Garmin Nuvi 270
The Garmin Nuvi 270 is at the upper end of the new “200 series” Nuvis from Garmin. This new series of lower cost Nuvi devices all come with a standard 3.5″ touch screen display and a slim form factor. Like other Nuvis, the Nuvi 270 comes with many of Garmin’s typical “extras” such as a clock, time zone viewer, unit converter, and is compatible with Garmin Travel Guides and SaversGuide products. So what is special about the 270?
The biggest deal about the Nuvi 270 is the pre-installed maps. Not only do you get North American maps, but the European maps are also installed and unlocked on the device. If you are a frequent traveler to Europe and are looking for a simple GPS device, this could be a perfect match.
But don’t forget that this is what I would call an entry level GPS device. Some of the more advanced functions won’t be found on the Nuvi 270 in order to keep the costs low. There is no Bluetooth hands-free calling, no multiple destination routing, no music player, no live traffic reporting. Still, most of those features are not needed for every day travel, so this device can provide a great feature match at a lower price.
The one feature missing you might want to consider is text-to-speech. If you really want text-to-speech you will need to upgrade to the 350 which does not have European maps. To get text-to-speech and the European maps, look to either the 370 (you also get Bluetooth and a traffic receiver) or the 670 where you will also get a widescreen, traffic receiver, Bluetooth, and an FM transmitter.
If you don’t need European maps, consider either the Nuvi 250 which has North American maps installed, or the 200 which has maps of just the 48 contiguous US states plus Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
If you want to compare against other manufacturers who have devices with North America an Europe maps pre-installed, look to the TomTom 910. It isn’t a pocketable device, but has other features such as Bluetooth, a music player, widescreen, and text-to-speech. Therefore about the only similarity is the map coverage.
The retail price of the Nuvi 270 is $643. This seems quite high, but you almost never see Garmin products offered at the retail price. Availability is expected soon.
| Store | Rating | Best Prices |
|---|---|---|
Compare all prices on the Garmin Nuvi 270 Auto GPS ranging from $169.97 to $499.99. | ||
 |  In Stock at Buydig.com | $174.97 |
 | In Stock at BestPriceAudioVideo.com | $304.50 |
 | In Stock at J&R | $169.97 |
 | In Stock at PCNation | $179.40 |
 |  In Stock at Tiger GPS | $179.99 |
 | In Stock at A. J. Prindle | $399.95 |
 | In Stock at Amazon.com | $175.95 |
powered by  | ||
This review says it does not have Text to Speech, but on the garmin site, the prodcut spiel has “and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions.” Which is correct?
“Voice directions” are not the same as text-to-speech. The new Nuvi 200 series does not have text to speech, but it does have voice directions/prompts. For an explanation of the difference, check out our article on GPS and text-to-speech. The difference is how the voice speaks street names (or not).
Does it have more default language than just English? I need to be able to switch to French.
dear i have a question , is it available the feature of feets tracking
The Nuvi 270 does have other languages than English. Most European Languages, both text and spoken, are available. We tried it with Norwegian when in Norway and impressed my Norwegian friend.
I don’t understand the question from “muaid” on april 14th. You can change from miles to kilometers but there is not tracking that I can tell.
I’ve had the 270 for about 6 months and really like it. As I said above, I used it in Europe in 4 different countries: UK, Italy, France, and Norway. It worked well and has the ability do text and speech in most European languages.
I purcased the unit primarily due to the inclusion of European maps and a planned trip to France.
However I’ve been VERY diapponted with the accuracy of the unit and the “confusion” it causes the unit when trying to direct you to a destination. Standing still in the open in my drive way it locates me on another street at least 300′ away. It’s 50′ to 100’s of feet off often which put’s you on frontage roads when you’re on the freeway, and sometimes on the wrong street in a city. It has told me to turn the wrong direction onto a one way street (in Houston) several times. I’ve had to turn it off for most in city operation. Has anyone else experienced this problem. I’m trying to follow up with
Garmin about this completely un-acceptable performance of my Garmin 270.
I have not had such problems as Ben. One possiblity, though, could be that his home street, where he’s seeing these jumps to other streets, may be a new street that’s not in the data base or just a data base error on the Nuvi. The Nuvi, in “automobile” mode, tries to put you on the nearest street. Try putting it in “pedestrian” mode and see if the jumping to other streets is still there. It has tried to put me on the wrong street if the street I’m on is new enough not to be in the data base.
Hi there I am looking at purchasing a simple GPS system that we can use in europe and I am wondering which GPS system is better Tomtom or Garmin. And which unit. I am looking at spending under $160 for one.
Thanks In advance for any help
Mike, it (unfortunately) really isn’t as simple as saying TomTom or Garmin is better. They are the top two GPS companies, and people will have their favorite. One isn’t significantly “better” than the other. They do however take a bit of a different approach. Garmin is a bit simpler, a bit more stable, and works great. TomTom will offer a few more features, is more innovative, but sometimes isn’t quite as stable.
If you are looking for North America and Europe maps on the device, you probably won’t find it for under $160 and this 270 is probably your best bet.
Thanks for the quick response! WOW. I gather that if I purchased the 270 I can install the europe on it later when we go.
Thanks
The 270 comes with maps of Europe and North America pre-installed. You would not have to install European maps separately.
Mike,
Yes, the 270 comes with all the Western European maps installed as well as North America (except Mexico?…not sure). We were in Europe last March with the 270 and it worked great. Even has voice responses in many different languages in addition to American and British English so you can practice your Norwegian or French while driving around if you want. The maps for Eastern Europe are not as complete as Western Europe. Also, I found in Naples, Italy, that the roads are confusing even with a GPS. France, England, and Norway maps were fine. Also, watch out for new construction that may not be in the data base. This tends to confuse the Garmin unit as I would expect. The price for the 270 may be higher than the $160 you are looking for since you are buying the whole European and North American maps/data.
I recently bought the Nuvi 270 and plan on returning it. The maps are so out of date that stores that have been gone for 10 years are still listed and stores that have been here for 10 years are missing. I can’t see that it would be of any help if I were out of town looking for an ATM.
Help!Want to buy a GPS for my husband for our trip to Italy in 2009. Never been to Italy. Never had a GPS. Would like one that pronounced street names and was capable of rerouting. Small in size and long on battery life. Suggestions?
Barbara, the 270 would work except it doesn’t pronounce street names. You could either add an SD card containing the maps you need to a device like the 260 which does have text to speech, get a larger device like the 770, or wait for the 275t.
Barb,
What Tim says is correct but be ready to spend some big bucks on the SD card that has the European data on it. The nice thing about the 270 is that the European data is already included and prices for the 270 have come way down on some sites I’ve seen.
I received a Nuvi270 for Xmas and have used it in the US and in Europe; however, now the SD card seems to have fallen out! Has anybody else had this experience?? Question: how can I get another SD card for North America and Europe?
shaila - The 270 comes with maps in the internal memory, while there is an SD card slot the 270 doesn’t come with an SD card as none is necessary.
I agree with Tim but is it also possible that Shaila got a 270 with additional or upgraded maps that were on as SD card?
Well, the problem I’m having now is, when I turn the Nuvi on, it says, “loading maps”, and then simply switches off. So I was looking to see what the problem was and noticed the empty SD slot — maybe it was empty all along! How can the problem be resolved? Thanks so much for your response.
It could be as simple as a battery that needs to be charged. Otherwise you might try calling Garmin support.
Thank you SO much Tim and Steve — it was just the battery!!
i want to buy my son a nav system for his car. he is a high school student that needs only for domestic driving. what is a reliable item?
Does the 270 have a built-in speaker?
Yes.
Has anyone upgraded the maps on their 270? If so, what was the cost and how well did the process work?
Depending on the map, the update cost is typically $60-$70. You can either download and install the map, or purchase the update on DVD and install. The map files are a few GB in size, so if you don’t have a fast internet connection you might decide to go the DVD route– but the download works great if you have a fast connection and will save you shipping charges.
I just ordered the Nuvi 270 (I haven’t received it yet)and plan to use it only in France. The description states that it has maps of major metropolitan areas in France but I will be driving in some rural areas around Bordeaux and then South to Tarbes. Is the a downloadable map of France that has more rural detail? What is that map called and where can I find it if it exists? Thank you.
Peter,
I used a 270 in France last March in some rural areas west and north of Paris. It seems to have all the rural roads on it. The only problems I ran into were where there was road construction or new roads that were not in the 270’s data base. You might want to consider updating the maps for western Europe on the 270.
Thank you Tim and Steve. Steve, do you know where I can find such update and what it’s called?
I’m considering purchasing this unit based on reviews here and a great price point. My main concern, however, is updating maps for the Continental US. If I buy the optional USB cable, can I update the maps for free or do I need to pay $60 - $70 for the update? Also, does this unit automatically adjust the brightness based on the time of day, or is that an advanced feature?
Bill, if you decided to update the map after you have owned it for awhile, the map updates do cost money. If there is a more recent map available at the time of purchase you would qualify for the Garmin nuMaps Guarantee. The unit will automatically go into night mode after sunset.
I have a Garmin Nuvi 270 and when I try to have it program a map across country I always get a message that there is not enough memory. It will go about 1500 miles max. Anyone else have that problem?
John, that length shouldn’t be a problem. Does it cross countries? You may want to try a reset and see if that helps, ask around in our forums, or contact Garmin support.
Tim, I tried a reset and still the problem. No going across country boundaries. I tried Oregon to NJ and then Oregon to Ohio but not enough memory. I tried Oregon to Arizona and it worked OK (about 1500 miles)It appears that it does not have the capability to go much further than about 1500 miles - a big disadvantage. It has the most memory in the 200 series.
I’d ask around in our forums or contact Garmin support– a route of that length shouldn’t be a problem and I’ve never seen that message before.
Tim, problem solved. I was in the pedestrian mode. When I switched to automobile it worked fine. Thanks for your help.
Does anyone know if the map updates for the 270 would be for the combined US and Europe, or are they bought and installed seperately? Can you “extract” the map database from the unit and reload it?
if you are purchasing the updates they are purchased separately.
Tim, so I can update the US maps when needed and leave the original European maps in place?