Garmin nuvi 670 4.3Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS

WOW! Garmin Refurbs rock!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The nuvi 670 was purchased thru Amazon and sold by one of their contractors. It is a factory refurbished model 670 with North American and European maps, both the 2009 issues that I paid about $210. Although it’s “last years” model the 670 has longer battery life and most all the features of the current nuvi 775 which list at close to a grand! The refurb unit came with all the “in the box” goodies that a new one has, and cosmetically could not be told from new.

This product worked flawlessly right out of the box….it’s loaded with Bluetooth, FM tranmitter, picture viewer, and mp3 play in addition to the terrific GPS features.

The only minor negative is that the FM transmitter on the U.S. model 670 has rather low power, but once a satisfactory FM channel is found with a relatively close car antenna it worked great. I automatically pauses the MP3 when the GPS wants to talk and likewise when the phone rings with bluetooth.

Overall a terrific buying experience.

Easy to use
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Easy to use from first moment. It recalculates quickly when we change our route or make an error. When we were on a tiny unknown road in Canada it did not recognize, it still showed surrounding roads which helped us find our way.

On a recent trip to Croatia, it did not know a freeway built a year or 2 ago, but helped us in some tight spots on other occasions.

I did not bother mounting it. It worked fine on the passenger’s lap.

great little GPS unit
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Bought this as a backup/replacement unit for an older Magellan Roadmate unit. Have used it extensively in US, Canada, and a long driving trip through most of Spain.

General features are OK. Was familiar with lower-range Garmin models that AVIS rents with their cars.

Setup and base configuration were easy.

Main “quirks” found so far:

- sometimes has phantom exit/entry while on highway – inexpicably asks you to exit then re-enter.. one learns to avoid these after awhile

- hard to specify routing options (quickest time, shortest distance, avoid highway, etc). these are buried deep in the menus

PRO: good value (got it on sale), easy-to-use, compact size

CONS: phantom errors, route customization not simple

Worked great in Europe
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just returned from a two week trip to Europe where I used the Nuvi 670 to drive through Belgium, Holland and Poland. It worked perfectly taking us from the country-sides of Belgium and Holland to our hotels in the narrow, one-way, unpronounceable streets of Brussels and Amsterdam. I can’t imagine trying to do this with a map. Certainly, my wife and I wouldn’t be on speaking terms if we had. Based on a lot of the reviews here, I am not sure that I would have bought one. I am never certain whether the Garmin units they bought were defective or whether the users are defective. I wouldn’t hesitate, based on my own experience, to buy and use a Garmin device for travel in Europe.

My only criticisms of Garmin are that I think it is ridiculous that they don’t offer free updates to BOTH the North American and European maps on the x70 units that come with dual maps. I also think Garmin GPS units have been overly “dumbed-down” since I bought my first Garmin several years ago. I used to be able to get elevation, the ability to pan out and see the entire route on one screen and many other features. Maybe you still can, but since they don’t provide a detailed manual, who would know?

Lost in England
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

My nuvi 670 works beautifully in the USA but a nuvi 360 would work just as well for half the money. I purchased the 670 for a three-week vacation to England last summer. The 670 failed miserably.

As soon as I received the 670, I ordered the free update CD with European maps and loaded them on my Garmin. I thought I was all set.

Then I went to google maps and preloaded many locations, including hotels where we would be staying.

Our first dissapointments came during our arrival in London. Leaving our hotel on foot, I set the Garmin for walking and selected a destination that was nine-tenths of a mile away. The Garmin identified its location but did not show any streets. We got a taxi. I thought, oh well, it’s not set for cities but will be ok on the highway.

I also had to reset Garmin’s clock to local time. There are many European cities listed but none in the United Kingdom. There are a few in the continent, but London is not there. So my garmin was set an hour off.

We hired a car and set out for Braintree. The Garmin was confused right off the bat. It was no help, constantly “recalculating.” We kept stopping and asking people for directions to the highway leading to Stansted where we found signs that led us to our destination.

At Braintree, we purchased a map.

To make a long story short, the nuvi 670 never worked. I had many destinations preloaded. The garmin would recognize the distance and direction, but was unable to show most roads. If we were on major highways like the M4, the road would appear on the garmin, but our car would look to be floating to the left or right of it, as though we were the Starship Enterprise. And then, as we drove, the voice would start . . . recalculating . . . recalculating . . . recalculating . . . driving us nuts, to the point that I would have to turn it off. My Garmin was bewildered. We were lost.

It is difficult to drive in England and I had such high hopes to make efficient use of my driving time. But no, we were often . . . Lost in England . . . and the Garmin was no help.

While the Garmin was helpless in giving directions, it was indespensible in an unexpected way. England is loaded with speed cameras. They are on major highways and in small villages. There are warning signs posted but it is easy to speed through before you realize it. The garmin was a lifesaver (or I should say, a money saver). Every time we approached a speed camera, the nuvi warned us. At $50 a speeding ticket, I’m sure it saved me hundreds of dollars. Some of you may be asking why I think I saved money because after leaving the country, how would the authorities get anyone to pay speeding fines. Well, I did not always have the garmin turned on . . . and you guessed it. I received a letter from Avis, informing me that my credit card would be charged $50+ for a speeding ticket. (It’s in the rental agreement)

So if you want a GPS to warn you about speed cameras in England, get a Garmin. But if you want a GPS to provide directions, you’d better look at Tom Tom or some other brand. My experience suggests that Garmin does not have the mapping platform for the United Kingdon.

I’m not surprised that the nuvi 670 has been discontinued. It did not perform as it should. Perhaps it works better on the European continent, I don’t know. But if you take a nuvi 670 to England, before you head out for your destination, I’d suggest that you purchase a good road map.