Navigon 7210 review

The 7210 is far more expensive than Navigon's other entry in this month's round-up.

Its price pits it directly against TomTom's Go 740 Live and Garmin's 765T and 860. It comes with full maps of 40 European countries, but it's far more luxurious than the 1210. A 4.3in screen provides a greater amount of room to show the map and the build quality is better, too.

The 7210 shows 3D models of important landmarks. However, as with Navman's 3D database, the number of models here is small. You get lane assistance at complicated multi-carriageway junctions, including a full-screen graphic for certain junctions. There are warnings when you reach dangerous bends as well. A RDS-TMC receiver is integrated into the charger cable, so you don't need to route this around your windscreen.

Navigon has integrated voice recognition into the 7210. As with TomTom's Go 530, this applies only to address entry. After an initial training phase, which simply sets the levels according to background noise, the 7210's voice recognition picked up the test addresses that we entered very accurately. You need to press an initial option onscreen to kick things off, though, and we wouldn't recommend using the system when driving as it would still be distracting. It's still quicker than picking out letters with your fingertips.

Whereas the Navigon 1210's screen feels cluttered, the 7210's widescreen provides enough space for directions, lane guidance and journey data while leaving space for the all-important map. However, the process for entering addresses is clunky and you can't enter a house number when you navigate by postcode. We also found the touch screen unresponsive at times.

Navigon's 7210 has a lot going for it, but other satnavs have similar features for similar money, with more polished interfaces for destination entry. Unless you can find it cheaper, most people will be better off saving money and buying the Go 530.