Mio Navman 470

Mio seems to be on a mission to make its satnavs as easy to use as possible, and that's certainly no bad thing. The Mio Navman 470 is a basic satnav promising 'effortless journeys for every user'. Let's see if it can really help take some of the stress out of driving.

Hardware: basic

The Mio Navman 470 has the most classic design imaginable. It's made entirely from black and grey plastic, which to be honest, isn't particularly flattering. The little raised dots around the edges of the device also help give it a distinctly 'low-end' look. The good news is that all the plastics have a matte finish, so they'll be less prone to scratches or picking up fingerprints.

Size isn't a strong point for the 470 either. At 18.5 mm thick and almost 130 mm wide, it's larger than equivalent models from both TomTom and Garmin.

A 2 GB internal memory is used to store maps of Europe (a British Isles version is also available), and maps of other countries can be either rented or bought separately. The Navman 470 doesn't have a memory card slot though, which does somewhat limit product evolution. Plus, with no Bluetooth and no FM transmitter, this satnav really is as basic as they come.


The windscreen attachment system hasn't changed since Mio's previous Navman systems. The suction pad works with a little lever and the GPS fits snugly into its mount. It would, however, be nice to see a slightly simplified system that doesn't require you to position the GPS quite so precisely to attach it to the mount.

You'll find the same three-way On/Off/Reset button as in other Mio satnavs. Just be careful not to switch it to Reset accidentally or you'll lose routes you could still be using. Thankfully, it's trickier to move from Off to Reset than it is to move from On to Off, as the switch is stiffer. Plus, the Reset function doesn't wipe the device's settings.

Handling: the interface and screen could be better

Mio has been working hard to improve the clarity of its internal menus. The brand's previous models possibly had a few too many sub-menus, which made it difficult to find and adjust certain settings. As a result, the QuickStart menu is now even simpler. The start-up screen still shows five different coloured and easily identifiable rectangles, but the settings have become much simpler and can now all be accessed via one sub-menu.

Slide Touch scrolling means you can navigate through menus or move around on the map just by running a finger over the screen. We, however, preferred using the scrolling arrows, perhaps because the touchscreen lacks speed and precision. In fact, the screen doesn't really follow your finger that well, and you'll find yourself making plenty of mistakes, particularly when entering an address or trying to change volume settings during navigation.

This general inaccuracy is made worse by the satnav's slowness, which is quite clearly caused by the inadequate processor. It's a real shame too, as the well-organised new interface would be ideal for speedy navigation.

In spite of its slowness, the address search system is effective, and allows you to find a location with just a few key words or partially completed names. We, for example, managed to find our offices at 134 rue d'Aubervilliers in Paris by simply typing '134 aubervill, pari' all on one line. There are other, more standard search modes too, so I'd be very surprised if you had trouble finding what you're looking for. The virtual keyboard is practical and can be set to ABC or QWERTY mode.

Another interesting feature is the button in the top-left corner of the satnav's outer frame. Hit this at any time and it'll take you back to the previous menu, making the Navman 470 even more simple and practical to handle. This button could, however, do with being a little bit bigger for easier use while driving.

Route guidance: simple and effective with IQ Routes

Satellite reception is good and route guidance is effective. The route is shown in green on a white background and is intentionally very simple (see insert). There are plenty of functions in navigation mode, all of which work well. Lane guidance accurately represents lanes and junctions and effectively recreates the actual shape of the road (bends etc.). Use it with the voice commands activated and it proves really quite handy on unfamiliar roads. The Navman 470 can also display road signs, speed limits and speed camera alerts for fixed cameras only.

IQ Routes is a new addition to the Mio Navman 470, 475 and 575, and uses real-time information to calculate the fastest route for your actual time and date of travel. Initially pioneered by TomTom, IQ Routes collects actual road-speed data for specific days and times, and uses it to suggest routes that avoid frequently congested areas. However, it will only suggest routes that are genuinely quicker, so you won't be sent off down a windy country lane to gain 2 km, when it could actually be quicker to crawl along the congested highway.
There's a function for calculating the most 'economical' route too, which aims to keep stopping, starting and variations in speed to a minimum. It doesn't systematically avoid the motorway though (as with Garmin's Eco mode), which might not be so economical for smaller vehicles. The ideal solution would be a choice between a kind of 'Fast Eco' mode and a 'Lowest Cost Eco' mode.

Finally, the speaker could be better and voice instructions do suffer slightly with the volume at full blast.

Other functions: what other functions?

With no wireless connectivity and no connected services, the Mio Navman 470 is for navigation and navigation only. The only extra feature is a points-of-interest search for your current location.