TOMTOM VIO SAT-NAV

What they say

“Designed for scooters, controlled by your smartphone. Upgrade your scooter to make it smart, better looking and connected. This scooter sat-nav is a waterproof smartphone second screen for your ride with at-a-glance navigation, traffic avoidance and caller display. That means faster commutes, easier exploration and your phone can stay tucked away safely.”

What Stan says

I’m not a big fan of sat-navs. I prefer maps and the joy of unexpected discoveries but there are times when firm directions are needed and the Vio fills that gap nicely. For clarity this isn’t simply a screen for any existing map apps installed on a smartphone. A specific TomTom app needs to be downloaded and it’s to this software that TomTom maps are stored. Full European coverage is included with the device, the main advantage being that navigation no longer saps mobile data.

The downside is that some maps require a lot of storage and while testing it across Europe I found myself navigating to border towns where I’d change maps and move on. In fairness the Vio isn’t designed for such long trips and it took me through Luxembourg City (my personal travel nemesis) without a wrong move for the first time ever. The maps are clear, it’s easy to mount and as Dan didn’t send me the instruction book I can confirm that setup is intuitive.

The head unit drains itself of power after four hours of constant use but my iPhone’s bluetooth connection failed in half that time. USB fitted scooters won’t have any such problems but Luddites like me can get a full day’s ride out of the Vio by fitting a power bank to the phone and only switching the Vio head unit on when directions are needed.

In a sentence

I’m converted. For city navigation, checking waypoints and finding the hotel at the end of a hard day’s ride it’s invaluable, just remember to take the head off when getting parked!

The knowledge

RRP £149.99 www.tomtom.com