I thought I'd post my experiences using my Garmin 370 on my ED. You can find my ED trip report here:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208511
My trip was through Bavaria and Austria. Overall, the 370 worked great and I'm very glad I got it. It removes an enormous amount of stress, particularly if your wife gets car sick while reading a map I barely used a map and the only map I had was a 1/1,000,000 map that gives only the major roads.
It was great to be able to take the 370 to our hotel room and use it to plan out the next day's trips. Portability has some advantages.
I used the standard windshield mount, which worked flawlessly.
In Bavaria and Austria, there's lots of tunnels. I was pleasantly surprised that I rarely lost reception in a tunnel. Whenever reception was lost, it was regained very quickly upon exiting the tunnel.
There's only a few issues I had, some of which are true for any GPS:
- Several times, the 370 asked me to go the wrong way one a one-way street (Einebahn). Be careful.
- In Salzburg, the 370 wanted me to go on a road that was closed to private vehicles (but open to Taxis, delivery trucks, etc). This is understandable, but again, be careful.
- The 370 often gives instructions such as "enter roundabout and take third exit to B179.'' Two problems can occur: 1) some "exits'' are sometimes not counted (like for parking), so counting exits isn't always reliable, 2) The road sign invariably doesn't say "B179,'' but instead gives the major town you're heading for. It helps to know which towns you're heading for. In the end, this isn't a big deal, because if you get on the wrong road the 370 will re-route you in a flash, or you can just go back. It also can help to look at the display to see which exit the 370 is referring to.
- It would be nice if a road could be removed from a route computation, before starting on the trip. Near Innsbruck, we knew A12 was under construction and was a mess. As far as I can figure out, you can't "detour'' until you're actually on the road. By then it's too late.
- In remote areas of Austria, the 370 would often select routes that were single-tracks. These are beautiful routes. But they can make for a stressful drive, and I highly doubt they're always faster (I use the find fastest route mode).
- Asking for restaurants and car washes is not always reliable. The 370 doesn't know of a single car wash in or near Innsbruck, but knows of plenty in Garmisch. Many restaurants we knew of were not in the 370.
- For some small towns in Austria (and maybe other countries), such as Prutz in Kaunertal, the 370 doesn't "know" about them if you try searching for them as a destination. However, when driving through them, the 370 would showed "Prutz" on the display. Very odd.
Overall though, I'm very pleased with the 370 and would highly recommend it.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208511
My trip was through Bavaria and Austria. Overall, the 370 worked great and I'm very glad I got it. It removes an enormous amount of stress, particularly if your wife gets car sick while reading a map I barely used a map and the only map I had was a 1/1,000,000 map that gives only the major roads.
It was great to be able to take the 370 to our hotel room and use it to plan out the next day's trips. Portability has some advantages.
I used the standard windshield mount, which worked flawlessly.
In Bavaria and Austria, there's lots of tunnels. I was pleasantly surprised that I rarely lost reception in a tunnel. Whenever reception was lost, it was regained very quickly upon exiting the tunnel.
There's only a few issues I had, some of which are true for any GPS:
- Several times, the 370 asked me to go the wrong way one a one-way street (Einebahn). Be careful.
- In Salzburg, the 370 wanted me to go on a road that was closed to private vehicles (but open to Taxis, delivery trucks, etc). This is understandable, but again, be careful.
- The 370 often gives instructions such as "enter roundabout and take third exit to B179.'' Two problems can occur: 1) some "exits'' are sometimes not counted (like for parking), so counting exits isn't always reliable, 2) The road sign invariably doesn't say "B179,'' but instead gives the major town you're heading for. It helps to know which towns you're heading for. In the end, this isn't a big deal, because if you get on the wrong road the 370 will re-route you in a flash, or you can just go back. It also can help to look at the display to see which exit the 370 is referring to.
- It would be nice if a road could be removed from a route computation, before starting on the trip. Near Innsbruck, we knew A12 was under construction and was a mess. As far as I can figure out, you can't "detour'' until you're actually on the road. By then it's too late.
- In remote areas of Austria, the 370 would often select routes that were single-tracks. These are beautiful routes. But they can make for a stressful drive, and I highly doubt they're always faster (I use the find fastest route mode).
- Asking for restaurants and car washes is not always reliable. The 370 doesn't know of a single car wash in or near Innsbruck, but knows of plenty in Garmisch. Many restaurants we knew of were not in the 370.
- For some small towns in Austria (and maybe other countries), such as Prutz in Kaunertal, the 370 doesn't "know" about them if you try searching for them as a destination. However, when driving through them, the 370 would showed "Prutz" on the display. Very odd.
Overall though, I'm very pleased with the 370 and would highly recommend it.