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But the C350 is not without its irritations. First, the maps don't seem quite as up to date as they could be. On two separate occasions during my test route from south west to north east London, I was asked to perform turnings that would have contravened traffic regulations, and while driving past the southern end of Westminster Bridge, the C350 still had the old roundabout layout in its database - following its instructions would have led to me driving directly against traffic coming the opposite way.

In addition, the speaker and tones begin to grate on the nerves after a while. When speed cameras approach, the C350 blips continuously, even if you're not speeding, and if you are over the limit it emits a noise that sounds like a cat choking on its kibbles. What's more, it does this for speed cameras on both sides of the road - it doesn't discriminate. Voice instructions are abrupt, not entirely smoothly delivered and can't be changed and the tones to catch your attention before a voice instruction also rather annoying, but at least these can be turned off.

The main problem with the C350, however, isn't that it won't get you from A to B effectively - Mio's products have proved themselves to be perfectly capable navigation devices in the past, and this Binatone version is no different. It's just that sat-navs have moved on and the C350 is now beginning to look distinctly long in the tooth and it feels a little cheap as a result.

It wouldn't matter so much if the price was low as a result, but it isn't: the C350 is £7 more expensive than the Navigon 2100 I reviewed last week, and doesn't really do anything to justify the extra cost. I can't say you'll be completely disappointed if you buy one - it's a good, solid navigator - but if you do you won't be making the most of your money.

Verdict

A solid navigator the Binatone Carrera C350 looks and feels a little bit dated. It'll get you from A to B well enough, but the likes of Navigon 2100 will do it with more style and for less money.

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