Products: Garmin nüviCam navigation and dashcam review

• Rating: ★★★★☆
• RRP at time of review: £300
• Buy at: Amazon.co.uk
• More info: Garmin.com

ACCORDING to its maker, the new Garmin nüviCam is the ultimate all-in-one companion for drivers who need directions, want to avoid traffic jams, would like to record video footage of their journey and could do with the occasional nudge when driving standards slip and they get too close to the car in front.

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It costs £300, which may seem steep, but the nüviCam is packed with features.

We were disappointed by how tricky it was to mount the nüviCam on the windscreen, mainly because of its unwieldy 5in, 6in  or 7in screen. Finding a spot in which our view of the road was not obscured beyond what is acceptable was quite a job.

However, the touchscreen interface is simple to get to grips with, given its many functions. As well as the dashcam, which records constantly and protects accident footage automatically, there’s a full Garmin sat nav system, which is clearly displayed and includes such features as “photoReal Junction View”, voice-activated navigation and Bluetooth hands-free calling.

In addition, there’s a forward collision warning (an alert sounds if it thinks you’re about to hit something ahead on the road), lane departure warning and Garmin Real Vision, which overlays navigation instructions onto the camera view to highlight, for example, the exact house you’re looking for on a street.

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The quality of the footage is excellent and audio is crisp and clear. It’s pricy, but if you’re after a multitasking gizmo, the nüviCam is the ideal, er, nav cam.