Aygo And Satnav

[Janine1]

Hi Aygo owners,

I am considering to buy either an Aygo or a Yaris in the coming weeks, although I have not test drived them yet. In the mean time, I am going to buy a SatNav for the new car. May I ask if the Aygo has a cigar lighter? Under the specification for Aygo, it states that Aygo has an "Accessory power socket, front", whereas the Yaris has both the socket as well as the "Ashtray & cigar lighter".

I am currently looking at the "TomTom XL IQ Routes Edition 2 EU" [see here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/TomTom-Routes-Satellite-Navigation-System/dp/B003EQ4HQA/]. I am a newbie to cars and SatNav. Could anyone enlighten me as to:

1. How does the TomTom get power from the car? Is it through the cigar lighter or the "Accessory power socket, front"?

2. By default, what power cable does the TomTom come with? Does the default power cable only connect to the cigar lighter? If that's true, since the Aygo only comes with the power socket, does it mean that I have to buy a mains cable with the TomTom [like this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Techfocus-TomTom-Europe-Regional-Charger/dp/B000QGH31M/ref=pd_bxgy_ce_img_c] ?

With these info I can order the SatNav over the internet in the mean time.

Much thanks,

Janine

[Jan&tone]

Our Aygo Blue has an auxiliary power socket where the cigar lighter would plug in.... I'm assuming that it can be used for either a lighter or an auxiliary item such as laptop charger, sat nav, mobile charger or whatever ....

[Unklian]

The 12v socket just in front of the gear lever is just the job.

Use my Tomtom in there all the time.

Can't remember if my latest Tomtom came with a mains charger but......

It charges via the USB cable when connected to your computer.

1st job with your new Tomtom......BACK IT UP!!

1) manually.

2) via Tomtom home.

Ian.

[Janine1]

OK cool, which according to Ian means that TomTom can plug into the Aygo for power.

It seems that the aux. power socket allows all other things to be plugged to it. So how should I go about it if I want to charge my

- laptop

- mobile phone

in the car? I serched "laptop charger car" in Amazon.co.uk and it returns some laptop car chargers. Do you need to have a separate car charger for each device, like laptop, phone, etc?

thanks,

Janine

[Jan&tone]

OK cool, which according to Ian means that TomTom can plug into the Aygo for power.

It seems that the aux. power socket allows all other things to be plugged to it. So how should I go about it if I want to charge my

- laptop

- mobile phone

in the car? I serched "laptop charger car" in Amazon.co.uk and it returns some laptop car chargers. Do you need to have a separate car charger for each device, like laptop, phone, etc?

thanks,

Janine

Yes. Each item will have it's own charger and so you would have to swap chargers around.

[Essex Toura]

Do not use a power splitter if running a laptop off acc power as you may blow a fuse, use a power inverter for your laptop charger

[ihpj]

The new 2011 Aygo is being launched at the forthcoming Paris Motorshow and comes with an inbuilt TomTom(?) SatNav unit - you might want to wait!

[cute black aygo]

when i bought my garmin nuvi sat nav it didnt come with a mains gharger but like most people i bought one from Amazon for much cheapness i prefer using it without all the wires in the car as i found it difficult to sit the unit anywhere

[Raistlin]

when i bought my garmin nuvi sat nav it didnt come with a mains gharger but like most people i bought one from amazon for much cheapness i prefer using it without all the wires in the car as i found it difficult to sit the unit anywhere

My Garmin Nuvi 710 came with a suction holder for the window that has all the wires attached, I then just run the wire to the socket, so no spaghetti

[cute black aygo]

so did mine lol and its fell off a few times stoopid sat nav lol

[Jan van de Wouw]

Just a small clarification: our 12v accessory outlet will accept allmost all plugs

that will fit a cigarette lighter, but it will NOT accept the actual lighter!

The construction is different and the surrounding plastic wouldn't stand up to the heat either...

Bust normal plugs like these WILL fit and sow ill most SatNav-chargers...

[gordonh]

If you are looking at a new TomTom take a look at the LIVE services that you can use on some of them, it is a subscription service but when you need it, it can save you a lot of time. Last year just before christmas I was heading home during all the snow, when there were 4 hr delays on the M4, I did Kingston to otherside of Slough in an hour thanks to the LIVE taking me around traffic instead of through it, normal journey time was about 45mins without traffic and snow.

[doomjeffs]

Or alternatively, upgrade your mobile phone to a Samsung Galaxy....built-in satnav...works a treat.

[gordonh]

Most Andriod phones have a free satnav via GoogleMaps, but they often aren't as good as a dedicated satnav.

[Essex Toura]

ndrive on the iPhone, best trick of all, learn your route before you go, i can drive to renfrew from lakeside shopping centre, without a satnav, as easy as motorways

[Janine1]

when i bought my garmin nuvi sat nav it didnt come with a mains gharger but like most people i bought one from amazon for much cheapness i prefer using it without all the wires in the car as i found it difficult to sit the unit anywhere

Do you mean that you charge the SatNav using mains and let it run on Battery power whilst you are driving?

[Janine1]

Just a small clarification: our 12v accessory outlet will accept allmost all plugs

that will fit a cigarette lighter, but it will NOT accept the actual lighter!

The construction is different and the surrounding plastic wouldn't stand up to the heat either...

Bust normal plugs like these WILL fit and sow ill most SatNav-chargers...

Great post - thanks! Now I know what's the difference between an aux. power socket and cig. lighter.

[Janine1]

If you are looking at a new TomTom take a look at the LIVE services that you can use on some of them, it is a subscription service but when you need it, it can save you a lot of time. Last year just before christmas I was heading home during all the snow, when there were 4 hr delays on the M4, I did Kingston to otherside of Slough in an hour thanks to the LIVE taking me around traffic instead of through it, normal journey time was about 45mins without traffic and snow.

I got the TomTom XL IQ routes EU edition 2. I don't particular like the idea of being tied to a subscription plan, hence avoided those with TomTom Live. I think it is a bit dumbed down in a way. For example, there is no way to alternate the route yourself. In Google Maps, you just drag the suggested route to the route you want to go and everything will be automatically calculated.

However, I got my friend a Garmin Nuvi 1340 Traffic Satellite Navigation with UK & Western Europe which has FREE lifetime traffic information. [Didn't realise that when I got my TomTom.] It works by getting the traffic via FM signals, source provider TrafficMaster. It also seems that the particular Garmin has more functions than the TomTom XL IQ EU edition2.

[gordonh]

With the LIVE services you don't have to subscribe in order to use the satnav, just for the LIVE services bit. From what I understand the TomTom basically has a mobile phone inside it so it can call home and get the info. It also has a Google search which was useful for finding locations before the surge of smartphones that can also do it for you.

[Janine1]

I'd advise people not to get the subscription based TomTom Live, but instead get the lifetime free Garmin Traffic. Garmin Traffic uses FM signals from Traffic Master.

The Garmin Traffic European version (22 countries) is slightly cheaper than the TomTom IQ routes with 46 countries. You can't get traffic information that cheap with TomTom.

[Raistlin]

I'd advise people not to get the subscription based TomTom Live, but instead get the lifetime free Garmin Traffic. Garmin Traffic uses FM signals from Traffic Master.

The Garmin Traffic European version (22 countries) is slightly cheaper than the TomTom IQ routes with 46 countries. You can't get traffic information that cheap with TomTom.

I've had various Garmin models over the last ten years and I find their traffic warning / avoidance system excellent.