Garmin nuvi 250W review

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Verdict:

Review Date: 10 Oct 2007

Price when reviewed: £220

Supplier: http://www.expansys.com

Reviewed By: David Stevenson

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Garmin's slim 4.3in widescreen nuvi 250W looks great and has Europe-wide map coverage. If you mainly drive in the UK, though, you can buy the identical nuvi 200W with just UK and Ireland maps for around £30 less.

The nuvi 250W is a spectacular-looking device for the price, with bevelled edges and a 4.3in widescreen that is easy to view in all lighting conditions. The maps appear in bright pastel shades and include street names, even in the 3D navigation mode. We also appreciated the loud, clear speaker, which announces upcoming turns in plenty of time.

Unfortunately, the map display lacks other details. It's essential, for instance, for a satnav device to include an icon for your next action - an indicator for 'turn left', for instance - but the nuvi 250W only gives you audio turn instructions until you're virtually on top of the next turn. There's also no distance information, so you can't tell how far ahead your next turn is. This works fine if you're alone in the car and paying attention to the voice prompts, but if you've got a car full of people or the radio on, you could well miss an instruction.

The map is rendered well and zooms in as you approach a turn, so that you can see the junction clearly. Arrows showing the route are displayed clearly across the top, but we still prefer the more informative displays of TomTom's devices.

With gorgeous looks, Europe-wide mapping and an excellent screen, the nuvi 250W is great value. But poor onscreen information and a reliance on voice prompts means that there are better devices here.

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