TomTom one XL Europe vs Garmin Nuvi 250W Europe

TomTom one XL Europe vs Garmin Nuvi 250W Europe

Author
Discussion

redbarron84

Original Poster:

1,568 posts

209 months

Monday 15th December 2008
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As per the title really. I'm getting one for christmas but can't tell these two apart.
Needs to have European maps on as i'm venturing to the Nurburgring next year. Plus i'd like to find the unrestricted Autobahns wink

Both seem to have great reviews but there are a few worrying reviews for both aswell so am asking the good people of PistonHeads to help me choose one.

pdV6

16,442 posts

262 months

Monday 22nd December 2008
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I have the Garmin and really like it.

Now the TomToms are a bit less 'chunky' than of old, I can't really see much difference between the 2.

andy-xr

13,204 posts

205 months

Wednesday 24th December 2008
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Guess it's a bit late to be posting this, but I finally lost it with the TomTom today and bought an entry level nuvi to replace the One v2

Interesting differences between them, but the TomTom has the Garmin on a few things

- Speaker volume and clarity of voices
- Screen prompts
- Speed limit display/warning for exceeding limit
- General mapping feel

I'm not bothered about mapshare, although that might be an issue others are concerned with.

Will be testing the nuvi out over the next few days but on the surface it doesnt appear to be less of a sat nav, it's just a bit different. That speaker needs sorting out though

V6Alfisti

3,305 posts

228 months

Thursday 25th December 2008
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I have used both systems and still find the TomTom far superior.

The amount of information displayed whilst driving, the mapping and the way directions are displayed on screen is a much clearer affair on the TomTom.

The Garmin has some extra functions like telling you the total distance travelled since you have had the garmin (as long it was turned on) which is a nice idea, but pretty pointless and gimmicky.

I also like the MapShare facility, even though it still isn't perfect.

TomTom for me biggrin

Edited by V6Alfisti on Thursday 25th December 13:51

y2blade

56,129 posts

216 months

Sunday 28th December 2008
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I got the Tomtom XL europe with the traffic alert bundle thrown in for christmas...used it this morning for the TVS breakfast hoon and imho it is miles ahead of the Garmin in terms of clarity of instruction and mapping

if i had to buy one myself i'd have gone for the tomtom ages ago

Chris71

21,536 posts

243 months

Friday 23rd January 2009
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Interesting reading. Is TomTom thought to be better than Ford price-for-price then? Must admit I've seen so much conflicting advice that I'm now a bit confused. smile

andy-xr

13,204 posts

205 months

Saturday 24th January 2009
quotequote all
andy-xr said:
Guess it's a bit late to be posting this, but I finally lost it with the TomTom today and bought an entry level nuvi to replace the One v2

Interesting differences between them, but the TomTom has the Garmin on a few things

- Speaker volume and clarity of voices
- Screen prompts
- Speed limit display/warning for exceeding limit
- General mapping feel

I'm not bothered about mapshare, although that might be an issue others are concerned with.

Will be testing the nuvi out over the next few days but on the surface it doesnt appear to be less of a sat nav, it's just a bit different. That speaker needs sorting out though
Well, a month on and I'm still OK with the Garmin. I used to have the TomTom volume quite high so I could hear it over the stereo and it wouldnt distort but you cant do that with the Garmin. It's a bit too quiet with music on.

The alerts system I havent played with too much, so it's on a continuous bong. From what I've read, there's no way to change that other than have external (through the SD card slot) noises loaded on - something I'll probably do but havent got around to yet. This is where I like the TomTom as I had different alert noises set up for different types of speed camera. I'd want to be warned earlier and with a particular noise if there was a mobile camera vs SPECS

The Garmin speed cameras were OK, the pocketGPS ones much better so I've loaded them on

Garmin Traffic is a bit twitchy. I tried it on a long run last week; Notts-Surrey-Notts and there was a bit of traffic on the top of the M25 going round anti clockwise. It wanted to take me off down the A41, cross country and bring me back out at Uxbridge cutting out the 9-11 o clock section, but showed the delay as 10 minutes. I ignored it and it turned out to be OK

All in all still happy with the Garmin, I havent reached for the TomTom to get me out of a mess, but the Traffic does make you wonder sometimes what it's doing with the arrival time

ETA - Chris, you wont go far wrong with either but are best having a go with both to see which you prefer. In the absence of anyone you know having both the closest you'll get is probably a walk through the menus in Halfords. Personally I'd say TomTom v3, as long as you understand that TomTom Home is an interference into what should be a straightforward process. Thats why I dumped mine - complete dummy spit that it wiped favourites I hadnt backed up with no warning

Edited by andy-xr on Saturday 24th January 08:08

Chris71

21,536 posts

243 months

Monday 26th January 2009
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Cheers Andy. After a few TomTom recommendations from friends I went for a basic One V3. Presume it'll be possible to add European mapping (France, Holland, Belgium, Germany) if required?

Jamz

408 posts

194 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
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You get itinerary planning with the TomTom

Chris71

21,536 posts

243 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
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Jamz said:
You get itinerary planning with the TomTom
...as long as it's not a One V3 or One V4. wink

(Ok, I think I've done that enough now, but it really did annoy me to find out it no longer comes with the above after I bought one for my trans-Wales hoon)

andy-xr

13,204 posts

205 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
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Just stick them in as POI's or favourites

Chris71

21,536 posts

243 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
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Nah, fortunately discovered it straight away and Amazon accepted it back without question and I got an XL.

The (standard) scamera alerts are woeful, but apart from that it's excellent and very intuitive.