With fuel costs escalating all the time, you could go in a new direction and save money, with the TomTom Go Live 800 series.
These latest generation compact navigation accessories use the latest mapping and guidance technology to give real time dynamic routes.
The fact that a number of car manufacturers endorse the TomTom systems is a good recommendation, particularly if your car or van doesn’t have inbuilt satnav or you move between vehicles or share with a partner.
Compact, easy to set up and use, we tested a TomTom 820 for a trip to Paris and it worked extremely well.
Our car had a manufacturer fitted satnav but that was insufficient inside the Paris ring road and the TomTom 820 came to our rescue.
With just a few taps of the fingertips to select country, city and road, it took us directly to our hotel, avoiding some of the busiest roads in an evening rush-hour and even when we took a wrong turn it instantly corrected and re-routed back on course.
Only once did it appear to throw a wobbly when it suggested a right, left and right turn sequence which took us around a block and brought us back onto the road we had left less than 100 yards earlier and we had seen to be clear up to the junction where we rejoined.
The 820 has a 4.3-inch screen, which is a little small in low light conditions and when set up on a deep fascia some distance from the driver’s eyes, and the slightly larger 5-inch screen on the 825-model might be better.
The TomTom GO LIVE 825 Europe is priced £229.99 (RRP). The TomTom GO LIVE 820 Europe is priced £199.99, whilst the UK version is £179.99. All TomTom GO LIVE products now come with free lifetime maps. That’s four complete map updates every year for the lifetime of the product. Previously, this cost £79.99.
In that package its data-base is refreshed every two minutes when running. The HD Traffic gives drivers detailed incident reports, length of and reason for delays, accurate travel and arrival times – even alternative route proposals. It was spot on forecasting arrival times in our experience. The Live system includes camera alert reminders and utilises Google local search to pinpoint places and even provides weather updates.
It is an impressive mini-computer companion which can be quickly slipped into a pocket or bag when leaving a vehicle. Just to be extra safe, the Go Live models have voice activation for phones and entering addresses.
Go Live 820 was an impressive performer, but I would go for the larger screen version costing only £30 more, and they are available from a wide variety of outlets and you may find special deals, which mean you save even more as well as reducing your stressful journeys when you avoid getting lost and needlessly piling on the miles.
