash and windscreen Wire Pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Ooo, that's clever! Thanks for that! Well I've now reserved a Garmin StreetPilot I3 for collection from my local Argos tomorrow....for £169! Can't go wrong at that price. So tomorrow I'll get POI's of Speed Camera's onto it and give it a decent test. As it happens I'll probably run it on the AA batteries this week. I have about 12-16 hours driving ahead of me over the space of 4 days so I reckon a pack of AA's should see me through. I'll be taking the 12v connection with me anyway, just in case. Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve2 Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 [ QUOTE ] I agree with Domus - the TomTom GO is an excellent device. I've got the 700 and on a recent trip to France I only had to charge it up twice, and that was a 7+ hour drive each way not including the driving I did whilst down there. I too looked into the RA Navigator option as I have a RAII, but dismissed it on the same grounds as you, not to mention the fact that it seems the general consensus is that it's not the best solution anyway. I've recently installed the camera database onto the 700, and so far its alerts have all been as accurate as the RAII's. I'm going to run them in parallel for a while, and if the 700 turns out to be as reliable as the RAII has been, it's bye bye RAII. [/ QUOTE ] Have to agreewith you there John,I too have the 700 and have downloaded the camera database for free from pocket gps world andi must say it works perfectly every time. I also love the bluetoothed phone and has not got me lost at all(did try taking me onto the M20 via a police entrance once) Great piece of kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 From what I have read online today I don't think there in any doubt that both the 500 and 700's are top pieces of kit. However, for £169 the Garmin I3 represents value I'd be foolish to sniff at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve2 Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Get the 700 as an early Xmas pressie for yourself Chris, will your company not pay for it? how much travelling are you going to do and have youalready got your phone linked up to the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 I could put it through expenses yes, but I won't. See, the chances are when it isn't being used I'm going to let my wife use it in her 320d so it'd be a bit out of order for me to claim this. I can't really justify the more expensive kit anyway, not when I have to just get from A to B and the Garmin I3 clearly does that from the feedback I've had and the reviews I've read. I haven't had time to get the K750i hooked up to it yet either, although I keep meaning to book it in for Parrot Bluetooth kit installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotty Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Glad you guys are discussing this, I borrowed a TomTom from work to go to Edinburgh a few weeks ago and it was great. But despite bidding for numerous ones on Ebay (£200 budget) I cant get one. I was wondering what the Garmin was like and saw the Argos ad's. Think Im tempted to get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGW131 Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loddrik Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 The i3 is a good little unit, but the Tomtom is still the most user friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTiMK5 Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 [ QUOTE ] The i3 is a good little unit, but the Tomtom is still the most user friendly. [/ QUOTE ] And double the price for the cheapest one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now