Navigon’s higher-end models, such as the 8450 Live have been good, but never quite offered enough to stand out from the crowd. Even midrange models such as the 40 Premium have been more commendable also-rans than market leaders. But its budget models, such as the 2410 have been much more serious propositions. The 20 Easy is essentially the replacement for the latter, with some new features and a name to fit Navigon’s new branding strategy.

Like the 2410, the 20 Easy is a 3.5in non-widescreen device. So it feels deceptively tiny – especially next to its screen mount, which is on the bulky side. Despite the value orientation of this model, Navigon still supplies a full separate mount rather than a reduced and integrated one, as TomTom does with its budget models. On the downside, if you want to adjust the angle of the mount head, you need a Torx screwdriver head, which isn’t supplied in the box.

The general design of the 20 Easy doesn’t differ greatly from previous Navigon models in this class. The silver bezel of the 2410 has returned to black, and the lines are generally smoother than a few generations previously. But otherwise it looks pretty much the same. There’s a microSD slot on the edge, a power button on the top, and USB connectivity on the bottom with a recessed reset button nearby.

The menu system is another aspect that hasn’t changed much on Navigon devices for years. You’re still presented with the same home screen of four icons, with separate pathways for entering an address, searching for a Point of Interest (POI), or navigating to map coordinates. There are also icons to find nearby petrol stations, parking lots and restaurants, although these can be customised. The biggest improvement here over some previous models is that now you can navigate to a full UK postcode, and then specify a house number. You can also call up a list of recent destinations or favourites.

Navigon’s My Routes system is on hand to provide three different travel options, using a variety of road types, so you can choose the one that suits your driving style or mood. Routes are calculated with reference to historic traffic data, so journey durations will vary depending on the time of day and day of week you’re travelling. The Clever Parking system places a parking icon on the listing of a destination you have found, so you can select somewhere nearby to put your car before heading to your final destination on foot, for which the 20 Easy has some extra features (of which more later).

Another feature delivered under the Clever Parking banner is a P icon, which pops up as you near your destination. Assuming it’s safe to operate your sat-nav – for example, if your car is stationary or a passenger is controlling the screen – you can press this to call up a list of parking options.

The only really major new features are the Active Lane Assistant and MyBest POIs. The former builds on the Lane Assistant graphic Navigon has been offering for a few product generations by adding animation. So now the information telling you which lane to be in moves. This can be useful if you’re navigating a series of junctions in quick succession, as it helps you get in the right lane for each one. The full-screen Reality View Pro graphic will also still pop up at the most major motorway interchanges, but Active Lane Assistant covers a much greater number of roads.

The MyBest POI system is intended to give you faster access to a subset of POI categories. If you touch the screen during your journey, the three icons pop up along the top, and selecting one will provide a listing overlaid on top of the map. By default, the POI categories are petrol, parking and restaurants, which are usually the kind of detours you might need to make during a journey. But you can change these to any available POI category. Of course, as with the Clever Parking icon, you should only really use this feature when stationary, or if a passenger can work the device for you.

The Easy 20 has a number of features aimed at pedestrian usage. For a start, Navigon is touting the sat-nav as dual purpose, because it comes with a lanyard that you can attach in one corner and around your wrist. Also, when you choose pedestrian routing the screen switches to portrait mode, which is a more comfortable orientation when holding the device in your hand.

The Last Mile is Navigon’s name for a feature where the 20 Easy saves your current location as a favourite whenever you switch from vehicle to pedestrian mode. The idea is that you’re most likely to do this when you’ve parked your car near your actual destination, and will then be finishing off the ‘Last Mile’ on foot. When you need to find your car again, its location will be there for you in the 20 Easy’s Favourites section. On a similar note, Sightseeing Tours are pre-created routes that take you around the major attractions in a city, although you need to pay £15 for a pack of European locations.

The 20 Easy comes with support for RDS-TMC traffic updates, and the requisite FM radio receiver is already built into the car power adapter. However, out of the box this is not enabled. You need to pay an extra £40 for a lifetime subscription. But at least you can do this without having to purchase extra hardware, as with many entry-level sat-navs. Safety camera locations are also not available by default, and must be enabled manually. However, this is to meet with regulations in some European countries, and you don’t need to pay anything more for them, at least to begin with, as the initial database is included in the package. If you want to keep this up-to-date, however, the price is £25 a year.

Verdict

The 20 Easy plays to Navigon’s strengths, providing a comprehensive feature set and maps for 23 European countries at around £100. There are cheaper options, if you merely want UK-only navigation, but just one trip to the Continent would make this good value. So if you’re after a sat-nav for occasional European use that also offers some useful pedestrian features when you reach your destination, the Navigon 20 Easy is great value.