Home > Consumer Reviews > Navman S30 Satellite Navigation Unit With UK & Ireland Mapping

I was never really that bothered about satnavs, I know a few people who have them but it was never at the top of my agenda. Anyway one day after a bit of a nightmare journey trying to get from one place of interest to another (that actually wasn't that far from each other) I decided to get one.
I did loads of research to find which one would be the most suitable for our needs ( days out, hols in the UK, etc)and because we didn't have a massive budget to work with I didn't want to get one that basically was no good.
I came across the Navman S30 after a google search and Amazon came up as the cheapest price with free delivery too.
After reading all the other reviews it sounded pretty good.
Well I have had it a few weeks now and I am so glad I invested in it. For the price and an entry level satnav it is absolutely fantastic. Does exactly what it says it does, I had it working within minutes and its great to look at too!!
Tested it out on a journey to Liverpool to find a DIY store and it took us straight there with no hiccups, it even highlighted the speed cameras on the motorway........brilliant.
I can honestly say it is the best piece of equipment I have purchased in a while,especially as we are due to go on a family holiday to a part of the UK we have never been to before.
I have already programmed in the postcode of the holiday park and all the places of interest we would like to go to, so it will be totally hassle free.
I would definately recommend this model.

For the price this is a great buy. I have had no problems with it, styling is much better than the tom tom in my opinion. For 85 pounds you cannot go wrong. Cannot fault it in any way shape or form. If you are in the market for a budget Sat Nav, with excellent build quality and you dont want an MP3 player or camera gimmick this should be your choice.

I purely based this purchase on the reviews of previous models from Navman and just hoped that the high standard of reviews would continue in the new range, so far I have been fairly impressed with what I've purchased. I suppose I would consider myself quite good with electronic goods, but I literally had this working within 5 minutes. I entered my work address as a test, it calculated the route and off we went.

The S30 is the entry model and if all you need to use it for is the odd business trip, weekends out or family holidays in UK/Ireland then I would say this will do the job. Sales reps and heavy duty drivers may need to consider one of the more serious models.

Good points

- Easy to use
- Voice loud enough
- Plenty of warning on directions
- Calculates speed and warns you of speed cameras
- Memory card slot
- Excellent value for the money

Bad Points

- The keyboard touch screen is no good if you have large fingers. (I use the end of a pen)
- Some postcodes are incorrect (This maybe a postal service issue to be fair)
- It will take you on the route, which it deems the quickest. (But you can ask it to avoid certain areas i.e. the M25)
- The maps are not 100% up to date (the one way system in my town no longer exists, but the sat nav shows it still being there)

I researched satnavs on the internet and this one came up best in the 'budget' class and the reviews on Amazon were really helpful. So I ordered and it really is very good. I haven't even read the instructions yet, just followed the set up tutorial and I'm ready to go. I like the voiced directions as I find it hard to follow written/visual directions while driving, especially around London, and I like to have someone to argue with!! I'm really pleased with this satnav and I think it's great for social use (rather than business) and very very easy to use.

I have a Company car which i chose because it has sat-nav installed in the factory.With a large colourtouch screen,i thought i'd be fine covering my 40k miles a year.However,i was wrong.I couldn't put in a full post-code,there was no warning of safety cameras and it wasn't up-to-date with road alterations.I borrowed the Navman and it was so much better.Easy to understand voice commands,clear screen,able to input full post-codes and showing the latest road changes,it saved me so much time and stress,i had to purchase one.If you need a value-for-money sat-nav system,look no further,it's a god-send to everybody who earns a living by driving.