Garmin dēzl LGV610 vs LGV800 vs LGV820: which truck sat nav to buy

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Buy the Garmin dēzl LGV610 unless you have a specific reason not to. At around £300 it carries the same truck routing, vehicle profiles, HGV parking finder and Birdseye yard imagery as its bigger siblings, on a 6-inch screen. Step up to the Garmin dēzl LGV820 at around £400 if you drive something high-sided and want wind radar and voice control. The Garmin dēzl LGV800 MT-S at around £330 is the middle path: the 8-inch screen for less, with lifetime map updates in the price, on older hardware.

That is the short answer. The rest of this piece is what actually separates the three when you have them in a cab.

What all three share

The routing engine is the same family across the dēzl range. You build a vehicle profile with height, width, length, gross weight, axle weight and any hazardous goods class, and the unit routes around anything that profile cannot pass. You can store more than one profile, which matters if you drag different trailers. All three cover the UK and Europe.

All three have the HGV parking locator and truck stop POIs, and all three have Birdseye satellite imagery for the final approach into a yard. The LGV820 lists "Birdseye direct", Garmin's newer version of the same idea. The practical difference is small. What you are choosing between is screen size, hardware generation and two headline features.

dēzl LGV610: the sensible one

Six inches is enough. Drivers moving from an 8-inch unit grumble for a week and then stop noticing, because the map is laid out for the screen it is on and the next-turn banner is easy to read at a glance. The LGV610 is also the lightest and the least intrusive on the windscreen, which counts in a cab that already has a tacho, a phone mount and a dash cam competing for space.

Garmin lists live traffic on the LGV610 and in practice you get it by pairing the unit to your phone. Where there is no signal there is no traffic, but the routing keeps working because the maps are on the device. It has no dash cam. It is the unit we would buy with our own money for a mixed UK and European run, and it is the one we recommend in the main HGV sat nav guide.

dēzl LGV800 MT-S: the big screen on a budget

The LGV800 is the previous generation of Garmin's 8-inch truck unit. It ships with several mounting options, and drivers in older cabs with steep dash angles rate that: you can get the screen where you want it without a third-party arm. Lifetime map updates are included in the price. On a unit you might keep for six years, that is not a small thing.

The MT-S badge means live traffic comes through your phone's mobile data, and Garmin says so plainly. It has no wind radar, no voice control, and the hardware is a generation behind, so menus are a beat slower than the LGV820. For around £30 more than the LGV610 you are trading the latest chip for a screen you can read across the cab, and for a lot of drivers that is the right trade.

dēzl LGV820: the current flagship

The LGV820 is Garmin's newest 8-inch truck unit and the only one of the three with features the others do not have at all.

Wind radar is the one that matters. On exposed stretches, the Woodhead, the A1 north of Newcastle, the Severn crossing on a bad day, the unit warns of crosswinds ahead so you can slow before the gust hits the side of the trailer rather than after. Drivers of curtainsiders and box vans in the reviews describe it as the reason they bought the unit. Drivers of tankers and flatbeds barely use it.

Voice control is the other. Saying "find truck parking" at 56 mph beats reaching across to a screen, and it works well enough in a diesel cab to be worth having. Truck and trailer services adds a layer of trailer-specific POIs. Together they justify the around £100 over the LGV610 for the right driver and not for everyone else.

Side by side

Model	Price (around)	Screen	Rating	Standout	Best for
Garmin dēzl LGV610	around £300	6-inch	4.5 from 1,840 reviews	Everything that matters, smallest footprint	Most drivers
Garmin dēzl LGV800 MT-S	around £330	8-inch	4.4 from 890 reviews	Lifetime maps, multiple mounts	Big screen on a budget, older cabs
Garmin dēzl LGV820	around £400	8-inch	4.6 from 420 reviews	Wind radar, voice control	Curtainsiders and high-sided work

Mounting and cab vibration

All three come with a suction mount and a powered cradle. Garmin's suction cups hold better than most on a truck windscreen, but a windscreen mount on a 44-tonner still transfers every rumble strip to the screen. The 8-inch units have more mass hanging off the cup and wobble more. If you go LGV800 or LGV820, budget for a screw-down or dash-adhesive bracket rather than trusting the cup through a winter of temperature swings. The LGV800's extra mounting kit is a head start here.

Power is the usual 12 V cigarette plug. On a 24 V truck the cab socket may be 24 V, so check the label on the socket before plugging anything in. Garmin's supplied lead handles both, but a cheap replacement lead from a service station may not.

Updates

The dēzl units update maps and software through Garmin's own tools with no charge for the maps. The process, how long it takes and what to do when it stalls are in our map update guide for Garmin, TomTom and Snooper.

What we'd buy

The LGV610 for a general haulage driver on a mixed run. The LGV820 for anyone in a curtainsider or on a lot of exposed motorway. The LGV800 MT-S for a driver who wants the big screen and would rather spend the difference on a decent dash cam. If you are still weighing Garmin against TomTom, that argument is in TomTom vs Garmin HGV sat navs, and live prices for all three dēzl units are on the HGV sat nav product list.

Frequently asked questions

Which Garmin dēzl is best for HGV drivers?

For most drivers the dēzl LGV610 at around £300. It has the same truck routing engine, vehicle profiles, HGV parking locator and Birdseye imagery as the dearer units. Pay more only for the 8-inch screen, or for wind radar and voice control on the LGV820.

What is the difference between the Garmin LGV800 and LGV820?

The LGV820 is the newer 8-inch unit. It adds wind radar, voice control, truck and trailer services and Birdseye direct imagery. The LGV800 MT-S is the previous generation with lifetime map updates bundled and a wider set of mounting brackets. It needs your phone's data for live traffic.

Is the Garmin LGV820 worth the extra money?

If you drive a curtainsider, box van or anything high-sided, yes. Wind radar warns you of crosswinds on exposed stretches before you feel them, and voice control means less prodding at the screen. If you drive a low-loader or a tanker, the LGV610 or LGV800 does the same job for less.

Do Garmin dēzl truck sat navs have live traffic?

All three list live traffic, but the LGV800 MT-S is explicit that it draws it from a paired phone's data connection. Plan on pairing your phone to whichever dēzl you buy, and accept that traffic drops out where your signal does.

Does the Garmin dēzl LGV610 have a dash cam?

No. None of the three units in this comparison record video. If you want a single unit that navigates and records, the Snooper TRUCKMATE SC5900 does both, but its camera is no match for a dedicated dash cam.