Best aftermarket sat nav system ?

[roc888]

HI,

can anyone tell me which satnav system is the best in Uk?

Thanks.

Alex

[mikeythemini]

I have used or sell, BMW, Mini, Lexus, Panasonic, Smartnav, Blaupunkt, Clarion, Kenwood, Garmin,
Without a doubt - Kenwood is the best

[den123]

check out the one in the for sale forum

[laptop]

It all depends what you want really.

I have TomTom3 on my Ipaq with a stand alone Bluetooth GPS receiver. This gives me satnav when in any car/on foot/on my mountain bike.
I have just changed my phone to the new Xda IIs, which is in effect, another Ipaq style pda with again bluetooth and wi-fi. I have loaded the TomTom into this and it is great. So i now have everything a gadget man could want in one small package.

The benefit of this is that it is in no way limited to an individual car. I used it when I went to Oz last year....loaded in "Navigator" and then scanned in OS style maps.....simple.

Just a thought.

[roc888]

Hi Laptop,

I am looking for a satnav which flips out from the dashboard.

The most important things I am looking for are;

sat nav head unit is compatible with Harmon Kardon Speakers,
sat nav head unit can control and display the ipod
and accurate navigation.

Thanks.

Alex

[Parc77]

We looked at getting one like your talking about that flips out etc etc, but didnt fancy paying silly prices, and if you buy down to a price you usually find sat nav systems are fiddley and difficult to use and all the usual reported problems.

Kept looking at the TomTom Go unit but again with the price thought it might not be that good, someone let us try be for we buy and have to say its clear precise can be moved from car to car comes with a sucker that doesnt vibrate and move about all over the place, best bit of money i spent on a piece of gadgetry especially with the petrol stations speed cameras etc on it v user friendly and highly recommended.

Well which ever way you go best of luck

[Rich_IX]

I have the BMW Sat Nav but my sister has a Tom Tom in her car and its very good, although the Kenwood is exciellent also but costs more £

[mikeythemini]

Don't know where u r
If you can ever get up my way you can go for a run in some of our cars, try he nav's out

the Kenwood in mine is very accurate (I recently had 3 new 5 series BMW's for a rip round Europe - couldn't believe how bad the nav was)
It can work with the HK with an interface as can the other pop out systems
I have mine linked to my ipod & it displays ID3 tags.
It will also play MP3 coded cd'd & DVD'd !!!
& TV & DVD & I just fitted freeview & TMC

[roc888]

Hi Mikey,

I am based in London.

My brother has the alpine system which is pretty good but I have read about the new pioneer all in one system.

I must do some homework on the kenwood system to see whether it is any good.

Thanks.

Alex

[mikeythemini]

Go and have a on road demo
One thing to be wary of on the Pioneer is the swapping of the disc - which costs £200 once scratched.Also people re saying some areas are missing eg Halifax

[Tit]

Quote: Originally Posted by roc888

Hi Laptop,

I am looking for a satnav which flips out from the dashboard.

The most important things I am looking for are;

sat nav head unit is compatible with Harmon Kardon Speakers,
sat nav head unit can control and display the ipod
and accurate navigation.

Thanks.

Alex

...down here in Oz, I've been looking at basically the same specs you're talking about

Alpine now have an iPod adapter for their head units (About 200 Aussie dollars). Saw one working on their touch-screen unit....VERY NICE (you don't need to make play lists etc like other adapters, it just displays all of the folders and you can scroll through them...)

....also, being a screen, you can plug whatever nav system you like into it as an input...

The HK speakers should just have normal speaker wiring - there should be no reason why they wouldn't work with an aftermarket head-unit....

The biggest problem with this sort of set-up is cost.....I'm looking at about AUD$2500 for the Alpine head unit alone (admittedly, it's an expensive unit, as Alpine tends to be), plus an extra AUD$1500ish for the sat nav....now, this doesn't include wiring/installation etc....it's starting to get a bit pricey considering you can go out an buy a navMan for about $1k....

(But touch screens are sweeeeet )

Some Alpine links:
screen: http://www.alpine-europe.com/alpine/...=266&details=1
iPod: http://www.alpine-europe.com/alpine/...e-kca-420i.htm

[roc888]

Hi Tit,

On my brothers car he has the alpine system.

It is good but cost a lot.

Thus I have been doing some homework about alternatives.

Some shop in London told me that the new pioneer system cannot interface with the Harmon Kardon speakers.

Alex

[GBMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by roc888

Some shop in London told me that the new pioneer system cannot interface with the Harmon Kardon speakers.
Alex

Most audio shops, if they know about the HK system, will know that you cannot replace the factory head unit with an aftermarekt one - nothing to do with Kenwood, Pioneer, Alpine, or whatever.
However, there is one way to make any aftermarket head unit work with the HK - and Mikey sells it!

[roc888]

Hi GBMini,

Thanks for the info.

ALex

[mikeythemini]

Roc - Nav , clear rear lamps, HK - Sounds like you need a trip up north