According to a recent research report, satellite navigation users consume 12% less petrol than GPS-less drivers, with those systems with built-in traffic information providing the greatest savings.
The results revealed that the drivers using navigation devices drove shorter distances and spent less time driving. Overall fuel consumption dropped from 8.3 litres/100 kilometres to 7.3 litres… a 2500 kilometre drop in distance driven per year per driver, and an average of 416 Euros (£370) in annual savings on fuel.
So a sat nav could pay for itself in a few months, but before you rush out tobuy a sat nav for your car, there are a few caveats to this research.
Firstly, the research was funded by NavTeq, the Nokia-owned digital mapping company, so it would be in its interests for the findings to be so favourable.
Also, in the report I read there’s no mention of the type of journey the research was taken out on – if you’re constantly going to unknown places (for example, if you’re a sales rep who’s always on the road), then the benefits of having a sat nav to get you straight to your destination without driving round for ages are clear. However, if you’re pottering to and from work which is just a few miles away, then there’s unlikely to be many different (quicker) routes to get you there, so you probably won’t see much benefit.
By the way, don’t drive with your sat nav between your legs, as shown in the image above. Men: It’s your car that should be an extension of your manhood, not the gadgets you buy to go in it.
This is a good test, but how long will it take you to recoup the cost of shelling out for a sat nav system, probably not worth it if you don’t drive long distances.