5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Dissapointment
Date of Review: Apr 18, 2006
The Bottom Line: Not recommended. Kenwood choose to market a stripped down version of the European unit, to the same price, plus it has horrible satelite reception
I had read about the European version of this new Kenwood navigation unit, the KNA-G520 and it came with Gyroscope and speed sensor cable. I liked the fact that it came in a small box that I could easily hide away in the car and still be able to use my Kenwood DDX 6019 with cd's or dvd's. But for some reason the US version of this Garmin Nav unit, is no better than a regular Street pilot. They have not choosen to include Gyroscope or speed sensing cable to support Dead Reckoning. So what you get is a "cheap" black box that connects to your battery and brake cable and your monitor. So far it has delivered a sub par navigation performance, the satelite fix is bad at best. I had this installed at a professional dealership and the antenna is correctly installed. But unless you are driving on the freeway with no houses around you, it won't give you a satelite fix. Even the streetpilot gives me better satelite fixes. And my Magellan handheld nav, also is better than this unit. So for $ 800, the same they pay in Europe for the more advanced unit, you get something that is worth no more than a $200 handheld Garmin unit.
****UPDATE****
Ok, I gave it another chance, I figured I could have been unlucky with a faulty unit, so I requested a replacement. And I replaced it at drove around for a few hours to test it and I experienced the same horrible satelite reception. I even took some photos of the clear blue sky I was under and the lost satelite message on the nav system. So now I will try to return the whole thing and buy a pioneer.
