This article reviews the Garmin Nuvi 660 satellite navigation system. The Nuvi 660 is positioned at the higher end of the Nuvi range and is aimed at people who like extra features like TMC, Bluetooth and an FM transmitter.
There is also the newer Garmin Nuvi 760 which is similarly priced to the Nuvi 660 but with an improved spec. This review will help you decide which system is for you.
Box Contents
This is what you get in the box.
- Garmin Nuvi 660
- Preloaded City Navigator® NT maps for UK and Europe or North America (full coverage)
- Vehicle suction cup mount
- FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable
- Dashboard disk
- USB cable
- Leather carry case
- Quick start manual
- CD Rom containing user manual
- AC charger with interchangeable 2-pin and 3-pin configuration plug
Detailed Specifications
- Unit dimensions: 4.9″W x 2.9″H x .9″D (12.4 x 7.4 x 2.3 cm)
- Display size: 3.81″W x 2.25″H (9.7 x 5.7 cm); 4.3″ diag (10.9 cm)
- Display resolution, widescreen: 480 x 272 pixels
- Weight: 6.2 ounces (176 g)
- Battery life: up to 7 hours
- USB connector
- SD Card Slot
- Speed camera warnings out-of-the-box
- Text to speech. Speaks road numbers as well as street names, e.g. “Turn left in 200 yards onto the A4” and “Turn right in 200 yards onto West Street”
- MP3 player
- Picture viewer
- FM transmitter
First Thoughts
The Nuvi 660 looks similar to the other widescreen models in the Nuvi range. It has the same good looks and easy to use interface.
A USB cable and AC charger is included plus you get a leather carry case. It’s nice to finally see a Nuvi with all these items included, normally one item or the other is missing. The Nuvi 250W for example doesn’t include a USB cable and the Nuvi 770 doesn’t include an AC charger, which is all extra money to pay out for.
Garmin have included a quick reference guide which covers the basics you need to get started. The system I reviewed also included a CD-ROM containing the full user manual. The full user manual is also available to download from the Garmin web site but the CD-ROM version of the manual was a welcome touch.
GPS Receiver
The Nuvi 660 has an excellent GPS receiver, just like the other systems in the Nuvi range. A satellite signal was established within a couple of minutes. There is no need to stand outside to get a signal. You can get a signal indoors providing you are situated fairly close to a window.
I was amazed how strong the GPS receiver on this system is. Even standing 10 feet away from a window with the blinds closed it still managed a satellite signal. In terms of GPS reception it is the best Nuvi I’ve tested so far, outperforming the 250W and 770. This is probably due to the fact the Nuvi 660 supports WAAS/EGNOS which is covered later in this review.
The Nuvi 660 uses a flip-out GPS receiver which is a different approach to the 250W and 770 which both have built-in GPS receivers. There are plus and minus points to this approach.
On the plus side, as soon as the GPS receiver is folded away the GPS receiver is turned off. This is good if you want to conserve battery power. This is probably one of the reasons why the 660 has a 7 hour battery life compared to the 5 hours for the 250W and 770.
On the minus side, it does make the 660 more bulky to setup in the car, as you need to allow a bit more room for the flip out GPS receiver so that it doesn’t touch the windscreen.
In addition the flip out GPS receiver makes the Nuvi 660 more difficult to hold in pedestrian mode. When testing the Nuvi 770 in pedestrian mode I could keep the 770 inside the leather carry case whilst walking around. The flip out GPS receiver on the 660 makes this impossible and I feel you’re more likely to drop the 660 with the GPS receiver opened.
Maps
The Nuvi 660 includes full coverage of either the UK and Europe or North America depending on where you buy the unit. Like all other sat nav systems in the Nuvi range the map data is very detailed and covers individual street level detail. I tried browsing the maps around several European countries and found the level of detail to be excellent.
Navigation
Planning routes by the fastest time or shortest distance are supported, plus there is also an ‘Off Road’ profile which enables you to navigate from one place to another without regards for roads.
There are options to plan journeys using other vehicles such as lorry (truck), bus, emergency vehicle, taxi and pedestrian. A bus profile for example would allow the Nuvi to select bus lanes when planning routes, whilst pedestrian mode would allow you to walk the wrong way down a one-way street.
The routing profiles offered by the Nuvi 660 is an improvement over the 250W and 770 which only offer the basic automobile, bicycle and pedestrian modes.
You can specify an address using the following options:
- Address – you can enter either a post code (full 7 digit postcode entry is supported), or you can enter the city and street name manually. One irritating feature is that you need to select the country every time you enter an address. If you only ever use the Nuvi 660 in a single country then this will get annoying after a while.
- Go home – if you have saved a home address then you can navigate to that address.
- Point of Interest (POI) – you can navigate to the following POI categories: food, fuel, bank/ATM, lodging, shopping, parking, entertainment, recreation, attractions, community, hospitals, transit and auto services. You can also spell the POI name if it does not fit into one of these categories. Once you select a POI category such as food you can then choose a sub-category such as Asian, Chinese, Fast Food, etc. You can search for POI either near your current location, a different city, along your current route or your destination. This is useful if you want to find a fuel outlet or restaurant along your current journey for example.
- Recently Found – the Nuvi 660 stores a list of recent destinations which you can navigate to again.
- Favourites – these are a list of destinations which you have saved as a favourite. These could be things like the location of friends and family for example.
- Intersections – this screen allows you to enter two road names and then navigate to the point where those two roads intersect.
- Cities – if you just want to navigate to a city without entering a specific address then use this screen. By default the Nuvi will list cities closest to your current location and you select one from the list. Alternatively you can spell the name of a city if it is further afield.
- Browse Map – you can browse the map and zoom in and out. Once you have found a location you tap the screen and navigate to that location.
- Co-ordinates – you can also navigate to a set of co-ordinates. You have the option to use a variety of co-ordinate formats
(h ddd mm’ ss.s”, h ddd mm.mmm’, h ddd.ddddd, British National Grid)
The maps are clearly displayed and easy to read. At the top of each map is a green text bar. If you press this then your route is displayed in text only mode. This can be useful for seeing the next few turns on your journey. You can scroll through your entire journey this way if required. You might use this for example when looking at a complicated step on your journey.
The trip information button is displayed at the bottom left of the map and shows your estimated arrival time. If you press this button then the trip log is displayed which shows information such as total journey time, maximum speed and average speed. If you just want to drive around without entering a route then this button will display your current speed.
The turn button is displayed at the bottom right of the map. Pressing this button will display the Turn Page showing the next step of your journey in more detail.
The Turn Page is basically a combination of the map view and text view on one screen. I never use this feature myself but some people may find it useful. If you just want to drive around without entering a route then the turn button will act like a compass and display the direction you’re driving.
The Nuvi 660 includes simulator mode just like the 250W and 770. This feature allows you to plan a route and then simulate the journey without leaving home. If you plan a long journey though be prepared to wait a long time and there is no way to speed up or slow down the simulator speed.
I tested the Nuvi 660 using the same routes I used when reviewing the 250W and 770. This is basically a cross-country route from Wiltshire down to the South coast. The route planning was consistent with the routes chosen by the 250W and 770, getting me to my destination every time without any problems.
The Nuvi 660 also includes text to speech which means it will call out road numbers and street names, for example “Turn left in 200 yards onto the A4” and “Turn right in 300 yards onto West Street”. The voice is identical to the one used on the newer Nuvi 700 series. The voice sometimes sounds a little digital (computer-like), but overall I found the pronunciation of street names acceptable.
WAAS/EGNOS
The Nuvi 660 supports WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System). This is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy, on average up to five times better. WAAS can give you a position accuracy of three meters or less 95 percent of the time. This compares to the typical position accuracy of 100 metres offered by other sat nav systems.
Currently, WAAS satellite coverage is only available in North America. There are no ground reference stations in South America. In Asia there is the Japanese Multi-Functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), while Europe has the Euro Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), which provide the same advantages as WAAS.
In my tests I didn’t see any noticeable improvement in position accuracy with WAAS/EGNOS switched on, but I did notice a marked improvent with satellite reception when indoors. Even without any visible view of the sky whilst indoors the Nuvi 660 was able to lock on to a satellite signal.
Pedestrian and Off-Road Navigation
The Nuvi 660 can be used in pedestrian mode like the Nuvi 250W and 700 series. From the main screen tap the spanner icon and select the Navigation option, then tap the Vehicle option and choose Pedestrian.
The routing profile needs to be set depending on where you intend to walk. From the same Navigation options screen select Route Preference and choose the appropriate routing preference.
For walking along city roads and streets then use either the ‘Shorter Distance’ or ‘Faster Time’ route profile. If you want to walk wherever like regardless of roads, such as across a field, then use the ‘Off Road’ route profile.
The pedestrian mode has always worked well on the Garmin Nuvi range and the 660 is no different.
Screen
The widescreen on the Nuvi 660 is pretty much like all the other widescreen models in the Nuvi range. The on screen controls are clearly laid out and easy to read. It is easy to navigate through all the different menu options and if you need to tweak any of the settings then press the spanner (wrench) icon.
Speakers
No issues with the internal speakers on the Nuvi 660. The voice directions are clear and easy to hear. I set the volume level to 80% and that worked well for me.
Bluetooth, TMC and Safety Cameras
The Bluetooth, TMC and safety camera features are identical to the Nuvi 770 which was reviewed last month. Rather than repeat exactly the same information I suggest you read the sections on Bluetooth, TMC and Safety Camera on the following link.
One thing I do like, which was not mentioned in the previous review, is the ability for the Nuvi 660 to use the text to speech feature to read back SMS text messages you receive. So not only can you make hands free phone calls but you can listen to text messages hands free too.
Suction Cup and Cradle
The windscreen mount is similar to others in the Garmin range, although I wasn’t impressed with the design of the cradle.
The connection point where the Nuvi 660 plugs into the cradle is situated on the back of the 660. This makes snapping the 660 onto the cradle a little fiddly. You don’t get a nice reassuring click sound to indicate the 660 has snapped onto the cradle.
The following image shows the gold coloured connection point which slots into the back of the Nuvi 660.
A couple of times I found the Nuvi 660 had not snapped onto the cradle correctly and it came loose. Once you’ve used it a few times you get the hang of it but it is a bit disconcerting.
The following image shows the Nuvi 660 and 770 cradles side by side. The Nuvi 660 is on the left. You can see the gold coloured connection point for the Nuvi 770 is at the bottom of the cradle. I think this is a much better design than the Nuvi 660. Using the 700 series cradle you get a nice click sound to indicate the system has snapped onto the cradle correctly.
My other criticism of the Nuvi 660 was the suction cup. The suction cup came loose and fell off the windscreen after only a couple of times using the device. The suction cup itself looks identical to others in the Nuvi range so perhaps I had a defective suction cup but it was not reassuring.
System Tools
If you press the spanner (wrench) icon on the main screen there are a large selection of options that can be viewed and customized. These are outlined below.
Map
This screen allows you to set the level of map detail, map view (track up, North Up or 3D View), map outlines and type of vehicle.
System
This screen allows you to toggle on and off the following options:
- WAAS/EGNOS
- Safe Mode
- Garmin Lock
- Touch Tones
- Simulator
Locale
This screen allows you to set the language, voice language, time format (12hr, 24hr or UTC) and units (miles or km).
Display
Here you can set the colour mode (daytime, night time or automatic), backlight timeout (stays on, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes), recalibrate the screen, change the splash screen which is displayed when the Nuvi 660 is switched on, and toggle on and off the screenshot. The screenshot facility is useful if you want to take a snapshot of the map and save it for later viewing.
Navigation
This screen allows you to change the route preference (faster time, shorter distance, off road), vehicle type (car/motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, lorry/truck, bus, emergency vehicle, taxi), avoidances (traffic, u-turns, major roads, unpaved roads, toll roads, ferries, car share lanes), toggle attention tone on and off, and voice prompts (none, guidance only, guidance/status).
Bluetooth
This screen allows you to setup and edit your bluetooth connections.
Proximity Points
This screen allows you to toggle on and off custom POIs (Points of Interest) and Garmin Safety Cameras. You can also set the audio notification (single tone, continuous – speed alerts, continuous – all alerts). This can be useful if you only want a single notification when approaching a safety camera rather than repeated warnings.
Volume
Here you can set the navigation volume (voice directions, warning tones, etc.) and MP3/audible volume (when using the MP3 player, audio books and Garmin travel guides).
Travel Kit
The travel kit is accessed by pressing the suitcase icon on the main screen. It contains the following options.
MP3 and Audio Book Players
Use these two options for playing your MP3 tracks and audio books. I transferred several MP3 files to the Nuvi and the MP3 player worked fine.
Picture Viewer
Use this tool to view pictures you’ve uploaded to the Nuvi. You can scroll through each photo, show each photo full screen or do a slide show.
Calculator
Use this tool for performing basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Language Guide
The Nuvi 660 comes preinstalled with a sample of the Garmin Language Guide. These guides contain common words and phrases, such as ordering food in a restaurant or asking directions in a foreign language. You can get the Nuvi to speak these phrases aloud. This can be useful if you’re travelling around Europe and don’t speak the local language.
It also includes bilingual dictionaries so you can quickly convert a word from English to Spanish, German, French, Italian or Portuguese. You can also convert the other way, such as Spanish to English.
Travel Guide
These are optional extras which you can purchase from the Garmin web site. These guides provide helpful and thorough reviews and recommendations for restaurants, hotels, shopping, nightlife, sporting events and tourist attractions.
World Clock
This tool will show your current time, plus 4 other time zones. You can change the time zones to other world locations and specify whether each time zone should use daylight saving. You can also display a world map showing which regions in the world are currently in daylight and nighttime.
Currency Converter
This screen allows you to convert between a large selection of foreign currencies. You can update the currency rates too.
Unit Converter
This screen allows you to convert from a variety of units, whether it be area, distance, speed, temperature, volume or weight.
Points of Interest (POI)
The Nuvi 660 is just like others in the Garmin Nuvi range. The Nuvi range typically hold around 6 million POI which should be more than adequate for most users.
You can update the POI database on the Nuvi by using this link:
Garmin POI loader.
The first step is to either create your own POI file, or download the many that are already available, and then transfer these to the Nuvi using the POI loader.
The following link provides further details:
How to create a POI file
Summary
The Nuvi 660 is a nice sat nav system. It has the same good looks and easy to use features that are common across the entire Garmin Nuvi range. The navigation worked well and it is backed up by a huge Points of Interest (POI) database.
The TMC reception is excellent and the bluetooth and safety camera features worked well.
I found the cradle on the Nuvi 660 disappointing and not as easy to use as the newer Nuvi 770 series. The suction cup proved unreliable too.
I personally prefer the newer Garmin 700 series and you can pick up a Nuvi 760 for almost the same price as the Nuvi 660. The cradle is better designed than the Nuvi 660 and the user interface has been tweaked and looks slicker.
The Nuvi 760 also sports several new features not seen on the 660 such as support for multiple routes, automatic sorting of multiple destinations, MSN direct and automatic remembering of where you parked your car.
The Nuvi 660 does have a longer battery life though, supports WAAS/EGNOS, and has more routing profiles (such as taxi, bus and emergency vehicles), so if these are important to you then the Nuvi 660 is a good buy, otherwise I would consider the more up-to-date Nuvi 760.
Pros
- Wide screen
- Superb GPS signal with WAAS/EGNOS support
- Easy to use touch screen controls
- Speed cameras warnings out-of-the-box
- TMC signal excellent
- Text to speech - voice directions include road numbers and street names
- Huge POI database
Cons
- Cradle fiddly to use
- Have to select country name each time you enter a destination
Where to buy
Buy the Garmin Nuvi 660 Widescreen Sat Nav from Amazon.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Rob // Mar 15, 2008 at 8:30 am
Excellent review, great detail, well done!
2 seo // Mar 16, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Wooow very detailed review indeed. Thanks!
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