WHEN BMW started offering satellite navigation - an automated route-guidance system - in its 7-series cars back in 2001, competitors scoffed at the move.

Who gets lost in tiny Singapore? Who would fork out $4,000-plus for such a gadget? Isn't the Street Directory more cost effective? And so on.

But in that very first year, close to $2 million worth of navigation devices were installed, mostly German-made VDOdayton sets in BMWs.

Today, the navigation system market here is estimated to be worth as much as $9 million a year, with about 10 brands vying for a slice of the growing pie. These include Garmin (American), Tibo (Korean), TomTom (Dutch), Packard Bell (originally American, now Dutch and could soon be Chinese), Nokia (Finnish) and Hewlett Packard (American).

Besides BMW, other premium marques have started offering navigation systems in their new cars, including Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi.

In BMW's case, navigation is now available across a wide model range, including the 325i, 335i, 525i, 530i, 630i, 650i and the 4.8-litre X5, as a standard feature. But if customers want them included in other models, they have to fork out between $8,000 and $10,000.

Parallel importers are increasingly making navigation systems available as an option too. One, Richburg Motors, says demand has climbed. In 2205, it installed 54 units. In 2006, 85. And last year, 164.

A member of the sales team at Volvo agent SM Motors says 80 to 100 cars fitted with $4,200 Garmin navi sets were snapped up last year, adding that they are most popular with expatriates.

BMW's satellite navigation system reflected in its Head-Up Display.

Mercedes dealer Cycle & Carriage, which offers navigation as an optional feature that costs between $7,000 and $13,000, concurs that most are sold to foreigners.

If that is true, the growing population of non-Singaporeans here should propel sales further. The recent availability of Chinese and Malay voice guidance is driving sales as well.

Indeed, Mr Ed Chua, sales director (South-east Asia) of Advan Syn, a distributor for VDOdayton navigation systems, estimates that 30 per cent of new cars are fitted with some form of navigation.

'The market is expected to grow by another 10 to 20 per cent this year, as hardware and map software costs drop further,' he says.

Today, portable sets are selling for under $400.

But you often get what you pay for. VDOdayton's latest VRM6200 model, for instance, is among the priciest aftermarket sets at $3,899. But it comes with a slew of features like MP3 and DVD players, Bluetooth handsfree system and iPod plug-in.

It has 3D display and easy touchscreen functions. Like many sets which are installed in the dashboard, it has a gyroscope system that is able to continue guidance even when the satellite signal is weak or lost temporarily.

Hence it works flawlessly even in built-up areas, covered carparks and when you go through tunnels.

While Malaysian maps are included in many sets nowadays, the VRM6200's map has an exhaustive list highlighting points of interests, hotels and medical facilities across the Causeway.

That does not mean the cheaper alternatives don't deliver.

Mr Benjamin Tan, 36, used a portable Garmin set before he bought a satnav-equipped Volvo S80. He says that while the portable set could not navigate whenever satellite signal was blocked (like when he goes into a tunnel), it was otherwise 'quite comparable' to the S80's system.

'It seemed to be able to locate more HDB blocks than my current system,' the civil servant adds.

Mr Goh Saye Kiat, 38, a satellite navigation 'enthusiast' who has sampled about a dozen brands in the past year, says a Garmin set at around $400 can be 'very user friendly'.

'It's value for money. You can download free Singapore and Malaysia maps from the Internet,' the service manager of Suzuki agent Champion Motors says. 'User contributions keep these maps updated.'

Access to the free site - www.malsingmaps.com - has proved impossible though. Life! tried over two days to no avail. Online users have been complaining of inaccessibility in recent weeks too.

But for around $200, you can get an authorised Singapore map from Garmin. A small price to pay, perhaps, for not having to be lost again.