Garmin - DriveSmart 55 & Traffic - 5.5" GPS with Built-In Bluetooth - Black

So fast, so streamlined, everything in its right place. Once you've used the DriveSmart on a long trip or just around town, Google maps just seems antiquated and clunky. The size of the 55 is just perfect and the screen has zero reflection, but for some reason the screen looks reflective when you try to take a pic of it with your phone.

There are many things to like about this GPS. If you plan to mount it on the windshield, the display size is great to prevent any obstruction of critical viewing area for driver. The interface is nice. Directions, turns, upcoming events are communicated in a very friendly and easy to understand manner - some units are just annoying. The traffic feature is very nice to alert driver to lane or road closures, road construction, estimated delay times and automatic reroute suggestions are provided to avoid delays. The automatic change to a split view showing both map and closeup of turning lanes for upcoming turns is really nice. It does keep the driver well informed of what to expect and proper lane position. The only concerns I have experienced so far are 1) as others have noted, the voice recognition often does not pick up on verbal commands and manual touch screen entry is required and 2) We ran into a situation returning from a trip to the shore where the GPS was actively rerouting us around some road closures and the unit seemed to get scrambled and shut down. We were on an exit ramp following it's display and commands and all at once it indicated to make a U turn while we were still on the ramp and promptly shut down. Obviously, that wasn't a pleasant experience. I had to find a place to pull over and set it back up for the rest of our trip home. It worked flawlessly the rest of the way and since. I am hoping that was a fluke and not something that will occur again - but it's also the reason for 4 stars and not 5. Overall, for me, the nice features far outweigh the negatives that I have experienced.

This is my third Garmin GPS. I still haven't figured out how to use all the options, because each model is different, but I know they are all there and Garmin support is wonderful to call when I become desperate. I love knowing what time I'll arrive, the name of the street I am currently on, how fast I'm driving and when I exceed the speed limit. I've become so dependent on them that I literally panicked when my last one died and I realized I no longer remember how to get anywhere without it!

I purchased this for a vacation trip because we needed to take a route to a different area to pick up our grandson. It assumes the route based on your settings and was taking us onto roads and traffic I did not want. I finally figured out the only efficient way to program it with my routes was Garmin's Base Camp software (free) with the unit hooked to the PC. Once you save your route in Base Camp then you can send it to the device. Once you start the device with your route saved you have to select Apps>Trip Planner>Saved Routes to get to your route(s). You can plan a trip on the device but I haven't tried that. Another caveat. At some point we had to deviate from the planned route and the device asked to recalculate. Near as I can tell if you say Yes it recalculates on it's assumptions NOT your route. There is a suction cup mount included in the package. My experience with these has been mixed so I purchased a Garmin Friction Mount Pad for the dash. These always see to work better for me. Physically the device is quite lite and thin. I have large hands and felt like it was going to slip out of my fingers all the time. Subsequently, trying to hold it off the mount often resulted in changing something through accidental touching of the screen. If it is on a secure mount that should not be a problem. Had it not been so difficult to get it to do what I wanted it to do I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. Would I recommend it? Yes, along with advice to understand that Garmin has designed it to make many assumptions for you. I hope my information helps.

Product is nice BUT Box Picture shows the Left side with the Internet Map and the Right side viewing the Actual Street view. After paying almost $200 and opened the box to update the GPS and activate the Instructions stated IF YOU WANT the Actual Street VIEW ( which is WHY I purchased this specific model) you will have to pay $5.00 for this feature! Garmin should have stated this on the front of the Box!

I would like to say I am very glad I purchased this Garmin DriveSmart 55..I'm 53 years of age and its very easy to use.. I love the built in WIFI ..when driving on the freeway or highway it shows exit number exit .lane or lanes you should be in. Rout and Steet name are audio very clear and understandable.. The Truth I can't say 1 bad thing about it...I would like to Thank the Saleman @ Best Buy that told me this is the best GPS he has sold and he has worked there for 4 years..

Owned several GPSs throughout the years and this is the best out of them all. I’ve always owned Tomtom but wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something different...so I got this Garmin Drivesmart 55 and love the Bluetooth feature connecting smartphone to gps. Comes with wire for connection to car outlet (cigar lighter socket) not usb and the suction cup mount to the windshield. Plug and play. You can also connect gps to WiFi for update. I recommend this to anyone.

After not having one for a long time and being shut down on data from my cell carrier, I was without navigation on my vacation last year and had to buy a map. So I bought this and it was like an old friend had visited. So easy to use bright display and the perfect size to fit in the corner of my dash. I will def recommend this to friends.