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The 765 includes a FM transmitter, so you can route audio output through your car stereo. Setting this up takes just a few finger touches. This can also work in tandem with the Garmin’s ability to play MP3s and audio books in Audible format. A standard stereo 3.5mm jack is available for headphones, too, should you want to use your Garmin as an expensive iPod replacement.

There are a few more slightly unnecessary but potentially useful extras included as standard. These include a world clock displaying three time zones; a unit converter for area, currency, distance, speed and temperature; a calculator; and a foreign language dictionary. The latter includes the important ability to translate ‘two draught beers, please’ into German, but otherwise we found it a little quirky. You can also download images to the 765 and view them as a slideshow.

You can switch the device between car, bicycle and pedestrian routing. It’s possible to include Off Road options, rather than just the fastest or shortest. Yet, unlike TomTom's pioneering IQ Routes system, there is no facility to take historical traffic information and real road speeds into account. It does, however, use the traffic information from its TMC receiver when calculating a route.

Unfortunately, Garmin still hasn’t fixed the jerky map redrawing we noted in our review of the 760. This can be very disconcerting, as the roads disappear completely and take a second or so to reappear – not what you want when approaching a junction.

Verdict

The Garmin nüvi 765T is a thoughtfully designed sat-nav that exudes build quality and offers pretty much every essential feature. The menu and map interface designs are also extremely easy to get to grips with – clearly ahead of TomTom’s army of menu options and levels.

However, it’s up against some stiff competition, particularly from TomTom’s Go 720 and 730 and Navman’s forthcoming S100. Overall, the TomToms offer more features, with the exception of the dubious value 3D landmark system. Since the TomTom GO 730 Traffic comes in £60 cheaper for broadly similar features, the Garmin looks good, particularly for the novice, but is a tad overpriced.

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