Garmin DriveSmart 51 NA LMT-S with Lifetime Maps/Traffic, Live Parking, Bluetooth,WiFi & GTM 60 HD Digital Traffic Receiver

Worst GPS I have ever owned. Yes, the screen is fast and responsive, but where it really matters - navigation - this GPS is shockingly bad. I just drove from Chicago to Seattle, after ensuring it had the latest maps updated, and I was amazed all along the way how poor its navigation guidance was and how full of errors its database was. It routinely tells me to take pointless detours when direct routes are available. It routinely tells me I am going the wrong way down a 1-way street when I am not. It sends me on wild goose chases for restaurants that do not exist. Garmin GPS units used to be great, and I have owned many over the years, but this one is a dud.Also, it is important to understand that this GPS is not traffic-aware out of the box. It wants to be connected to your smartphone for that info. Well, if I have data connection on my smartphone, why would I use this GPS at all?

I don't know if it's a software problem, but the DriveSmart gives horrible direction. I tested it out on my drive back home and it sends me in an unnecessary loop when all I needed to do is make a left turn. There was nothing complex about the road either. I've tested it on the highways too and it sends me in back alleyways. It also doesn't give me many alternate routes like google maps does. I have an older version Garmin Nuvi 57 that did not have this issue. Sure the screen is nicer, is touch responsive and has wifi. But all I want it to do is to give me accurate directions. I've since thrown the DriveSmart in my trunk for backup and started using my old Nuvi 57 again. Hopefully this is just a software issue and can be corrected with an update. I should've listened to the previous reviews on Amazon with similar concerns.

I was hoping for a GPS unit that would give me everything G*****Maps has to offer when out of cell range. This is pretty close. It does voice commands really well. I used it in Death Valley and on remote gravel roads in WV and it had the back roads in it's database. I would use it for hiking (with an external battery) if they would offer topo maps for it because the screen size is much better than the itty bitty screen on my handheld Garmin 62STC and the operator interface is much nicer. What the DriveSmart 51 needs to make it better is a better route preview feature (like G*****Maps) to let me confirm which route it has chosen for me to take. If I want to confirm the route, I have to enter the destination into both G****Maps on my phone and into the DriveSmart 51, and if the miles distance is the same, I can review it on my phone then turn it off. This is a pain. If I wanted to go to this trouble, I would just cache a bunch of maps on my phone but this is also a time and data killer when traveling as much as I do. The other improvement I would make is to dump the windshield holder accessory and instead provide the traffic-receiving car charger. The windshield holder places the screen too far away and is hard on the eyes. A $20 vent holder works a lot better except that they should also decrease the thickness of the unit to make it more phone-like to fit more securely into a vent holder. I got a Bestrixs one that adjusts perfectly for it.

GPS is set to find the fastest route. It almost never finds the fastest route to anywhere. It gets lost in major cities. Disappointed with it overall. It always wants to go through any downtown area that is anywhere close to your route. If you use this gps I’d advise carrying a road atles also to make sure it’s not taking you where you don’t want to go.

Out of the box the first things I did was update the maps and device over wifi - worked fine and everything updated properly. Set up SmartLink with cellphone - accomplished trouble free. The issues I have with this GPS is it will attempt to route me on gravel roads when I have the avoidances set to avoid 'unpaved' roads. More troublesome is the GPS's inability to enter an address to route to...I have attempted to route to addresses that are listed on company websites (using all logical forms of the address) and this GPS still cannot find the address...and when going to Garmin's site to report errors Garmin explains that the maps are provided by a '3rd party' and the user must file an error report with the 3rd party...Garmin appears to take no responsibility for the maps on their devices. I purchased this GPS to replace a 10 year old TomTom...the TomTom routed better despite being 10 years out of date with its maps.UPDATE 10/10/2018: I have found work-arounds for the address issue by using Google Maps on my Samsung S7 in conjunction with SmartLink. The 'fatal flaw' of this Garmin for me is routing me on unpaved roads when avoidances are set to 'avoid unpaved' roads. This Garmin has attempted to route me down unpaved roads in Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and Kentucky. I tow a small travel trailer and traveling unpaved roads is not a good idea (ask me how I know). This Garmin GPS will be returned.

Bought this for my recent trip to NJ from Toronto.Things that I liked: It shows the speed limit of the road that you are on and the speed that you are driving. Can be changed to miles/hr which was quite handy because my car speedometer is Km/ hr. The other thing that I liked about is the screen is a good size and bright. It fits nicely on dash phone holder.Things that I don't like:1. While coming back from NJ to Toronto, the navigation was calculating a longer route, that is adding almost 7 hrs of more driving. No matter what settings I changed, it continues to show me the longer route which was quite frustrating. Ultimately, I ended up using Google map on the phone and paying extra for the roaming data charges.2. The announcement of exits are so inconsistent. It doesn't provide adequate time for the exits and announces right on top of exits creating dangerous situations for driving. I ended up missing my exits several times.3. Lastly, the voice command are pretty useless. It constantly freezes on you.

The colour is good and the screen is bright. The suction clamp attaches to glass surfaces well and the swivel mount lets it move to where you want it. It is easy to manipulate and put in directions. The voice is a little mechanical. The only other con is the voice control. It has difficulty recognizing what I am saying and I often have to repeat an address a number of times before it gets it. Sometimes it doesn't get it at all.

De diseño delgado y buena calidad, la integración con el teléfono permite tener casi todas las facilidades que nos da este cundo usamos aplicaciones de navegación. Trae su montura en parabrisas y cable para encendedor, pero también un USB-miniUSB lo que permite usarlo aparte de sincronizarlo en la computadora, en los autos que traen tomacorrientes USB en la consola central, lo que agrega flexibilidad a su uso. Buen funcionamiento hasta ahora.

I like the picture screen, it is easy to see but if I choose the shortest route or the fastest it always goes the long way and adds many km onto my trip. I stopped off the highway at the store and when I came out it took me all through a neighborhood and way out of my way to take another entrance onto the highway. I followed it because I was curious and it added a lot of time and km unnecessarily to my trip. i am seriously thinking about returning it and buying a TomTom which is what I had before this one. I forgot to mention that the Friction mount that comes with it doesn't stay on at all, it is useless!

My old Nuvi was acting up so I had to replace it. The DriveSmart 51 is pretty similar, but it's missing a few features that I used:- No 1-touch mute on the map page (have to go through the settings)- The Nuvi was powered through the base attachment, but the DS 51 has a separate cable. The latter is a bit fussy to get in and out of the base, whereas the Nuvi just snapped in and was ready to go..- The Nuvi had a selection of dashboards to display at the bottom of the map. One had a larger font which was useful for my old eyeballs. The DS 51 has no such option.The DS 51 has Wifi and Bluetooth, which work quite well, but neither is a compelling feature for me. I'd rather have those features that I miss.We have maps of Europe on a separate memory chip, and that works fine. Also, even though I'm not crazy about Basecamp, I use it and the DS 51 works fine with that too.Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine, but I'll miss my Nuvi.