Why wouldn't you use a postcode?

It's far easier to type a few digits than write out a town name, then a street name, and then enter the number.

I think you've got a point there, Nick, and I'm just amazed that it's never been on any of my satellite navigation systems.

On my old one, you entered the road name and it presented you with a huge list of every possiblity. When you entered "High Street", there were thousands to scroll through and it didn't help that they were in a seemingly random order.

Peter.

No

A lot use postcodes, that way new streets are properly added

Why not just BUY a seperate sat nav, they aren't exactly expensive (£200 tops, I paid £45 NEW for mine) and you can update them when needed

I don't like portable systems, to be honest. When I leave my car, I just walk out and lock it. I don't fancy the thought of having to carry around, or hide, a satellite navigation system.

Peter.

You mean you are too lazy to open your glove box and put it in

On my Golf GTI, a satnav was £1500 optional extra. I bought the unit myself from Germany for £700 including maps etc. Works nicely compared to my Tomtom but the only bugbear is that although it recognises uk postcodes, it accepts only the first four digits. So if you wanted to go to say Blackpool Tower (postcode FY1 4BJ), you would type in FY14 and then it comes up with a list of the roads/places in the area and you can select it and then type in a (house/building) number if appropriate.

The one thing I liked about Tomtom more than the oem satnav is that I could place the tomtom in the bottom right corner of my windscreen. This meant my view was largely unobstructed but also, more importantly, I didn't have to take my eyes off the road for any discernable length of time - a quick glance (as you would if looking at your speedometer) was more than enough. The oem satnav is where the head unit would sit and means I have to look down.

I'm by no means lazy, no, I am just worried that it will be stolen regardless of where I hide it. At least with a built-in one, it's completely useless if they tried to rip it out.

Peter.

Starter for 10, the FIRST place thieves always look is...?

Passenger seat

And most cars have locking glove boxes now

Um no. If someone has expertise and tools, they can quite easily remove most built-in satnavs. I've pulled apart my dashboard and installed my oem satnav in about 45 mins and most of that was being careful with prising things apart. To just remove the satnav unit would take me 5-10 mins. Quicker if I had the right tools.

With a portable GPS unit, the best thing to do is to remove it completely from the car. Another thing I did with the TomTom was to make sure all of my 'favourite' or saved destinations were close to but not at the actual destination (including home). That way, thieves don't have to go to your home to steal your replacement satnav.

The built in one in my Mondeo is tied to the engine management serial number. It will only work if it is plugged into the EMU and the EMU gives it the correct serial number. I presume that somebody has probably managed to circumvent it by now... But it is too big to fit in most other cars, includes things like air conditioner, temperature controls etc. as well, so pretty useless, unless you are putting it in a similarly specced Mondeo...

To be honest, the current Mondeo had it built in, when I bought it, but I wouldn't bother specifying it as an extra. I've probably used it a dozen times in 4 years.

It's highly unlikely that it's a satnav unit that is also a 'climate controller' - they're usually two separate items but hidden behind a dash, can appear to be one unit. Some units are also able to control things like air temps. Indeed, my satnav has a variant that will control in-cabin climate but only when installed in a car with the correct climate control features. It then simply becomes another way of controlling the in-cabin climate.

Do you have a pic?

It is a single facia, with a single touch screen to control the sat nav, radio, CD, CD changer, MP3 player, telephone, climate control...

edit: Image...

Wow your car has Extra Sensory Perception!!!

My car has that too. Rather annoyingly if you switch it off, all that happens is that you wheelspin off the startline.