Sat Nav: Handheld or Fixed

Driving down to Almerimar from the UK recently in the Toyota Prius Hybrid gave me an excellent opportunity to compare the inbuilt the Sat Nav system in the Toyota Prius Hybrid with the portable Garmin Zumo 550 and Garmin GTM 21 Traffic Receiver that I use primarily on the Harley Davidson Road King Classic.

I need to declare in advance that I absolutely love the Garmin Zumo 550 primarily for the following reasons:

• Easy To Keep Up To Date: just hook up to the Mac Book Pro and download the latest versions of the available Maps
• Accuracy & Speed: since day one I have been very impressed with the speed it calculates routes and new routes, and the accuracy has been phenomenal
• Ease Of Use: BIG buttons, simple screen layout, and really easy way of recording Waypoints
• Portability: both for use when on foot (great for recording Almerimar Life Waypoints) and uploading to the Mac Book Pro*

Since I added the Garmin GTM 21 Traffic Receiver I have been very happy with the alerts and information that it provides.

Finally, the Garmin Zumo 550 speed camera facility for both fixed and mobile cameras is brilliant! As the fixed Sat Nav didn’t have this feature it certainly won on this point.

So what of the Toyota Prius Hybrid Sat Nav? Well first up it is an older model than the Garmin Zumo 550 so I was prepared to make some allowances!

The most notable difference was the age of the maps, which only highlighted one of the main issues with a fixed Sat Nav – the fact that updating the maps is a pretty laborious task, involving getting the latest DVD’s from the dealer and installing them.

Of course the fixed Sat Nav wasn’t portable so recording the location of a city centre bar or restaurant wasn’t an option, but that is just the way it is with anything fixed versus portable. The point being though that it is a feature that I need pretty regularly so from a personal perspective it was a function I missed.

The screen on the other hand is much better, primarily because of size, but I love the split screen option on the Toyota Prius Hybrid on Motorways which provides useful information on next exits and petrol, services etc. Really useful, and very accurate.

While the Garmin Zumo 550 makes valient attempts at integration with the iPhone and Bluetooth Headset it can’t compete at all with the inbuilt integration and quality of the Toyota Prius Hybrid. The same can be said for the music facility that while it is adequate for the Road King Classic it isn’t a patch on the fixed Sat Nav option.

Searching for hotels and restaurants was easier on the fixed Sat Nav, but in general I found the Zumo easier and simpler to use, especially when it came to recording a new Waypoint. On the other hand the three route option of the fixed Sat Nav was much better.

If I had to choose one Sat Nav which would it be? The Garmin Zumo 550 without a doubt! In an ideal world though I would like to have the option to dock the Garmin Zumo 550 into the car and use the screen in the car, along with the split screen function. That would be pretty cool, and the more I think about it a pretty smart thing for car companies to do!!!

In the meantime I will happily use both. On a day to day basis this isn’t a inconvenience or issue, but for longer trips I need to figure out what bestto do regards mounting the Zumo. At the moment I am using a removable suction mount and power supply plugged into a cigarette lighter. This works fine and mounts pretty well on the center console, but longer term I think a more permanent solution with power and theGarmin GTM 21 Traffic Receiver hard wired in, and permanent but unobtrusive mount fitted.

* Why the Mac Book Pro? I use the Mac Book Pro to make the most of the portability i.e. with the Mac Book Pro I can take both the Garmin Zumo 550 and the Mac Book Pro with me and work seemlessly. While I could use the Mac Pro and the largetr screens I decided that the comprise of smaller screen for more portabiity was best for me.