What Car? guide to portable sat-nav - Introduction

You'll pay loads for your car to have built-in sat-nav, so why not opt for something you can remove at the end of each trip? It should bring peace to any journey by removing the need for big maps and disputes about the best route.

The sheer choice available can be daunting, however. Do you need European maps, a speed camera warning or traffic updates? Would you prefer a touch-screen system? While some systems allow a full seven-digit postcode search, others only allow the first few, so you'll need to search further from there on.

While some systems connect to your phone or PDA, we're focusing here on the portable, stand-alone systems that you can fit to any car, then remove and take with you if you're exploring somewhere on foot.

Our guide should help you find the sat-nav that suits you.