Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S EU: Tried motorcycle navigation systems

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Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S EU: Tried motorcycle navigation systems
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Navis, communication, apps

Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S EU: Tried motorcycle navigation systems

The Zumo 396, which Garmin brought onto the market just under a year ago, accompanied us for a whole season. How has the motorcycle sat nav fared in this period?


Jorg Lohse

08/22/2019

In terms of appearance and operating functions, the new device looks the same as an old acquaintance; anyone who has got used to Garmin navigation systems will get along with the 396 straight away.

The bluetooth connection breaks down frequently

On the hardware side, there is little to complain about at first: The robust and weatherproof housing, certified according to the IPX7 standard, can withstand even the strongest (continuous) rain showers, the holding arm with high-quality ram-mount ball head is beyond any doubt. A motorcycle-compatible navigation system must also be equipped. Much less convincing in our test drives was the large (4.3 inch) display, which was easy to use with gloves, but was difficult to read on very sunny days, or sometimes even impossible to read.


Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S EU: Tried motorcycle navigation systems


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The Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S EU is available for 399.99 euros.

The whole thing is all the more annoying when the Bluetooth connection to the helmet (for the transmission of route announcements) keeps hanging up. Restarting the connection usually helped. In terms of software, the Zumo 396 has made good progress. The route calculation worked flawlessly and quickly, the new features such as smartphone linking, weather service, emergency call assistant and traffic radio connection are exceptionally good.

Noticed positively: Europe detailed maps for 42 countries with free updates

Noticed negatively: Readability; Bluetooth dropouts

Price: 399.99 euros

MOTORRAD verdict: 3 stars out of a possible 5

Conclusion

The Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S EU scores in the first test with many detailed maps of Europe and free updates. However, the poor readability and, above all, the Bluetooth dropouts prevent a better rating.

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