Garmin nuvi 205 Automotive GPS Receiver

When I have to travel alone to a new place, I can't always memorise a map beforehand, or pour over one spread out on the passenger seat when I'm at a red light! A SatNav sounded like a must to me but I couldn't afford a really expensive one.

MSN did a review of SatNavs a while back and the Garmin nüvi 205w got top praise in the "Under £100" category. Now I'm afraid to say I don't really have any SatNavs to compare this one to, so perhaps my assessment of it is biased but I have yet to find fault with it.

Apart from the praise it won in the review I'd read, I was keen to buy a Garmin as my GPS device, the eTrex H, which I use for Geocaching, is also manufactured by them and is perfectly reliable, accurate and easy to use. The nüvi 205w is even more so. The instruction book is clear and easy to follow and doesn't bog you down with stuff you don't need to know, and the device itself is very user friendly. The screen is large but doesn't block visibility, and I am very grateful that it can be plugged into the car's cigarette socket as charging it up prior to a journey is not always practical!

It recognises destinations by pre-set suggestions which are categorised (e.g. petrol stations, hotels, hospitals etc.), can go on the basis of a postcode, street name, or co-ordinates. The verbal instructions are clear and it's easy to adjust volume. The screen also shows what speed you're travelling at, and what the speed limit is which is very helpful for ambiguous roads. You can easily zoom in and out so that you can see what route will be suggested to you and the colours used on the map make for easy, quick-glance viewing.

If you take a different route from that suggested, the device quickly recalculates and can keep you on course for your final destination. I've not had my nüvi long so I cannot give a much more detailed review of its pros and cons, but so far I have found it faultless. I warn anyone who is buying a SatNav for the first time (of any make and model) not to get distracted by it though. Start on roads where you already know the way and get used to how it functions before tackling routes you know in theory but have never done, and finally completely new locations. Don't allow it to take your attention away from the road!

Of all the things I love about this SatNav, the price was definitely the number one selling point for me. Like most people, I don't want to spend more than have to and because I had no need for a device with European/American maps or was not too bothered by it not being able to help with lane discipline, this device ticked all the boxes. eBay was the perfect place to purchase it as you can save quite a bit of money compared to other large stores (either online or not).

I give the Garmin nüvi 9/10 because there may well be something which lets it down - I just haven't found it yet! (Lane guidance would have been a nice extra though!) Highly recommended!

After borrowing a friends Garmin Nuvi 205 for a few days to help with some driving work, I was so impressed with this Sat Nav that I immediately went looking for the same model to purchase for myself. It is extremely intuitive to use with a very user friendly interface. Clear menus and icons all very easy to use. On the road I found it highly accurate. I am unable to fault this product in any way at all. I would unreservedly recommend this product to anyone looking for a great value for money Sat Nav, that's easy to use with excellent features.

Bought this for a friend. I was given one for christmas and she was going on a long trip, so I lent her mine, before I had even tried it. It is very simple to use and takes you from frontdoor to frontdoor. It tells you when you are going too fast in a built up areas and warns of speed cameras.You can programm in your home and then from any where it will tell you how to get home. You can increase or lower the volume, also you c an zooom in or out on the map. if you put in a postcode on its own it will tell you that you have arrived but it might not be the exact location you require. Have not used it a lot but I am looking forward to using it later in the year when we go off in our caravan. It will be good not having to go round roundabouts more than once when we miss the turning! I have not used the "Places of Interest" feature yet - so donot know how good this is. A nice well priced instrument.

I am really pleased with this sat nav,It is easy to set up and easy to understand, I needed one for work and this is going to be such a help,has time on too and tells you how long it will take to get somewhere and I like the clear voice commands, I was worried I would get stuck as not good with technology but this is so easy! highly recommend!!!

First to say that, in general, older people should not drive with a sat-nav as it could ask to much attention. So, being 82, I bought it for our trip to Ireland and let my wife let activate it and do the readings. Mostly the voice was so clear that I could follow my route properly. Of course there were troubles by extended roadworks. "Recalculation" was mostly nonsense so you must be informed with the next important places on your trip by studying maps before starting. Just to make a list of the main places (for your co-driver).
The Garmin asks town, housenumber and street or postcode. Unfortunately Ireland don't have postcodes, neither housenumbers in the smaller places. And sometimes we found that a streetname was ment for a bundel of streets!
At the other hand: Touring around from the place were we had B&B we were three times lost. The address of our stay was sufficient to bring us faultless back on the right road.
We hope that uploading recent maps won't take to much trouble or money. If that goes smooth than we are very pleased with the Garmin 205.