Snooper S900 Syrius / Ventura/ Truckmate Lite Review

NAVIGATION
The S900 is designed for people who want the speed camera coverage offered by the Snooper Aura speed camera database combined with satellite navigation to give you a handy 2 in 1 product. It does both of these functions very well, it does lack some higher functionality like self-updating but at the same time it keeps the operation simpler for the technophobes out there and the price affordable to all.

You have a range of navigation options from full postcode search or find via town & street to entering latitude and longitude co-ordinates or just browse the map and click where you want to go to. There is also a good selection of the usual POIs which you can search for or search for nearest which includes useful things like LPG forecourts along with the usual restaurants, shops and things to do. You have home and office shortcuts for quick navigation plus a list of recent destinations and an address book of your favourites.

You have a range of map colour options to suite your preference with night and day modes and a choice or male of female voices in a number of languages (no celebrity voice options) with volume control. One thing I would say is the volume could be louder and could prove to be a struggle in an old noisy car but the visual directions are still clear.  Other features are a choice of 2D or 3D map views, your ETA or arrival time and a choice of your speed in MPH or KPH which can be useful if you get the European model and drive abroad.

SPEED CAMERA ALERTS
The speed camera alerts give you the usual warnings to all fixed traps like the traditional Gatso cameras and the more modern Truvelo cameras and the average speed SPECS cameras as well as alerts to mobile van hotspots. You will get audio and visual alerts to the warning and be informed of the speed limit at the camera location. If you want to use the camera alert side without needing to navigate anywhere just put it in map view and drive, it will follow you on the map and alert accordingly as you approach any hazards.

VENTURA MODEL FUNCTIONALITY
This is a niche that Snooper have really dived in with both feet to serve where competitors have given it little if any attention. The original S7000 Ventura is packed with features including Digital TV reception but if your budget is a little more modest then this S900 is amazing value and a little life saver. A holiday is meant to be a holiday, so take some of the stress out of the journey with a Ventura sat nav by entering your vehicles vital statistic such as height, length, width and even weight and it will make sure you get to your destination avoiding low bridges or bridges with weight restrictions and avoid narrow roads etc. I should point out here that you can also use the system in standard car mode for when you’re not towing a caravan or driving a motorhome.
The Ventura sat navs include European mapping as standard and has an extensive list (I am told its over 20,000) of campsites and stop-overs from Bord Atlas, Camper Stopper and ACSI approved and verified campsites. The search facility on the ACSI database has to be seen to be believed, you can search campsites for example with electrical hook-up, restaurants on site and watersports either on-sight or nearby with proper toilet facilities and if this doesn’t give you the options required you can chance you search criteria to say ‘squatting toilets’ I kid you not (we love those French campsites).

TRUCKMATE FUNCTIONALITY
Snooper were the first people to offer mainstream satellite navigation systems for trucks and HGVs using many of the same navigation algorithms as the Ventura units. You can specify height, length, width and weight including weight per axel and if your over 3.5t the unit will also advise you of speed limits relevant to yourself. If you have ever approached a  bridge you find you’re not going to be able to fit under (or worse) and had to try and backup and turn around with traffic building up behind you then you will know what godsend a decent sat nav for truck drivers offers. Time is money on the road and delays in having to reroute and associated petrol costs can still add up meaning this unit is going to pay for itself in no time at all. You can also specify your load type (Hazardous/Explosive/Flammable/Harmful For Water) and lorry type (Truck/Trailer/Delivery/Public) as certain roads prohibit particular types of load or vehicle. You have the option to save multiple truck profiles too so if you use more than one type of vehicle this is not a problem.

Points of interest include various HGV suitable petrol stations and services as well as truck parking laybys. For those of you not doing single destination drop offs you can enter multiple addresses and choose the order you want to visit them in. These multi-route journeys can also be saved for future use as can single addresses to a list of favourites and recently used journeys.

What we like Good Design Good Value  Quality Speed Camera Database

What we don't like No TMC Traffic Alerts Volume a little quiet

BUY	Car	Truckmate	Ventura
Snooper S900 UK			N/A
Snooper S900 EU