Will Garmin Drive 51 Lm Upload Custom Routes
The research
- Why y'all should trust us
- Who should get this
- How we picked
- How we tested
- Our choice: Garmin DriveSmart 55
- Flaws merely non dealbreakers
- Better for world travelers: TomTom Go 520
- Budget pick: Garmin Bulldoze 52
- The competition
Why y'all should trust us
Rik Paul is Wirecutter'due south autos editor and was previously the automotive editor for Consumer Reports, where he edited the publication'southward motorcar reviews and auto accessory tests, including GPS navigators. Prior to that, he was the senior characteristic editor for Motor Tendency, where in 1996 he organized and wrote the publication's (and perhaps the industry'due south) first comparing test of in-auto GPS systems. He nonetheless proudly shows off the offset "affordable" add together-on car-nav system in the United states of america—the $three,000 Sony NVX-F160—which came out in 1994. It was almost the size of a small desktop figurer and could rails your car on a digital map, but it left it upwardly to you to plot your own road.
Who should get this
For 24-hour interval-to-day, around-town navigation, a smartphone works great, especially if you have a phone mount that holds it in a place that'southward easy to see. But if you tend to drive in rural areas or off the browbeaten path, where data coverage is sketchy, you may take found that you were unable to get directions through your phone, peradventure forcing you to resort to a newspaper map or, gasp, fifty-fifty finish and ask for directions. Similarly, on long road trips, y'all may have establish that navigating with your telephone depleted its battery—or your data plan—also rapidly. And it's frustrating—not to mention potentially dangerous—when your phone's screen switches from the nav display to an incoming call just as you're reaching a tricky interchange (and, yes, nosotros missed our turn).
A GPS device gets around a phone's connectivity limitations (or avoids the hassle of downloading maps to your phone) by storing all the navigation and points-of-interest data onboard. The best ones besides make navigating easier than with a smartphone app thank you to more-natural, landmark-specific voice directions (such every bit "turn right at the traffic light" instead of "turn right on Master Street") and displays that clearly prove highway signs and what lane to be in at interchanges. They also typically show the speed limit for the road you lot're on, and the best models include a variety of locally based driver and safety alerts that you don't get with a phone.
That said, it's not strictly an either/or choice. The best GPS devices can pair with a phone via Bluetooth to get upward-to-date traffic and atmospheric condition info, display text letters and calendar reminders, and allow yous to comport hands-free calls. You tin can also send destinations and routes from your telephone or computer to your GPS device, which can be more user-friendly than inputting them while sitting in your car.
Thinking of buying a new car? You lot can save a lot of money past forgoing a built-in navigation system and getting a portable device instead—in-nuance systems are often available only on higher-priced trim levels, or as part of option packages that can add together $1,000 to $v,000 to a vehicle'southward cost. A portable GPS unit also provides gratis lifetime map updates, which can cost as much as $200 for a built-in system and require going to a dealership.
How we picked
All car GPS devices have a common suite of features. You use the device's touchscreen to enter an address or search for a signal of interest (gas station, ATM, parking lot, or marketplace, for example); the device draws from its built-in database to plot a route to that destination and give you turn-by-turn directions, both by phonation and on the screen. If you miss a plough, it automatically recalculates the route. Most models include digital mapping of the US and Canada, and virtually all of them provide complimentary lifetime map updates, which you lot download either via Wi-Fi or by plugging the device into a computer, depending on the model. Near have a 5-inch display (measured diagonally), although larger 5.five-, 6-, and seven-inch versions are also available. All plug into your auto's 12-volt accessory outlet (aka cigarette lighter) for power but also accept an internal lithium-ion battery that typically lets you use the device for upwardly to an hour when not plugged in.
In add-on, while scouring the specs and features of all current models, we looked for the following options, which can make a device easier to use or more than useful:
- Voice control: A adept phonation-control organization tin make it quicker and easier to input a destination, control book and screen illumination, get traffic and weather condition updates, and cancel a road by speaking a command. The systems of GPS devices, however, depend on saying specific commands, so they aren't as conversational as Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa.
- Traffic alerts: When navigating along the major highways of metro areas, most GPS devices tin give you alerts virtually traffic delays along your route and ask if you desire to reroute. But none of them match the breadth of the traffic info in the Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps telephone apps.
- Wi-Fi updating: This handy characteristic lets you download and install map and software updates to your device over a Wi-Fi network, without removing it from the car, instead of having to plug the device into a computer and manually download the data.
- Multi-touch display: As with smartphones, the better GPS navigators have a convenient capacitive display, which lets you use multi-affect inputs. This is especially helpful for quickly zooming in or out of a map. Many GPS devices employ a resistive brandish, which recognizes only one bear upon point at a time. We've found those fine for about uses, such every bit tapping on-screen buttons, merely zooming requires that you use the plus and minus buttons on the screen, which is a little clunkier.
- Bluetooth connectivity: Many models tin can connect with your smartphone via Bluetooth so you can use the company'due south app to get more timely traffic alerts and weather updates and to receive destinations and routes from your phone. Some as well let yous use the GPS device'south speaker to comport easily-gratis telephone calls, and they'll display text messages on-screen and read them to you, if desired.
How nosotros tested
Each of the devices we've tested will go you to your destination by providing accurate turn-by-turn directions, and virtually of the better units include all of the options listed in a higher place. The differences often come up down to the way you interact with the device: The best models make information technology easier to navigate past offering more precise visual and exact directions, clearer lane guidance through tricky intersections, a more driver-friendly screen layout, and easier methods for inputting destinations. So for each update to this guide, we sought out the latest models from the major brands, set each in a car, and put them through their paces in environments ranging from rural countrysides to the urban depths of New York City.
We surveyed each unit's features and assessed its overall ease of utilize. We evaluated the commuter-friendliness of the screen layout, the accessibility of the menus, and how quickly nosotros could input a destination and go a road—both past entering information technology on the screen and, when possible, by using voice commands. We tinkered with the settings, evaluated the routing, assessed how piece of cake it is to update the map and POI information, and judged the sturdiness of the included mountain and simplicity of installation and removal of the device. We also paired each unit to a smartphone, when possible, to see what advantages that provided.
Our choice: Garmin DriveSmart 55
Our choice
Garmin DriveSmart 55
The all-time car GPS
Best-in-class directions, driver alerts, points of involvement, and free map updates—combined with the best screen nosotros've seen on any GPS unit—set the DriveSmart 55 autonomously from the pack.
Ownership Options
Combined with Garmin's best-in-class directions, user interface, points-of-interest database, and driver alerts, the DriveSmart 55 has the best brandish nosotros've seen in this segment plus a sleek bezel-less design. This latter feature results in a larger, five.5-inch screen than its directly competitors with yet a slightly smaller body. Like other high-end navigators, the 55 besides lets y'all apply phonation commands for common functions, connect with your smartphone via Bluetooth, and update its maps and software over a Wi-Fi connection, then you lot don't have to plug it into a computer.
The DriveSmart 55 has a super-crisp 1200×720 capacitive display, which is much sharper and easier to read than the screens in similarly sized "5-inch" models, including the 480×272 screen in our previous pinnacle choice, the DriveSmart 51 LMT-S. As with your smartphone, the 55 allows multi-touch gestures, such as pinching or spreading for easier zooming on a map. This is a articulate step upwardly from the resistive displays of less expensive units, which allow simply single-finger gestures and require you to tap on the plus and minus buttons to zoom in or out.
Compared with models from other brands, Garmin'due south visual and audible directions are more than precise. Once you lot've entered your destination, the DriveSmart 55 presents its directions conspicuously on the screen and speaks them as well. Nosotros like that Garmin's voice directions—chosen Real Directions—are more specific about landmarks than other navigators: In our testing, instead of only maxim "Turn ahead" or to turn at a specific road, it oftentimes told u.s. to "Plough at the traffic light," "the finish sign," or fifty-fifty "the blood-red building." Updated iii times a twelvemonth, these Real Directions assistance make up for those times y'all can't easily meet a street sign.
Like some TomTom models, the DriveSmart 55 (and its larger sibling, the DriveSmart 65) also now include 3D mapping; in some major cities, it shows familiar buildings and landmarks as recognizable 3D images, which tin help you more easily orient yourself with your environment in an unfamiliar surface area.
Like all of the models nosotros tested, the Garmin displays the speed limit for the road you're driving on (highlighted in reddish if you're exceeding it). But a new feature that nosotros found really helpful has the display plow yellow and emit a soft beep as you're approaching a speed-limit modify. This made u.s. more aware of those unexpected changes where constabulary oftentimes similar to park themselves with radar guns.
Similarly, all electric current Garmin GPS devices provide a suite of driver alerts that give you a heads-upwards for such things as an upcoming school zone, a sharp bend, a railroad or animal crossing, and more; it volition even tell you if you're going the incorrect way on a 1-way street. Each alert is accompanied by a pocket-size icon, which pops up in the lower left corner of the screen, and a soft chime, which y'all tin turn off individually for each blazon of alert. Models from other brands tin can requite you warnings about upcoming scarlet-light and speed cameras simply don't provide nearly the same range of alerts as Garmin.
Garmin'southward vocalization-command system works well overall and is much easier to use than TomTom's (the only other brand that offers it). Yous do have to utilize bones commands (which are prompted on the screen), only after activating the organization with a chosen trigger word, we could usually plot new routes rapidly by simply saying, "Discover place," "Find address," or a similar phrase, then speaking the appropriate accost or point of interest. The feature is particularly user-friendly while driving, because, by default to reduce driver distraction, Garmin blocks you lot from inputting destinations or changing settings on the screen while the auto is moving. That said, the system isn't near as seamless or conversational equally the voice command systems in a practiced smartphone or digital banana, and several times information technology just couldn't understand the destination we asked for, despite several tries. (Repeating the same destination in Google Maps resulted in nearly instant directions.)
The DriveSmart 55 provides traffic alerts along your route using information from the Here traffic network, which is updated roughly every five minutes via an FM radio signal. Alerts pop upward on the screen and are accompanied past spoken warnings (for example, that traffic is causing a five-minute filibuster along your route). However, traffic alerts are bachelor just on interstates and other major highways near major metro areas.
Pairing the 55 with your smartphone via Bluetooth and Garmin's Drive app (iOS, Android) gets you more frequent and more detailed information through Garmin'due south Alive Traffic service. Traffic information is updated every minute, includes more specific alerts (such as "stalled machine in left lane" instead of but "tedious traffic ahead"), and covers a wider range of streets—but information technology'south not as good as the traffic info you become on Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Waze.
Connecting the DriveSmart 55 to the Drive app adds features in other areas, every bit well. Nosotros could input a destination on our phone, printing Go, and then have the navigator instantly calculate a route to it, which is very convenient. You lot can comport hands-free phone calls using the DriveSmart's speaker and microphone—handy if your car doesn't have Bluetooth adequacy—and view your phone'south incoming text and email messages, calendar reminders, and app alerts on its screen. You can likewise get weather updates, see nearby parking prices and locations (provided through Parkopedia) in many United states of america cities, and view live traffic-camera images.
Flaws merely non dealbreakers
If having comprehensive traffic information is of import to you, nosotros recommend using a smartphone instead of a GPS navigator. Although Garmin's devices provide traffic alerts within major metro areas, if you lot're looking for the same kind of conspicuously marked, color-coded traffic-flow info that you get from Google Maps, Waze, and Apple tree Maps—fifty-fifty on less traveled roads—you may exist disappointed.
The DriveSmart 55 comes preloaded with street maps of the US, Canada, Mexico, and some Caribbean area locations (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Bahamas). Yous can also download maps of other countries from the Garmin website or order them on SD cards, but they tin can be pricey. Several areas we looked at in Europe—such as Spain/Portugal and the Uk/Ireland—cost $70 each. If you programme on using a GPS device in other areas, the TomTom Go 520 may be a improve option.
Ameliorate for world travelers: TomTom Become 520
Likewise not bad
TomTom Go 520
Better GPS for world travelers
You go more complimentary maps for more countries than with Garmin models, but the TomTom Go 520's brandish isn't as abrupt and the device isn't as easy to use as the DriveSmart 55.
Ownership Options
Buy from Amazon
*At the time of publishing, the price was $200 .
The TomTom Go 520, with costless lifetime access to world maps, is a proficient alternative if you want a GPS device that you tin can easily use in countries exterior of N America. Information technology has a lower-resolution display than the Garmin DriveSmart 55 and isn't every bit like shooting fish in a barrel to apply, and its aural directions aren't quite as precise, but like the 55 it gives y'all a multi-impact brandish, voice control, Bluetooth capability, 3D displays, and convenient Wi-Fi updating. Information technology also comes with a handy powered magnetic mountain that lets you easily attach the TomTom to the windshield and remove it without having to mess with connecting and disconnecting a power cord each time.
Although the Go 520 was a reliable navigator in our testing, the Garmin DriveSmart 55 has a cleaner display layout, more precise directions, better lane guidance at highway intersections, and a menu system that is easier to navigate—features we retrieve are more of import for about drivers because they go far easier to become where you're going. And though the Go 520 will alarm you to locations of safety cameras (for speed and ruby-red lights), it doesn't provide the wide range of alerts the Garmin devices do.
We too institute TomTom's vocalisation controls to exist more limited than Garmin's. Nosotros could enter an address past voice, but we weren't able to search for points of interest other than gas stations and parking lots. (TomTom says that you can utilize Siri and Google Assistant through the Go 520, simply when we tried it with our Android test phone our directions came through in Google Maps on our phone.)
Merely the Go 520 is all the same a very good navigation unit overall, and if you frequently travel exterior Due north America and want a device you can take with yous, TomTom'southward free maps volition speedily save you a parcel of money compared with buying international maps for a Garmin model.
Budget option: Garmin Drive 52
Upkeep pick
Garmin Bulldoze 52
If you desire a bones navigator with fewer features
Like the DriveSmart 55, this upkeep model gives y'all a all-time-in-class user interface and points-of-interest database, and top-notch directions, but it lacks its high-resolution display, Bluetooth connectivity, voice commands, and Wi-Fi updating.
Buying Options
If you need merely a basic GPS navigator, without some of the DriveSmart 55's handy features, the Garmin Drive 52 may be a good option for you. It provides the same reliable directions, intuitive user interface, extensive points-of-interest database, and helpful driver alerts for a lower toll. What the 52 doesn't give y'all is the same super-well-baked five.5-inch display, and its 5-inch, 480×272 resistive touchscreen is notably less sharp than the 55's 1200×720 screen and doesn't allow multi-touch on input. Nor can you use voice commands for common functions, pair the device with Garmin's smartphone app via Bluetooth for more data and extra features, or utilise Wi-Fi to easily update its maps and software; yous need to plug the 52 into a estimator to perform updates.
The Bulldoze 52 comes with free lifetime map updates, which include the US, Canada, and the same Caribbean locales equally the 55, but not Mexico. The 52'south maps also don't prove topographical shading for mountains or 3D buildings in cities.
The base Drive 52 doesn't include Garmin's traffic alerts, which you may non demand if you don't oftentimes drive on the major highways in metro areas or if you lot use your smartphone to check traffic. But for a few dollars more, you can opt for the Drive 52 & Traffic model, which gives y'all the same traffic alerts as the DriveSmart 55.
The competition
If you want all of the features of the Garmin DriveSmart 55 or the TomTom Go 520 with a larger display, look for the Garmin DriveSmart 65 (six.95 inches) or TomTom Become 620 (6 inches), respectively. While they display bigger maps, the Garmin DriveSmart 55 provides a sharper screen and a amend overall residual; information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to read without taking upwardly besides much room on the dash or windshield.
The Garmin Drive 51 LMT-S is a previous acme choice that'southward nevertheless worth considering if you desire to save money. It's very similar to the Garmin Drive 52 & Traffic, but without the History Network's historic sites or Us National Park directories. The Drive 51 tin pair with a smartphone via Bluetooth to use Garmin's Smartphone Link app, but it doesn't let you conduct easily-costless phone calls or meet incoming text letters and calendar reminders like the DriveSmart 55 does. The similar Drive 51 LM is fifty-fifty less expensive than the Drive 51 LMT-S but lacks traffic alerts or Bluetooth connectivity. (The Drive 61 LMT-S and Drive 61 LM are the aforementioned models, respectively, with a half dozen.95-inch display.)
Our previous upgrade pick, the Garmin DriveAssist 51 LMT-Southward, has many of the same features every bit the DriveSmart 55, but includes a dashcam that continuously records what's happening in front end of the vehicle. If the DriveAssist detects a crash it automatically saves the video and tin send a text message and map link to a preselected contact. The DriveAssist's photographic camera likewise enables visual and audible forward-collision warnings and lane-deviation alerts, which can be an extra hedge against distracted or drowsy driving. The dashcam's video, however, is not upward to the quality of today's best models, and the DriveAssist lacks the 55's super-crisp display and Garmin's latest points-of-involvement collections. But if you want the functionality of both devices in ane body, this is nevertheless worth considering.
The TomTom Go 52 is nearly identical to the TomTom Go 520 and is ordinarily priced a fiddling lower. But it doesn't include free access to earth maps or the 520 model's handy magnetic mount—features that make the Become 520 one of our picks.
The TomTom Via series is a selection of lower-priced navigators with resistive screens; maps of the US, Canada, and United mexican states; and free lifetime map updates. The series includes the 5-inch Via 1525M and Via 1525TM, and the 6-inch Via 1625M and Via 1625TM; the TM models requite y'all free lifetime traffic alerts. None provide Bluetooth connectivity, so y'all tin can't pair them with a smartphone. They're worth because only if all you want is basic smartphone-free navigation.
At only about ane½ inches in diameter, the Garmin Speak is smaller and more discreet than a typical GPS device. Instead of a map, the Speak relies heavily on Garmin's clear voice directions while displaying bones visual guidance for upcoming turns and multilane situations. As you approach your next turn, a greenish perimeter calorie-free starts illuminating at the lesser of the brandish and gradually rises upward the sides, completing a circumvolve at the top just as yous attain your turn. Nosotros found this visual cue to exist surprisingly constructive, especially in dense areas with lots of streets close together, and we were impressed with the Speak's navigational capabilities, considering its size and lack of a screen.
However, unlike other units, the Speak needs to be paired with a compatible iPhone or Android smartphone via Bluetooth to function at all. This pairing also allows the Speak to offer Amazon's Alexa digital assistant, though we oasis't seen the value of having Alexa in a auto; if you already need a smartphone to make it work, you lot can merely utilise Siri or Google Assistant for those type of functions. (Garmin as well sells the pricier Speak Plus, which is a version with a dashcam and integrated rubber warnings similar to those of the Garmin DriveAssist 51 LMT-S.)
The Klashwerks Raven is a multi-function device that combines a dashcam with navigation, security, and vehicle tracking. Only we weren't impressed with is navigation functions. Destinations need to exist input through a Bluetooth-paired smartphone app, and the unit'south brandish provides only bones visual guidance. (You can meet a full map on the telephone'southward app, merely that requires having some other device on your dash.) When paired, vocalism directions can be heard through the car's speakers, but when nosotros left the Raven'due south app to do something else with the phone (such as stream music), the navigation stopped completely.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-car-gps/
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