There’s no sign of the portable sat-nav boom slowing, with new models, updates and features hitting the market at a staggering pace. And that’s not the only good news for drivers, because prices are tumbling as firms fight for market share.

Such a fast-moving line-up makes picking a unit increasingly difficult – so we have done the hard work for you by hitting the road with 16 of the biggest sellers to see which you should buy.


The test
As the systems develop, so does our list of desirable features – we looked for widescreens (four inches and above) for easy route recognition, Bluetooth hands-free with the ability to download the address and TMC traffic information, preferably without a long, ugly aerial.