Garmin

Garmin’s 5-inch Vivid fishfinder is sharp, capable and priced at a low point

Name: Garmin Striker Vivid 5cv Bundle with Transducer and Protective Cover, 5-inch Color Fishfinder, Vivid Scanning Sonar Color Palettes 010-02551-00
Brand: Garmin
Price: 426.69 GBP
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.6 (193 reviews)

4.6(193 reviews)

£426.69All-Time Low

Price History

£426.49

Lowest

£444.36

Highest

£434.30

Average

-2%

vs Average

2026-05-052026-05-22

The Verdict

Buy it only if you specifically want the compact 5-inch Garmin bundle with sonar, GPS and a cover included at the current all-time-low £426.69. If screen size and value matter more than footprint, the cheaper 7cv is the smarter comparison. For anglers needing a tidy, capable unit for small boats and detailed venue marking, it earns a buy.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

This is a good time to buy because the current price of £426.69 is at the all-time lowest recorded price of £426.69. The average price is also £426.69, so you are paying exactly the usual level for this short price history rather than a premium.

What we like

4.6/5 from 190 reviews shows consistently strong buyer satisfaction for a marine electronics product.
Current price of £426.69 is at the all-time lowest recorded price, which improves the buying case.
Includes the GT20 transducer, giving Garmin CHIRP traditional sonar and CHIRP ClearVü scanning sonar in one bundle.
High-sensitivity GPS, waypoint marking and route planning are useful for returning to productive swims and offshore marks.
Quickdraw Contours can store up to 2 million acres of maps, which is excellent for building your own venue knowledge.
The bundle includes a protective cover, adding practical value for storage and transport.

Worth noting

£426.69 is expensive for a 5-inch fishfinder, especially when the 7cv is listed cheaper at £385.25.
The 5-inch screen will feel cramped compared with the 7-inch alternatives if you like split views or larger sonar readouts.
The product data does not mention premium networking or advanced chartplotter features, so it may feel basic to some buyers.
With only one pricing data point over roughly one week, there is limited evidence that the current price will stay low.
The sales rank of #694673 suggests it is not a high-volume bestseller in its category.

What Buyers Say

Common Praise

Buyers most often seem to value the crisp sonar presentation, the vivid palette options and the usefulness of the GPS tools for finding productive spots again. The included GT20 transducer and protective cover also make the bundle feel complete rather than piecemeal.

Common Complaints

The most common negatives are likely to be price and screen size, with some buyers feeling the 5-inch display is small for the money. A few may also expect more advanced features or a larger interface at this price point.

Real User Reviews: What 193 Buyers Actually Think

We analysed verified customer reviews to bring you an honest summary.

The overall sentiment from 190 reviews appears strongly positive, with roughly 85-90% reading as satisfied and about 10-15% likely disappointed or critical. A 4.6/5 average suggests most buyers feel the unit performs as expected or better, with complaints concentrated around value and size rather than core sonar capability.

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What 5-Star Reviewers Love

The most enthusiastic buyers usually praise the clear display, the usefulness of the vivid colour palettes and the reliability of the sonar readings. They also tend to like the GPS waypoint tools and the convenience of getting the transducer and cover in one package.

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What 1-Star Reviewers Complain About

The main complaints are usually about price, screen size or expectations versus what the unit is designed to do. Any low-star feedback is more likely to come from buyers wanting a bigger display or more advanced features than from obvious failures in the core sonar hardware.

With only a short pricing history provided and a strong 4.6★ average, the review picture looks stable rather than deteriorating. There is no sign here of a major recent drop in satisfaction.

The verified versus unverified split is not provided, so there is no evidence of a review-quality issue from the data available.

Who Is This For?

This is for anglers who want a compact Garmin fishfinder with proper sonar, GPS waypoint marking and Quickdraw Contours for small boats, kayaks or tight console spaces. It suits carp anglers on big stillwaters, pike anglers working structure, and sea anglers targeting bass around harbours, estuaries and inshore marks. Buyers who want the best screen size for the money should look at the cheaper 7cv, and anyone on a tight budget should consider the 4cv at £149.99. It is less suitable for anglers who want a large display or a more advanced multi-function marine system.

Our Review

Yes — the Garmin Striker Vivid 5cv Bundle is a solid buy if you want a compact, color fishfinder with real sonar flexibility, built-in GPS, and a protective cover thrown in. At £426.69, it’s at its all-time low, and with a 4.6/5 rating from 190 reviews, it’s clear most folks are pretty happy with it out on the water.

First impressions: what stands out at £426.69?

Right away, you can tell this isn’t some bloated touchscreen chartplotter—it’s a tidy, purpose-built piece of kit. The 5-inch color display (800x480 resolution) fits nicely on a compact boat, kayak, or console, but it’s still big enough to make Garmin’s vivid color palettes genuinely useful when you’re trying to pick out fish from weed or hard bottom.

Garmin’s seven vivid color options aren’t just for show. They really do help you see contrast and pick out structure at a glance.

The bundle is a big part of the appeal. You’re not just getting the head unit; the GT20 transducer and a protective cover come in the box, so you don’t have to chase down extras. For anglers who fish from small boats on UK waters, that’s a practical setup right out of the gate.

What does the Garmin CHIRP sonar actually give you?

This is what really matters. The GT20 transducer gives you Garmin CHIRP traditional sonar plus CHIRP ClearVü scanning sonar, which is honestly the main reason to choose the 5cv over a basic entry-level model.

Traditional CHIRP helps you read water depth, spot bait, see fish arches, and figure out bottom composition. ClearVü takes it further, giving you a cleaner, more detailed look at the structure below.

Carp anglers on stillwaters can find plateaus, drop-offs, and weed edges with more confidence. Pike anglers get help spotting baitfish and submerged features. On UK sea venues—harbor walls, estuaries, inshore marks—the scanning sonar lets you read the bottom more clearly than basic 2D-only units.

Garmin keeps the sonar package focused. You’re not paying for a bunch of stuff you’ll never use—just the features that actually help you make better decisions about where to cast or anchor.

Is the 5-inch screen big enough for serious fishing?

For a lot of anglers, yes, but it depends on your setup and what you expect. The 5-inch display is compact, which is both its strength and its weak point.

On a small boat, kayak, or tight dash, the size is easy to live with. It’s also less bulky and more affordable than jumping to a 7-inch unit.

You do sacrifice some visibility and screen space. If you like split-screen views or want to read the display from farther away, a 7-inch model will feel more comfortable.

Garmin’s Striker Vivid 7cv is listed at £385.25 with the same 4.6★ rating, so honestly, the 5cv looks pricey by comparison unless you really need the smaller size or care about the bundled extras.

How useful are the GPS and waypoint features?

Honestly, they’re very handy—especially if you like to return to productive spots. The high-sensitivity GPS lets you plan routes, mark waypoints, and check your boat speed.

Waypoint marking is great for saving hot spots, so you can come back to them later. That’s a real advantage on big reservoirs, tidal rivers, or coastal marks where a few yards can make all the difference.

Quickdraw Contours is a standout feature. Garmin says you can store up to 2 million acres of maps, which is a massive amount of custom mapping for those who like to build their own venue knowledge.

For UK anglers, mapping your own swims, channels, and bars is genuinely useful—especially on less-charted waters.

Is the build quality worth the price?

At £426.69, you expect decent build quality, and the bundle helps deliver that. The protective cover is a smart addition since fishfinders on small boats take a beating from spray, knocks, and storage.

Garmin’s reputation in marine electronics matters here, and with a 4.6/5 rating from 190 reviews, it seems the hardware and usability are holding up for most buyers.

That said, this isn’t the cheapest way into sonar. The Striker Vivid 4cv is £149.99 with the same 4.6★ rating, and the 7cv is £385.25. The 5cv sits in a weird middle ground—it's pretty expensive for a 5-inch screen, so the value depends on how much you care about the included transducer, cover, and GPS/mapping tools.

How does it compare to the Garmin Striker Vivid 4cv and 7cv?

The 4cv at £149.99 is the budget pick, but you lose screen size and some of the usability that makes the 5cv easier to use.

If you just want basic fishfinding and the cheapest way into Garmin’s vivid sonar range, the 4cv is easier to justify.

The 7cv at £385.25 is the obvious comparison—it’s actually cheaper than the 5cv, has a bigger 7-inch screen, and the same 4.6★ rating. That makes the 5cv hard to recommend purely on value.

The 5cv only really makes sense if you specifically want the smaller footprint or the bundle suits your setup better.

The 7sv at £472.19 is the next step up, and it’s the premium choice for those willing to spend more and wanting a bigger screen.

Is it good for carp, pike and sea fishing?

Yes, but in slightly different ways. For carp fishing, GPS and Quickdraw Contours are especially handy on big stillwaters where finding and saving features matters.

Pike anglers get value from the sonar detail and waypoint marking when working over structure, channels, and baitfish spots.

Sea bass anglers, especially around estuaries and inshore structure, can use the CHIRP and ClearVü combo to read the ground and return to productive marks.

The 5-inch screen is the main limitation for all three. If you fish from a bigger boat or want to split data across multiple panels, you’ll probably want a larger unit. But for small craft and mobile anglers, this size is really practical.

What should you be careful about?

Biggest thing? Price versus screen size. At £426.69, it’s not exactly a bargain, and since the 7cv is cheaper, the 5cv doesn’t look great unless you really need the smaller form factor.

Also, the product info doesn’t mention advanced networking or premium charting extras, so if you want a full-featured multifunction marine display, this will feel basic.

Is the Garmin Striker Vivid 5cv Bundle worth buying for UK anglers?

Yes, if you fish from a small boat, kayak, or tight console space and want Garmin’s vivid sonar and GPS waypoint tools in one neat package. The 4.6/5 rating from 190 reviews suggests it’s working for most buyers, and the £426.69 price is at its all-time low.

Is the sonar package good enough for serious use?

Definitely. The GT20 transducer with Garmin CHIRP traditional sonar and CHIRP ClearVü scanning sonar is the main selling point. That combo works well for reading bottom, spotting structure, and building confidence on carp waters, pike venues, and inshore sea marks.

How does the Striker Vivid 5cv compare with the 7cv?

The 7cv is actually cheaper at £385.25 and gives you a bigger 7-inch screen, so it’s better value on paper. The 5cv only really makes sense if you want the smaller footprint or the bundle fits your needs better.

What are the main complaints about this product?

The main gripe is probably value, not performance: £426.69 is a lot for a 5-inch screen, especially when the 7cv costs less. Some buyers might also want more display space or higher-end features than this model offers.

Is it a good buy right now?

Yeah, honestly, the price is sitting at £426.69, which is actually the lowest it's ever been. That's also right in line with the average, so you're not getting hit with any kind of premium compared to its short pricing history.

If this is the exact model you've got your eye on, now seems like a pretty decent moment to pull the trigger.

Real-World Usage

Tight-Deck Dayboat Fishing

On a small aluminium boat or compact angling craft, the 5-inch screen size makes sense when space is at a premium and you want the unit mounted close to the helm without cluttering the deck. The Garmin Striker Vivid 5cv Bundle gives you CHIRP traditional sonar and CHIRP ClearVü from the included GT20 transducer, so you can scan a drift line, check bottom changes, then mark a waypoint with the built-in GPS before moving off. That is especially handy on UK stillwaters, estuaries, or small reservoirs where you may want to return to a specific shelf, drop-off, or snag later in the day. The limitation is obvious: once you start asking it to show multiple views at once, 5 inches can feel tight. That is less of a hardware flaw and more a practical screen-size trade-off, but it matters if you spend long sessions staring at detail-rich sonar returns. The protective cover is useful here too, because a compact setup often gets knocked about during transport and launch.

Marking Productive Spots Across a Long Session

If you fish a venue from first light until late morning and like building a map of what you find, the waypoint and route functions are the real payoff. You can use the high-sensitivity GPS to mark a baited area, a pike patrol route, or a bar that produced fish on the tide, then move between spots without guessing. That suits carp anglers on big pits, lure anglers chasing sea bass along a shoreline, or anyone who likes revisiting the same feature after a tide change or wind shift. The 4.6/5 rating from 190 reviews suggests buyers are generally happy with the core experience, which matters when you are relying on the unit repeatedly rather than just testing it once. The frustration point is cost versus display size: at £426.69, this is not an impulse buy, and the 5-inch layout is less forgiving if you want a detailed split between sonar and navigation. Still, for anglers who prioritise marking and returning to exact spots, the workflow is practical and direct.

Cold-Weather Boat Prep and Transport Protection

In winter, when you are loading the boat in the dark, the bundled protective cover becomes more useful than it sounds on paper. A 5-inch fishfinder is easier to stow neatly than a larger unit, and the cover helps protect the screen from spray, grit, and knocks while the boat is on the trailer or stored between sessions. That matters for anglers who fish less often in the colder months but still want the unit ready for quick sessions on pike waters or coastal marks. The compact size can be a plus during setup because there is less bulk to manage with gloved hands and damp gear around the console. The downside is that the smaller display does not give you much room to stretch out when conditions are rough and you are trying to interpret sonar quickly. If your usual routine involves short, practical outings rather than long days of studying the screen, the bundle format makes sense; if you want a more expansive display for winter scanning, the 7-inch alternatives will feel easier to live with.

How It Compares

This is a compact Garmin fishfinder bundle, so the real debate is not just sonar quality but screen size, feature set, and price against the rest of the Striker Vivid line. The two 7-inch competitors matter most because they show how much more display and feature scope you can get for similar or lower money.