Customer Ratings & Reviews

I finally ditched my 7 year old Nuvi 600 for the 3597, and I wished I'd done it sooner. The advances in mobile nav technology are amazing. Every single voice command has been recognized by the 3597, and I'm no longer entering addresses with screen taps [I'm a real estate broker and use GPS navigation every day]. Trip planning with multiple stops is a breeze, traffic updates are timely, and satellite acquisition is very fast. Pairing the 3597 with my Galaxy Note 2 also allows me access to weather reports, hands free phone usage, and a host of other features. I ordered Garmin Mechanic with ecoRoute HD directly from Garmin and paired that device with the 3597. Now I've got my mileage logs automated, MPG calculated, operating cost per mile calculated, ODB 2 codes translated [and it can reset the Check Engine light!], and 24 gauges monitoring critical vehicle data that I can display 5 at a time. Wow.

large enough to see but small enough not to obstruck

Just got done trying my new Garmin HD GPS with voice command, let me tell you wherever you're going this GPS will get you there fast safe and traffic free! I love it it's the newest one out and when another new one comes out I'll be the first to buy it! Traveling man.

I started with the very early hand-held GPS by Garmin and have always found their products exceptional. I have used other GPSs and found them also quite good but I must say that this particular model is the finest unit I have ever used. It cost a little more than the other GPSs I have owned but I consider it money well spent. The screen has amazing clarity and quality. The voice-command option is very accurate. The ability to find locations by voice, or manually, is exceptional. I will be honest - I purchased this unit (shelling out a bit more than I am accustomed to for a GPS) with the very clear intention of returning it if it did not exceed my expectations. Needless to say, it has and I will be keeping it. Fantastic GPS.

Voice command is basically useless. Doesn't get any commands right. Also, unit doesn't work with Microsoft XP. Can't download anything. Won't find any addresses outside California.

When I bought this four months ago I was sure I'd be giving a stellar review. It has speech recognition which is an excellent idea that works well, when it has a point of interest to match it up to, more about that later. It also can be a speakerphone for your cell, but not with good sound quality though. The magnetic mount is another awesome idea... that is if it didn't continually yank out the docking station from the ball mount, causing you to then use two hands to seperate it. Traffic updates by radio are great ... that is except my iphone's google maps know what's happening sooner for some reason. The verbal directions it gives once in a while conflict with the map shown - it'll rarely on occasion say "turn left" when actually you're supposed to turn right according to the map you see. Sometimes the volume goes down to very queit for unknown reasons. I called in this morning to describe all this buggy behavior, but the customer service rep didn't offer any great insights to fix the issue or offer replacement of the unit, which I'm guessing is because it wouldn't even help. I bought two of these at the same time, and when setting up the other one, it only wanted to do British English instead of American English, causing me doubts early on. The 'find place' feature only knows of destinations I'm asking about by name such as Joe's BBQ about half the time. I'm guessing that is not because of improper speech recog, but because the POI isn't in the database. Here's what's horribly wrong with that - My iPhone knows places EVERY time I ask, after I first asked the Garmin and it failed to know, each time offering ridiculous misunderstandings of the words spoken instead. Garmin's whole mission is *mapping* and so the company should know millions more points of interest than apple iPhone with google maps. Seriously. I'm so unsatisfied that I'd like to sell it on eBay and go back to the cheap Garmin that I have to type into, but there's the problem. It is enormously useful to be able to tell it an address and it gets it every time. Every time. And that makes it so much safer to drive this way - traffic speeds can be very high where I live. This week however the unit totally locked up twice when trying to find a 2nd place intermediate destination, and couldn't even be turned off - locked up in the 'find place' mode. Obviously I'm dissapointed with all of the other partial execution, so this is a mixed review. Why? Because even with all of these errors, the voice command feature is still SO useful; however, that I'd still recommend the unit to a friend expensive as it is, but pretty much only for that reason. It's a lot cheaper than a traffic accident.

should be easy to use, for this price...this product is not user friendly

This is my second unit (not a replacement but an add-on). Very nice screen and features. The HD traffic is limited in some areas but if you couple this device with the Garmin Smartlink App and add traffic, you can get traffic conditions everywhere. The 5" screen is a perfect size. The only drawback is the glossy glass screen that reflects sometimes in the sun. Garmin now provides map updates 3 times a year instead of 4.

This is my 3rd GPS since 2008 this model is the best I have used after I looked at and tested other brands and models if you travel a lot or just need directions to a new doctor this has your covered with pin point accuracy. It give clear directions, pictures of exits, weather conditions (available for $4.99 after you link with your smartphone worth it if your going to travel a long distance), and live traffic updates. You can also link the Bluetooth with your phone to answer calls with it.

I used this GPS for motorcycle/car. I have had this GPS for about 2 month and used it for about 10,000 miles(3k miles on motorcycle). Very accurate and it take no time to pick up satellite. Also you can zoom in and out like a smart phone, there is no lag on loading maps. This GPS has a lot of futures they are useful including voice searching and navigating without have to type (that actually works). I have use this with Scala Rider G9 when i rode on the motorcycle, another nice thing is that it can be used with a glove on. Very easy to program a costume map if you like to take back roads. (Available free from Garmin). Overall very happy with it Cons: Does not have mp3 player and battery life is only about 2 hours.

This Garmin GPS works great. I like the fact that it has a glass screen with lifetime maps and traffic.

Over the years I've had a Mio c520, TomTom xxl540s, Garmin 1490t and 3490t. Loved the Mio and in the day preferred the TomTom interface and customization. Bought a xxl 540 tm and still have it but was impressed with what I saw on the 3597lmthd. Picked it up over Labor Day weekend at BB and finally thought I now have the perfect device. I installed it straight out of the box with an instant satellite connection. Drove around doings errands for about two hours with compete accuracy. HD traffic was on point. Got home and connected for registration and updates that went problem free. Style, features, graphics, high res, app connectivity through smartphone for weather and traffic are great. Size is perfect and it's thin form factor actually fits in the pocket well. Magnetic mount is superb and sturdy. I haven't had any real issues with voice commands yet although once I had to state command twice but radio was on and window was open. LOVE the very realistic junction views. Much improved! Highly recommend, although a little costly, well with it.

This has an excellent building quality with an aluminum housing and a magnetic mount that also charges through the mount. Auto shut off feature when disconnected from power, and easy to remove from mount but very. Powerful magnets so it can't just fall off. Although I do not know if it is wise to leave mounts on the windshield if you want to avoid thefts. I was primarily looking for a capacitive touchscreen GPS, as I was in the market for my first one. Previous experiences with others Resistive touch plastic TomToms were not good when you needed to change stuff, and maps did not understand new roads despite updates (a 14 yr old road will still be bypassed as TomTom thought it was nonexistent). The Garmin functions out of the box and is easy to use, but there is no paperwork for manuals or instructions for those that would need it, but I personally do not care. Very clear screen, but it could experience glare, I would definitely recommend getting either Geek Squad Accidental Protection or a LowerPro Hard case, if not both in order to protect this GPS, which will break much easier than a plastic screen would. Do not get the Garmin case, as it is a soft exterior with little function. The best case is the LowerPro Hard Drive/Media Case, SKU 1227694, as it is not nearly as bulky as the 5" Nuvi GPS case by LowerPro (which would actually fit a 6" GPS), and fits the 3597 just perfectly. All in all, great GPS if you are willing the shell out the cash, I know it took me a while to decide for sure if I was willing to.

I researched this Garmin, read every review, looked a many Youtube videos about it. I tried to tell myself a 6" or 7" would be better. It is the best Garmin that I have bought. It tells you precisely where to turn. The voice comands went well when you speak clearly. I have blue tooth in the car so would never used the GPS. Garmin Express loaded all the updates. This is like getting my first IPHONE. Watching the Youtube videos about the 3597 was very helpful. I am very please even thought it was pricey! Quality is long remembered when the price is forgotten.

On one long trip, the unit had difficulty finding the John F. Kennedy International Airport in it's listings. It led me through towns, instead of clearly more efficient highways. (Yes, I checked the settings.) It did take me to and from my destinations, and has an uncanny ability to view the road as the driver sees it. For instance, on a dark, rainy night in NYC, the unit tells you to turn RIGHT at the traffic light after Modell's Sporting Goods store sign. That retail store's sign was clearly the most prevalent and visible landmark. As a limo driver, Often we want the unit to voice through an ear-bud, so that our passengers are not disturbed. This unit does not have an earphone jack. It would be so much more efficient to simply input a zip code instead of city & state, but the unit does not allow that. This would be a great suggestion for your next software upgrade. and finally, the four-step process to add addresses is awkward, and should be reduced to one address screen, even if it had 4 fields in it. The unit is sleek, and seems to be designed well, the windshield mount is well designed, and strong. The magnets are a great idea in concept, however, I can't help but wonder how many hard drives and memory devices will be erased when the unit comes in contact with them in pockets, satchels, or purses. The instructions are virtually non-existent, and useless. It's online update features appear to be more sizzle than steak, lacking in practical features that would update the unit, or teach me to use it fluently. It paired with my smart phone well, and it's bluetooth capabilities would be perfect, if, of course, it worked with an ear-bud. Efforts to download a Smart-phone app appeared designed well, but, since it led me to a non-working internet page, they too were useless. Sadly, because of the lack of an ear-bud jack, I'm pretty sure this unit is going back to Best Buy. I wish Garmin had done more Beta-testing before releasing the unit. It has great potential, but it's half-baked.

The bluetooth and touch screen make this an exceptional devices. It integrates perfectly with the IPhone.

clear 5' big screen, excellent magnetic design, light, easy to use, cover most of POI, communication with iPhone app and use the current data plane for weather and base price and the traffic cam. unfortunately no FM transmitter, no media stream from my iPhone, just I can answer the calls. and also there is no password lock, I wish navigation producer can figure something out to prevent , this is my third navigator perches, my previous two were stolen from the car.

Having owned multiple Garmin units in the past, it was an easy choice to stay with the brand. I have given other brands as gifts, only to return them because they didn't have the quality of maps, software, and easy-to-use interface as Garmin does. This wasn't a question of which brand to purchase, it was a question of which model. I don't even look at the other brands... there is only Garmin, and it's the best! I did a ridiculous amount of research prior to purchasing. I decided to spring for the Nuvi 3597LMT HD for several reasons. First, I really liked the magnetic mount. I never leave my GPS in the car and this is a really convenient way to quickly connect and disconnect the unit. Related to that, the power cord plugs into the mount - not the GPS receiver - which really minimizes messing around with plugging it in and out multiple times each trip. Also, there is an additional speaker in the mount, which other units don't have. Secondly, lifetime map updates and traffic were a necessity. My previous two units did not have the lifetime map updates and I wasn't going to pay to update. I would rather put that money towards a different unit with lifetime updates. I also wanted a bright display with crisp graphics. The 3597 has the highest resolution which makes the display really sharp. Being able to pinch and zoom like a phone is much nicer than using a +/- button. The deciding factor putting this unit over the top was that I had some Reward Zone Certificates that brought the price down to other models. The feature set is rich, the interface is simple to use, and the Garmin brand has been reliable for years. Truly THE top of the line GPS unit.

Outstanding performance. Ideal screen size. Garmin never disappoints.

This is the best Garmin I've owned. The magnetic mount is beautiful the way it snaps into place. This makes it easy to remove the unit. Using the smartphone interface gives you a tremendous amount of great information while driving. I take issue with the method used to receive the traffic reports. I have the HD model and it doesn't pickup anything int he Wichita area (not good). Also the fact that you have to use this ugly temporary power cord plugged into the cigarette lighter is a real kluge. I wire my GPS units directly to the car power, in fact, I had the first one installed at Best Buy. You can't do this and get traffic reports without a Smartphone. The main issue I have with this unit is the fact that you cannot lock the unit so that if someone steals it they can use it, but worse yet can drive right to your home. This feature in the 1690 model I had before is a MUST. This model does not have it. Very bad design decision! Otherwise this unit is great. I love the software and it appears to have an extreme amount intelligence built in. Far more than the 1690. Also it is fast, Very Fast. That combined with the capacitive screen that gives you the light touch is fantastic. I hated the touch screens on the older Garmin units. You had to hit them with a sledge hammer poke to make them work which is hard to do on the go. Overall, an excellent unit. Hopefully they'll take the criticism above in a positive manner and rectify those issues.