Sat-navs can be extremely useful in getting motorists to a destination that is unfamiliar to them, particularly if reaching that destination requires travelling for a very long distance.
With a sat-nav onboard, drivers can be guided to which motorways they need to go on, which exits they need to take and what various side roads and roundabouts they may need to travel through.
While quite a few new cars on the market are available with an in-built sat-nav, as either an option or standard feature, separate devices are sold too, giving all motorists access to such technology provided they can afford it.
There are lots of detachable, third-party sat-nav devices which can be bought for cars, but which ones stand out?
What is a sat nav?
Just in case you weren’t clear on this already, ‘sat-nav’ is short for satellite navigation, which is a device that uses a combination of satellites and mapping software to determine the car’s position and plan the most effective route to a selected destination.
All the driver needs to do is input a postcode, address or coordinates into the device and it should work out the best route to take to reach the chosen destination.
What is the best sat nav?
Nowadays, a wide range of phone apps are available to download on a smartphone, which makes use of the device’s GPS function. In this guide though, we are going to focus purely on separate, detachable sat-nav devices which serve one main purpose. They are usually installed inside a car either by using a suction cup on the windscreen or with some other kind of holder such as potentially an anti-slip holder pad for instance.
So, just what is the best sat nav for cars? Bear in mind that while sat-navs can vary a lot in terms of pricing, from just under £100 to a few hundred pounds, you’ll realistically need to spend closer towards the latter for a really good sat-nav with the best array of features.
Below, we go through a few of our most recommended picks when it comes to picking the best car navigation system.
Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S
This sat-nav device from Garmin has a five-inch screen which may not sound that big at first but the picture is really good quality and packs an impressive amount of detail without feeling too overwhelming.
The menu is also user-friendly and using the controls with the touch of your finger is very responsive so shouldn’t find yourself having to press twice for a command. This Garmin device also delivers some of the best voice commands compared to rival options, as they tend to include landmarks and buildings which can be used as handy reference points.
Mio Spirit 7670 LM
Choosing a sat-nav from Mio could be considered leftfield next to more well-known brands like TomTom or Garmin. However, this 7670 LM sat-nav is more affordable than many of the mainstream choices out there and it still does a decent job all-round.
Featuring a five-inch screen, the 7670 LM comes with live traffic features and speed camera alerts which are usually very accurate and the device receives free updates so speed camera alerts should remain up to date.
TomTom GO5200
This TomTom device has an intuitive menu layout, accurate traffic layouts and impressively detailed maps with 3d buildings that make driving in urban areas easier.
Arguably the biggest strength of all when it comes to the GO5200 is the quality of guidance it offers. This device is very good at picking the route to your chosen destination as it’s very smart when it comes to adapting the route to avoid heavy traffic or other factors that could prove problematic for the driver.
