Garmin nüvi 55LMT -Opinions please.

[Deleted User]

I've never owned a Sat Nav, as I've never felt I needed one.

However, I'm looking to take the car across the channel, so will probably be needing one.

I could do with one which is quick to learn, and easy to use, ie. intuitive.

Aldi are currently selling the Garmin nüvi 55LMT, for £90.

Opinions on it (particularly regarding the above criteria) anyone?

Thanks in anticipation.

motorguy

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I've never owned a Sat Nav, as I've never felt I needed one.

However, I'm looking to take the car across the channel, so will probably be needing one.

I could do with one which is quick to learn, and easy to use, ie. intuitive.

Aldi are currently selling the Garmin nüvi 55LMT, for £90.

Opinions on it (particularly regarding the above criteria) anyone?

Thanks in anticipation.

I got my son one of these for touring through eastern europe. More than enough for your needs and it'll save you £25. :money:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-nuvi-Ireland-Lifetime-Updates/dp/B00FQGVKIY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417283535&sr=8-1&keywords=garmin+nuvi+55+lm

EDIT - Oops - just realised thats UK and ireland only, sorry

The lifetime UK & Europe one is £84.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-nuvi-Ireland-Lifetime-Updates/dp/B00FQGVKIY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417283535&sr=8-1&keywords=garmin+nuvi+55+lm

[Deleted User]

What's the difference between the LM and the LMT?

BTW. Your second link is also the UK and Ireland one.

motorguy

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

What's the difference between the LM and the LMT?

BTW. Your second link is also the UK and Ireland one.

Just checked there - LM = Lifetime maps and the T = Traffic, so traffic updates.

That would be a good buy at £90 then.

My second link it still makes you click on a box further down for Europe lifetime maps - i thought it would have changed the link.

That one you're looking at is probably the best overall.

I've had garmins for years and they're great units, so i'd strongly recommend one.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for that.

Another question if I may?

Do I have to program it for each step of the journey, ie. first program it to Dover, then program from Calais to the overnight hotel in Antwerp, then program to Berlin?

Or can I program it in one go, to take me to Berlin, via Dover to Calais, then to the hotel in Antwerp, and finally to the hotel in Berlin?

I know this is probably a silly question, but I have zero experience of Sat Navs.

Iceweasel

I do each leg of the journey separately otherwise your estimated time of arrival is nonsense.

Also the traffic news and routing diversions for heavy traffic will be looking at things hundereds of miles away that will almost certainly clear before you reach them.

For example if you leave Calais and have the destination set as Berlin which is 1000km away, there may well be delays around Hanover, so your sat-nav might say +18minutes, and without pressing a few buttons you haven't got a clue where or when the hold ups will affect the journey.

If you were planning to stop overnight in Antwerp then hold ups around Hannover the following day are of no interest to you.

[Deleted User]

If I did program it in one go (Manchester to Berlin), would I be able to tell it to take me to Dover, then to the hotel in Antwerp, or would it simply take me by the most direct route to Berlin?

Again, sorry for asking what are probably silly questions , but this stuff is all new to me.

Iceweasel

Sure - you could programme it to do Manchester to Berlin and then put in as many 'via-points' as you want to.

But on my Garmin nuvi ( a few years old now) I have no facility to tell it how long I want to stop for at each additional point - perhaps the latest ones can do that - but the programming will start to get complicated and making any last minute changes will be a PITA.

The Sat-Nav will take several minutes to calculate a long route like that.

I see no advantage in doing the programming in one piece, and from experience of long European journeys I can see only disadvantages.

[Deleted User]

I'm guessing I just write down the Postcodes (or equivalents) of Dover Port, the Antwerp Hotel, and the Berlin Hotel, then enter each of them, as I depart the previous location?

Iceweasel

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I'm guessing I just write down the Postcodes (or equivalents) of Dover Port, the Antwerp Hotel, and the Berlin Hotel, then enter each of them, as I depart the previous location?

It's easier than that - you don't need to know postcodes or addresses - just the name of the place you want.

days before you depart you set up some 'favourites'.

You communicate with the sat nav something like this-

The home screen asks - Where to?
You press the button and select POI (points of interest.)
you then select 'near' and enter Dover.
you then enter 'border crossings' and the sat nav displays a list.
You choose 'Dover Eastern Docks' then press 'save'.

You then do the same for all the other destinations.

It's the work of a moment to recall them from your personal list of favourites.

The sat-nav has all the hotels and filling stations, shops and supermarkets stored in it's memory.

Buy the sat-nav asap and have a practice with destinations you are familiar with within a few miles of your house and see how the system works.

A good feature is during a journey you press menu, poi and then fuel stations - you can then select a French supermarket right near your route.

I would suggest Carrefour before you leave Calais - very convenient - even without sat-nav - just head for the huge lights of the sports stadium as soon as you leave the port.

After a couple of weeks you'll wonder what you did without a sat-nav.

[Deleted User]

Carrefour for what, fuel, toilet, a meal?