Home > Consumer Reviews > Garmin Nuvi 860T Satellite Navigation System - Voice Activated

I bought this sat nav as a replacement for a Garmin which was stolen and am not disappointed. It's easy to set up and very easy to use. Although there are cheaper alternatives on the market, I'm glad I spent the extra on this model. Worth every penny

I bought this item back in August 08 for £370. In theory it sounded like a great product however it reminds me of a Nokia N95 Mobile, packed with features but fails to deliver as at total package. Its main selling point, the full voice activation sounds like a dream but if using the English format and English is not your first language or you speak with an accent, forget it ! The "double bleep" of failure will haunt you. I ended up using it as a conventional Sat Nav - touch screen! The standalone battery life is also very poor. I turned off all common drain features and if I got 45 mins it was a result. I found the traffic feature not fit for purpose and who needs that extra wire on the dash? The built in speed camera sites bleep at almost every other road, as it shows mobile sites too. May save you a few bob in the end, but there is no function that allows you to be selective. Was it all negative... well no, it developed a fault by February this year and Garmin sent me out a new one which I promptly sold on. I recently bought a Navigon 2100 Max for ¼ the price and it is a real steal. Who needs Bluetooth hands free via a Sat Nav? The sound was hardly ever clear and the feature that allows play through an FM radio station always had that FM `hiss' in the background.

It doesn't make me feel good writing such a negative review, but with all the hype around this product I just had to sound out my own experience. Nothing personal Garmin... I found your 'Dr Nightmare' add on voice, absolutely hilarious!

I bought this to replace my nuvi660 that had served me well and I have not been dissapointed. I was going to get the 760, but this came with an offer of free lifetime map updates which effectively made it cheaper. The battery is easily replaced so I am looking forward to many years of use from it. Even without the map offer, it is worth the premium over the 760, although it is a little dissapointing that it doesn't come with a cover or mains charger which the 660 did. Still, at this price worth every penny.

The features are comprehensive and the screen is large and clear. Rerouting for traffice works well as long as you have been driving long enoguh for the satnav to pick up the traffic broadcasts - if you hit traffic in the first 10-20 minutes of your journey it's not much help. Also the voice recognition system has a hard time recognising certain words and cannot cope with background noise such as rain on the windscreen. Other than these minor issues I am very pleased with the Nuvi's performance.

Bought this as a present for my mum when i knew she was going to be buying a Sat Nav. Works perfect its taken her many places and she's yet to have any problem with it - (I hope it stays like that! :-).