Has anyone bought the new Ventura sat nav? Our Tom Tom is quite old and coming to the end of it's days. I like the idea of the Ventura but the reviews on Amazon are pretty poor. Would welcome any input. We're about to go to Kintyre and would like to feel a bit more secure with the route. Tom Tom has it's moments but mostly I ignore it, if I feel uncomfortable when towing.
We have both an all-singing, all-dancing TomTom and the Ventura (bought for towing). In car mode, the TomTom wins hands-down - the display is clearer and it updates quicker, ie adjusting the display when going round corners etc and if you take a wrong turn or there's a diversion and it needs to re-route. The Ventura seems to take an age to adjust itself. We have only used the Ventura a couple of times so far for towing. It seems a little hit and miss when routing for the van. The majority of the time it takes you away from un-friendly routes and warns you of tight bends etc, but sometimes it seems to miss out warning you about tighter bends than ones it has previously warned you about! It has lots of campsites preloaded on the unit, and well as warnings for speed cameras. I feel it is over-priced for the quality.
In general, I would say it's OK, but if TomTom were to bring out a specific caravan model, I would probably cut my losses and buy one of those instead. I would also still check campsite directions direct with the site and a quick comparison with a map to check the route before relying on the satnav.
If the reviews for this product are poor then it's best to avoid I would have thought. After all, that's exactly what the reviews are there for and as for the comments previously mentioned here I would definitely not buy it.
We had a venturea and we were not impressed by it. One route it wanted us to go through the centre of Bath! We are now waiting until the new Tomtom can allow google routes to be downloaded. Our old one allows us and we now create our own route and that way we know we are going.
I use a "Tom tom work" sat nav both for work (class1 artic) and caravaning and whilst it is by far the best satnav currently available (in my opinion as a professional user) it is still only an aid to navigation and needs to be used in conjunction with a bit of common sense, although it does get the route correct 99% of the time,you can preview the route it has set and if your not happy with it simply press the screen option to calculate another route.A big plus for the TT is you can add your own POI'S (points of interest) inc safety cameras,low bridge heights,camping sites inc CC & CACC etc etc,(google "pocket gps world" for details). You can also customise the vehicle dimensions and it will use roads that are more suitable ie main roads as opposed to back roads,it also warns you in advance of dead ends/unsuitable roads etc for your setup before you turn into them.
Thanks - it's looking more and more like I shall be sticking with Tom Tom. I would rather spend the money on that than the Ventura I think. You've all been very helpful, as always,
cliffbrown - thanks for that link - i had tried a few weeks ago to search the TT 7000 but did't find that link!
Are there any reviews for this TT model?
bazelk - what model TT do you use?
Last week i updated our TT from their website and its now doesn't work! It starts up but just says 'no maps found'. Hubby is currently trying to find out what he can do to restart it. We would like a 'caravan friendly' sat nav but have too may other expenses at the moment to buy one! So may have to be a xmas pressie (oh no i didn't mention THAT word, did i!)
We have both an all-singing, all-dancing TomTom and the Ventura (bought for towing). In car mode, the TomTom wins hands-down - the display is clearer and it updates quicker, ie adjusting the display when going round corners etc and if you take a wrong turn or there's a diversion and it needs to re-route. The Ventura seems to take an age to adjust itself. We have only used the Ventura a couple of times so far for towing. It seems a little hit and miss when routing for the van. The majority of the time it takes you away from un-friendly routes and warns you of tight bends etc, but sometimes it seems to miss out warning you about tighter bends than ones it has previously warned you about! It has lots of campsites preloaded on the unit, and well as warnings for speed cameras. I feel it is over-priced for the quality.
In general, I would say it's OK, but if TomTom were to bring out a specific caravan model, I would probably cut my losses and buy one of those instead. I would also still check campsite directions direct with the site and a quick comparison with a map to check the route before relying on the satnav.
Hope this helps!
TOM TOM do indeed have have a caravan / HGV friendly version,It's their 7000 series
We have both an all-singing, all-dancing TomTom and the Ventura (bought for towing). In car mode, the TomTom wins hands-down - the display is clearer and it updates quicker, ie adjusting the display when going round corners etc and if you take a wrong turn or there's a diversion and it needs to re-route. The Ventura seems to take an age to adjust itself. We have only used the Ventura a couple of times so far for towing. It seems a little hit and miss when routing for the van. The majority of the time it takes you away from un-friendly routes and warns you of tight bends etc, but sometimes it seems to miss out warning you about tighter bends than ones it has previously warned you about! It has lots of campsites preloaded on the unit, and well as warnings for speed cameras. I feel it is over-priced for the quality.
In general, I would say it's OK, but if TomTom were to bring out a specific caravan model, I would probably cut my losses and buy one of those instead. I would also still check campsite directions direct with the site and a quick comparison with a map to check the route before relying on the satnav.
Hope this helps!
TOM TOM do indeed have have a caravan / HGV friendly version,It's their 7000 series
I use a "Tom tom work" sat nav both for work (class1 artic) and caravaning and whilst it is by far the best satnav currently available (in my opinion as a professional user) it is still only an aid to navigation and needs to be used in conjunction with a bit of common sense, although it does get the route correct 99% of the time,you can preview the route it has set and if your not happy with it simply press the screen option to calculate another route.A big plus for the TT is you can add your own POI'S (points of interest) inc safety cameras,low bridge heights,camping sites inc CC & CACC etc etc,(google "pocket gps world" for details). You can also customise the vehicle dimensions and it will use roads that are more suitable ie main roads as opposed to back roads,it also warns you in advance of dead ends/unsuitable roads etc for your setup before you turn into them.
Hope this helps
Agree. Being able to add in your own POIs etc is a big plus.
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Topic: Ventura sat nav
