Vexia econav 480 satnav review

Vexia is the latest satnav manufacturer to embrace the current eco friendly trend by releasing a product which combines navigation and additional eco driving aids to save you money. Vexia claims that up to 30% of co2 emissions can be cut by using their eco-friendly navigation system (equating to a saving of £450 a year).

While difficult to ascertain how accurate this statement is, it is not the only trick Vexia has on offer, and they have certainly produced a stylish product. The front 4.3” display for example is flush to the casing; sporting a black surround, thin light weight profile and microSD card slot.

As for the eco part of the software, well this comes into play the moment the device is turned on. You need to select your car’s make from a list of models ranging from 2001 to 2009 in order for the system to calculate the most efficient time for you to change gears, cut down on excessive acceleration or inadequate braking (its here that you can save money).

If your car is not on the list then you need to manually configure your car’s parameters. Additional options of selecting how many passengers are in the car and your level of driving expertise can also be configured separately.

In some ways all of this could be a lot more intuitive, especially as the initial start-up screen flags up every time the device is switched on. Anyone looking for quick plug and play navigation will find the process frustrating.

When you do finally get to the main menu you’re greeted by a series of large stylish icons which gives you the choice of launching the main navigation software or the dedicated ecoview. Switching to the latter felt a little laggy, not enough to scupper its appeal, but noticeable none the less.

The ecoview provides no navigation but when driving you get a large display showing the current road and a verbal/visual warning prompting you to change gears as you drive. Additional safety camera alerts, current road speed and harsh braking icons are also displayed, as well as a colour coded system showing how efficiently you are driving.

In practical terms we can see the benefits of this software, as it has the potential to change your driving habits in a positive way. If you’re familiar with the route you take, like a journey to work, the onboard report tools can be viewed which offer basic recommendations as to what areas of your driving could be improved – thus helping you to reduce costs even more.

Well that’s the theory anyway. But as our car was manually configured we did find some of its gear changing requests a little suspect, so getting the car’s profile correct in the first place is paramount. It’s verbal prompts also got a touch annoying after a while, like the worst kind of backseat driver. We suspect most drivers will steer clear of this option in favour of the more traditional navigation.

Unfortunately switching over to the main navigation software proved a touch hit and miss. As it’s based on Sygic mobile maps you’ll find all the essential ingredients in place such as lane guidance, itinerary planning and the ability to add custom POI, but a few of the options such as the lane guidance were difficult to make out on the screen, and the device does lack core features such as Bluetooth and live traffic information.

Initial route calculations and re-route calculations were respectable, but its route efficiency and tracking in some places was not ideal, such as when we diverted away from a roundabout onto a flyover the software still though we were on the roundabout below. Voice directions were also unclear on roundabouts too, as it would tell us to go straight over and take the third exit, for example.

You do get a cut-back version of its main ecoview software on the right of the display which provides visual indications of gear changes and how efficient you are driving, but we found it a little distracting.

The onboard safety camera uses a different voice to alert you to cameras on route and an icon displaying countdown yardage to each camera which we liked. Unfortunately a fair few cameras were missing en route, so upgrades would be needed.

We are sure there are benefits to using the econav system, but the underlying software does have several cracks in its repertoire and it doesn’t offer quite as many features when compared to similar – on-line – price models, such as the Garmin 1340T.

Price: £180
Web: www.vexia.co.uk
Map coverage: UK & Ireland

Verdict: 7/10

Written by Brett James. Originally published in Smartphone Essentials magazine.

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