Mio Spirit 485

Still with a strong hand to play at entry level, Mio is following in the footsteps of TomTom with its new sat nav, the Spirit 485. With more features than the Navman 470, it has traffic info, parking assistance and the Michelin Green Guide for tourist information.

Hardware: simple but impractical

At 148 grammes, the Mio Spirit 485 is very light and although it's well assembled, it doesn't stand out for its build quality. The plastic seems rather thin but the fittings are fine and we like how slim it is (15 mm). Style-wise, it's a shame Mio has gone for rather outdated glossy black plastic on the front as this picks up dust and dirt and is easily scratched.


From a technical point of view, the Spirit 485 also has 2 GB of internal memory for extra maps, though unfortunately this can't be extended as there's no memory card port. You can buy or hire maps for other countries if required, though you are limited space-wise.

The screen is a standard 4.3-inch, which would however have benefited from being a bit brighter.


The speaker is less than convincing. It isn't very powerful and saturates rapidly. The sound it delivers isn't very nice to listen to and is completely lacking in bass.

The suction mount to fix the sat nav to the windscreen allows you to link the sat nav up to the USB cable as soon as you place it in the mount. The problem, however, is that it's very difficult to remove the it from the mount. We had to use two hands and pull pretty hard. We've seen more practical solutions, especially as the mount is big (as is the cigarette lighter socket) and means you'll want to think twice before removing it from your vehicle.

Features: simple to use but slow

Since introducing their QuickStart menus, Mio sat navs have become particularly easy to use. The main page is made up of large coloured sections and the menus are easy to use. All except for the 'settings' menu that is. We'd have liked to see larger icons here, though of course it does have the advantage of presenting all the settings in the same place.



It still uses the 'Slide Touch' scroll for scrolling through the menus and map - you just slide your finger on the screen. We do however prefer the standard scroll arrows, which are easier to use with a resistive screen. The screen could also be more responsive, especially as the device does suffer from slowdowns (special mention for the navigation volume setting here).
Thankfully, the Spirit 485 is usable as it is and entering addresses isn't too badly affected by the slowdowns. You can still search for a place with just a few key words or go for a more standard search method (town/street/number, points of interest) and the virtual keyboard is well designed with the deletion of letters that can't be part of the address you're entering.

Route guidance: simple and effective

There aren't any particular problems with satellite reception and you're generally linked up within a minute (depends on where you are and the position of satellites).

The journey is displayed in green on a white background and is therefore very visible, perhaps somewhat to the detriment of other surrounding roads, which are in white and grey.

Most of the navigation features are satisfactory, with lane guidance and exits well displayed, along with the actual shapes of roads (bends). Speed limits are displayed, with a a sign in red when you go over the limit as well as a synthetic voice to give you road names. Unfortunately the only female voice has poor pronunciation, lacks fluidity and is basically too synthetic.

You also get fixed speed camera alerts, although it's impossible to add new ones.

TomTom's IQ Routes is once again included and offers more reliable, faster itineraries. Journeys can thus be calculated according to actual speeds collected on roads at different times and dates. The journey the technology suggests therefore takes you away from roads that are regularly jammed and routes on which it's difficult to maintain a good speed... as long as a faster route exists that is. This means you won't be sent along a windy country road under the pretext that it gains you a couple of miles while actually making driving harder and slower than the main road you've been directed away from. IQ Routes isn't perfect in practice however as it does sometimes send you down minor roads that you don't want to be on. Overall, however, it works well.

It's a shame that the feature introduced with the Spirit 687, allowing you to choose between several journeys that are suggested each time it calculates a route for you, isn't available here.

The Spirit 485 also has the TMC traffic technology, which is very practical during holiday hold-ups and congestion. Don't count too much on its precision however, or on detection of hold-ups on secondary routes. It's mostly useful for major routes (dual carriageways/motorways) and big towns and cities.

Parking assistance brings our list of features to an end nicely, helping you to find a car park close to your destination.

Other features: the Michelin Green Guide

There's no Bluetooth on the horizon for connecting up your mobile to this entry-level device. The Mio Spirit 485 does however have the Michelin Green Guide, which, in Mio's words 'brings together an unparalleled level of information' on the town, region or country you're driving through.