Garmin goes contextual with new sat navs, get ready to 'turn left at the pub'

Garmin's 2013 sat nav trilogy finds a more intuitive way forward
Guide us, you shall

Smartphones might be taking on the jobs of sat-navs for many people these days, but Garmin is determined to prove that there's still a place for the PND on your dashboard.

So much so that it's just announced three new driving assistants to get you from A to B, all featuring a brand new design and larger range of screen sizes to choose from, starting at 4.3 inches and moving up to 7 inches.

The 2013 nüvi range is made up of the Essential, Advances and Premium series, letting you decide the level of backseat-driver-nagging you require, and offer free Digital Traffic features and new Real Directions.

Choose your partner

As you might have guessed, the Essential Series is the budget of the three, offering the basic turn-by-turn features, spoken street names and lane assist.

The Advanced Series, meanwhile, adds some extra features to the mix including Garmin's new Real Directions feature, which uses landmarks and other roadside features to guide you instead of just using road names. We expect it will say things like "Turn left when you see the crazy cat lady" and suchlike.

Active Lane Guidance is also on board, aiming to keep sweating to a minimum when driving round those hellish roundabouts. Users will also get access to Garmin's free live traffic updates, provided by INRIX.

And for those who refuse anything but the best when it comes to sat-navs, the Premium Series can be the only way forward with a 5-inch multi-touch glass screen as standard. As expected, this range includes the whole roster of features.

Update: The models are now live on the Garmin store and available to purchase. The Essential series starts at £80, while the Advanced range kicks off at £130 and the premium model (aka Prestige) currently comes in at a £270

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.