Get lost and take a long, hard look in the mirror. That's the message from Ford as it launches a new Garmin sat-nav integrated directly into your car's rear-view mirror.
The MirrorNavi, an after-market accessory that replaces your existing rear-view mirror, was designed and built by Garmin and Wollnikom. It consists of an ordinary mirror and a 320x240-pixel, 89mm (3.5-inch) touchscreen display nestling on the far left side.
The mirror is fairly ordinary. It lets you see what's going on behind you and dims automatically at night to reduce glare. The sat-nav portion is more impressive, though. The unit is based on Garmin's nuvi 265T, so, although it's tiny, it's packed with the features you'd expect from a larger model.
Voice prompts tell you where and when to turn; voice-recognition navigation lets you speak instructions aloud; lane assistance keeps you in the proper lane; 'trafficTrends' calculates routes based on predicted traffic levels; and FM traffic lets you know when there are accidents and roadworks.
The MirrorNavi features built-in solid-state memory, containing UK maps, and can be upgraded via a microSD card. You also get a built-in Bluetooth adaptor, which allows the driver to wirelessly connect the device to a mobile phone, placing and receiving calls over the unit's built-in speakers.
The MirrorNavi can be installed in any Ford car (except the Ranger and 2009 Ka) by local Ford garages for £300 plus installation charges.
That's pretty steep, especially when you consider that the nuvi 265T costs somewhere in the region of £130. The MirrorNavi does have its benefits, though: wires are neatly hidden, it leaves no tell-tale suction marks that might attract thieves, and it does at least require you to glance in the general direction of your rear-view mirror every now and then.
If all of this sounds appealing, then drive your Ford to a local dealer pronto.
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Comments 9
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Anonymous 7 September, 2010 15:22
Is the sat nav not on the left of the mirror because the car in the picture is a left-hand drive model?
Would it not be on the right for UK cars?
Anonymous 7 September, 2010 15:39
Does it even matter? just adjust the mirror as normal, innit.
billfred 8 September, 2010 09:30
why is this better than having one in the dashboard?
anonymous 8 September, 2010 17:09
Women Can Do There Make Up, Watch The Sat Nav, And Then Crash, Oh Joy
Anonymous 12 October, 2010 18:46
can it be wired up so we dont have to keep plugging a cable into 12v socket, the wire hanging down from the unit is a no good for me. or at least has it got a long charge time from full so wire can be removed, can we just charge at the end of the day when driving ended, important question- will it drain car battery if left on charge overnight. regs.
anonymous 15 October, 2010 10:19
There is no cable dangling from the screen. It's all wired up discretely and deactivates when you switch off the ignition.
Anonymous 23 October, 2010 16:30
ive had this fitted, just 1 thing i dident think of was, mirror navi has tinted glass, my car focus rs mk2 has privacy glass (rear ), makes it very very dark out back, ok for night driving, its a smashing job other than that. also you said it deactivates when you switch off engine, yes its got a wired in feed for charging, when you switch off the ignition you still have to switch off the garmin navi unit with on- off switch( at top of unit) swtiching the ignition off does not swich the sat nav unit off.
Anonymous 19 May, 2011 16:00
I just had this installed in my mk7 Fiesta Zetec-S. Contrary to the last post, not only does the system charge, but it also turns on automatically on turning on the ignition and it turns off when turning off the ignition (after a 30s delay which you can override via pressing off now on the touch-screen).
Have to say this is very neat! And for a car like the Fiesta where a factory sat-nav installation is not an option, is a great value for money half-way house.
anonymous 17 September, 2011 16:08
Im more than happy with it but has anyone discovered how to activate the traffic subscription?