Customer Reviews

Mio Knight Rider 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My Knight Rider GPS arrived the other day (9/25), and I have to say it is everything I'd hoped for. From the way KITT's voice greets you on power up, to the LEDs flashing on the sides when it talks, just fits perfectly. While the voice sounds a tad bit drier than the original KITT, given the actor (William Daniels) has aged 20 years, it's not surprising it isnt perfectly identical - still sounds like KITT though, no question.

I like how the position on the map is indicated by a little graphical KITT, rather than your typical arrow or circle. Gives it that extra little awesomeness you'd want from a Knight Rider based GPS system. Everything else your average GPS has is part of this package, it even has some extra options like subscriptions to traffic cam alerts.

My only complaint is that the map scrolling via manual touch leaves a little to be desired - it is not as smooth or easy to use as my previous Mio product (Digiwalker 168), but it still works OK. It also has plenty of greeting names in the database to choose from, tho it may not have everything you'd want, supposedly you can update it with more later on. The GPS has internal memory as well as an SD expansion slot.

All in all this is a great product, and fits perfectly with my Firebird, which while white, still looks enough like classic KITT ;) ... maybe its time for a paintjob.

This is a great little navigator, especially for the price. Easy to read screen, simple instructions. I previously thought this might be a cheap product, but it has never led me astray and has always been very accurate. You can program it to address you, using a wide list of pre-entered names (although some I have never heard of) and the red scanner, which activates every time is speaks, is enjoyable eye-candy. The map is usable in either two- or three-dimension and gives plenty of detail for the surrounding area. I also like that it can display current time, time to destination, and vehicle speed. It can also be programmed to dim the screen automatically at night, a great feature which reduces distraction.

This has a nice look and cool gimmick with the KITT Voice from Knight Rider.

As a GPS system .... eh ... I'm not sure how often Maps are updated around the U.S. for GPS Systems or if they purposely send you a Old Map with your system so you will have to purchase a new Map right away!?
I live in the Knoxville Tn area and at least for me around here the System is missing a lot of existing streets that have been around for quite awhile now.

So most of the time when i'm driving around town to see how this thing works It will tell me that i'm not on a street ... to go to the nearest street.
Also when i put in a address to go somewhere across town... it tells me to turn right onto the Freeway ... which would usually be ok ... IF THERE WAS AN ENTRANCE to the Freeway at that spot!! .. It's a road that drives under the Freeway that is way above and there was never an entrance there before.

So I can't really trust this GPS System to give me correct or fast directions when it doesn't know when a road doesn't have an entrance to a interstate or doesn't even know that some roads exist ..

On the Mio website it says they are gonna give away free 2009 maps ... So i'll wait to see if that fixes the problems... If Not ... This was not worth the money ... So we will see

Also the way they have set up how you plug the System in your car when it is slid into the bracket is awful . The plug and cord is just fine when not in the bracket but when it is slid on it gets stopped by the way it is set up and I constantly have to be messing with it while driving ( which of course is dangerous ) and pushing it back in so it will charge.... It doesn't fall out but it gets jarred just enough by little bumps so the charge light will go off.

Another Update : After using this for awhile and testing it out everywhere I go , I am just really disappointed with this Item!
Like I said above , The KITT voice and the size of the screen are an awesome aspect to this system. But can't be trusted on directions as a gps system !!! Testing it out all over the city I live in I obviously know where I am going so it hasn't gotten me lost or anything. BUT when I type the address I want to go to it will start me off just fine and just when you think it is working out just great it will try to tell you to take a turn that is impossible unless your car can fly!!! For instance : I take an exit off the interstate , I go to the right off the exit , this is a one way street that loops around and merges into a main street that is of course not a one way anymore. The gps tells me to take sharp left as traffic is looping in the main street !! Heck Yeah .. that WOULD be the fastest route !! If humanly possible or legal. And like I stated above ... if my directions happen to cross paths with an interstate whether it has an entrance or not it will tell me to turn on it even if it's 500 feet above me!! I knew I should have bought that darn Helicopter !!

I got this GPS as a gift over 2 years ago now. Before this I had a very simple model Magellin.

As far as a Knight Rider novelty item, this is very cool. The voice is great and the lights are a great feature as well. Other than than, there is nothing to brag about here.

This GPS is a very simple piece of equipment. I guess Mio thought the KITT voice and lights were enough when they made this one. There are absolutely no extras to it. Hardly any points of interest, doesn't speak street names, no traffic reports, nothing.

Despite it's lack of features, my biggest complaint with this device is not being able to re-route and skip streets. Several times while using this device, I had come to a street that was either closed or packed with traffic. There is no way to take a street out of the route! It will just keep telling you to get back on that street.

Another very, very annoying thing about it is powering it on. Every single time I turn this GPS on, I have to scroll through the owner agreement and click accept. If I haven't used it in a while, I also have to set the language, state, etc.

A problem I ran into with mine is it completely stopped holding it's charge. I could have this thing charging all day, but as soon as I unplug it it will shut right off. I honestly don't know how long this problem has been going on, as I usually have it plugged in while driving anyway.

Oh and the best part was trying to get a software update. I went on the Mio website to see if there was a software update for this device, and this GPS isn't even listed on the website! So I called the company, and they e-mailed me the steps to updating the software and maps on the device. Now, I am a pretty good with electronics and figuring them out, but this process was unbelievably difficult. So if you are not great with electronics, you're going to need some serious help with this one.

My advice, DO NOT BUY THIS GPS. I have also used another version of a Mio GPS, and it is not much better. I would go with a Garmin, Tom Tom or Magellin and avoid all Mio devices.

I was lucky enough to get this as a Christmas gift. I love it!

There are some great features:
1. Sounds like KITT.
2. You can select the street you want to get to without needing a house number. Believe it or not, this has come in handy.
3. You can set an alert. If your speed exceeds the limit you program, the GPS lights up and a tone sounds. Nice way to watch your speed without the cruise control. Shame they didn't program it for KITT to say something catchy instead of just the tone though.
4. The unit and display both look great.

The only negatives I have with the unit are:
1. Won't keep a charge. You'll need this plugged in when you use it.
2. When the unit is in the window mount, it is difficult to connect the power cord. You'll know if it's not plugged in completely because you'll get a low power warning and it will turn off.

If you're a fan of the original Knight Rider series and you need a GPS, treat yourself to some fun and go with the Mio Knight Rider GPS.

I like this unit alot. Granted for the same price, you could get better units but none of them talk to you in the KITT voice! Its done a decent job in helping me find my destinations and the KITT cool factor is just off the charts. I've also dealt with their tech support due to some quirky early issues and they were very helpful and responsive. Soooo...

Pros:
-Cool voice and lights.
-Tracking you, giving directions, and on the fly workarounds is as good as most other gps devices.
-Very quick in finding gps satellites
-Really good customer service
-free map upgrade if you purchase before Feb.

Cons:
-No traffic tracker
-touch screen can be a bit "under" sensitive
-few directions I've dealt with were a bit subpar

This was my first Mio product as I am a huge Knight Rider fan and that was the main reason for buying it. I have many Garmin units though. This works very well but the screen is kinda small for the keyboard and the touch system kinda lags once in a while. But so does Garmin's. The biggest plus is Mio offers it's map updates for free which is a big loss in the Garmin department. If you have used Mio software before this is just as nice as Garmin but if you are switching you will need to familiarize yourself with the different menu actions and directories but there are things that are missing from both companies. So don't think this won't hold up against Garmin. :) If you love Knight Rider and want a cheap GPS that can get you from point A to B you really can't go wrong. This will be a collector item for sure :).

I purchase Kitt after testing it in store with several locations in the US and Canada. I have since used the unit and I have been impressed with the accuracy of the mapping. Choosing points of interest in Philadelphia, PA it gives me flawless directions through the maze of one way streets and alleys that make up Old Philadelphia. In Lancaster county PA where you still meet horse and buggies every day, every trip, I found shorter and better routes on roads that do not have signs, just county fire numbers. The best was when I drove from Kingston CA to Perth CA, a larger city with old streets to a country town. Every road came up on the screen with correct notations. The only problem I have had is if you check that you want to use major roads in the setup, it can choose some unusual routing when the roads do not go in your direction. The computer can make some round about routes that make sense to the program but appear to be a little round robin in directions. Getting older as I am I loved the larger screen, the voice announcements and really nice graphics. It was a very good purchase and I have recommended this product to many friends! Including of the Canadian maps makes more common sense to me, why do the others include maps of an island every one flies to?

I LOVE IT!!!!! But I may be bias, because I love Knight Rider. Downside - to update the maps you need a PC and sign up to receive map updates. (there is a fee, I don't remember the cost)

Received the Knight Rider GPS that I ordered for a gift. It came VERY fast and everything was fine. My daughter LOVED it as she loved watching that show when she was growing up! Actually I think she liked Michael more than Kitt but the show wouldn't have been the same without Kitt in it!