Customer Ratings & Reviews

I purchased this GPS a couple of days before leaving town, driving from NC to PA and back. It worked like a charm, giving accurate directions at the proper times. I LOVE the photoreal and bird's eye junction features that let me know at a glance which lane to be in (especially helpful when taking an off ramp with multiple lanes veering off in different directions). I found it easy to search for different waypoints (stores, gas stations, rest areas, etc.) and the whole system from the main driving/map screen to the menu to be very intuitive and easy to use. The traffic feature really helped me out a time or two with popping up, letting me know of traffic congestion and giving me a suitable detour. I haven't used the smartphone apps or the blue tooth connection, voice recognition or expandable storage yet so I can't speak on those features. The included mount works just fine for me (2011 Elantra) and hasn't given me any problems as of now but I have a back up mount handy just in case. All in all I think this is a wonderful GPS unit at a fair cost for all of the features that it offers and I have recommended it to several people.

good gps for a beginner. easy to set up, good price, lifetime map updates and traffic updates, built in bluetooth. slow in changing routes or picking up deviations from given route

Love it, great features from what I had with me former GPS, also love the Bluetooth feature. Would recommend to anyone.

This GPS was in the same price group with several others (well under $200) but was the only one with voice recognition. It's easy to use and accurate. The screen has great resolution. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is that I can't get the suction cup on the stand that came with it to stick to my dashboard. It's a very small suction. The previous owner of my car had something on the dash that has left a residue, so I am going to have to find a way to get the Garmin to stick. But the GPS itself is great, and I'm thrilled I got it.

I love this GPS. The directions are very clear. I am able to see if the next exit is almost there. The landmark is a big plus. I would not trade a Garmin for any other GPS. Thanks!!!!

If you wanna get lost, buy another brand, Garmin has never failed me yet.

Detailed roads and intersections than my other GPS!

I felt I could count on the Garman, it work just fine.

I really like the Garmin - nuvi 2597LMT 5" GPS with Built-in Bluetooth but my wife loves it even more. With the 'voice command' and bluetooth it makes it easier to 'drive hands' free. The only problem I have is that she (when we are in the car together) makes 'her' phone compatible with the bluetooth. LMAO

It makes driving easy. It takes you straight to destinations and provides accurate alerts on the road ahead of you.

Been navigating with the Garmin - Nuvi 2597LMT for a few weeks, the Lane assist and the voice prompts to indicate which lanes to follow and when to turn at traffic lights, etc, provide for a better Navigation experience. Like many GPS's if your familiar with an area, it may not seem to be selecting an optimal route, but it always gets you where you are going. The Traffic warnings are pretty good, though there have been times when a traffic alert pops up on the unit and there seems to be little or no impact, though other times, the warnings of slow downs are right on the money The voice command feature is somewhat handy, though recognition when trying to tell it to find a place or address, has room for improvement. The Bluetooth does link with my Phone and you can make hands free calls using the GPS. The SmartLink App that Garmin provides here though also has room for improvement and many of its features are value added, in other words, they are not free and have various fee's for their use. They could potentially be useful if you are willing to pay for a handful of extra features Overall it's faster, and has features and improved navigation over the previous Garmin which was a few years old, a good upgrade..

As parent with two young adults in college I purchased a Garmin GPS for each of them. Both fairly inexperienced drivers they needed confidance on getting around without me being there. As the older one nears graduating and now traveling in the northeast in search of a job. I found that the Garmin has provided him with the guidance to travel without worry. I recent accompanied him on a trip from New York to Kentucky. We had the GPS on the entire time of the trip. From traffic delays due to construction or accidents the voice command was great to reset alternative route without touching the screen, that was great. From the detailed lane change imagages and posted speed limits the screen is easy to see, while keeping your eyes focused on unfamiliar roads. I was very surprised that accident reports were so accurate on location and time of delay. After witnessing the performance of the Garmin it has put my mind at ease. Now I can relax now that "someone" else is telling my children were to go. Best investment for parents with children at college. Now if it could only get them to study more that would be awesome. And after the trip to Kentucky went out and bought myself one.

This GPS system is very good. -It has Voice command features and blue tooth for hands free while driving. -The only down side is that some of friend have stated that there is an echo when they speak. -The main reason why I bought this device was because my phone battery kept on draining while using the GPS -Another great feature that this product has is its unlimited Map updates and traffic updates which pays for itself in the long run. - The price point on this GPS was only $150.00 at the time - tax which I consider a great deal. - I highly recommend this GPS,

This was an interesting, and frustrating purchase! We started off (1st trip) with this Garmin, but unfortunately the one we received would dim so low we couldn't read it. 2nd trip to the store had the folks in Geek Squad looking it over and resetting the device. Now we could see it and use it! The Garmin would get lost. After speaking with the very nice people at Garmin support, we were told there was definitely something wrong and we should take it back and replace it. On our 3rd trip to Best Buy they were sold out of the Garmin. We let the salesman talk us into getting a Tom Tom that was a little more, but supposedly had more features and supposedly a better product overall. What a piece of work that was! That thing was going back! 4th trip back to Best Buy, the Garmin 2597 was in stock! We got a new one and headed out to update the maps and software. 4 trips to finally get the one we wanted in the first place. It was worth it! This is a really nice unit! It's easy to use, menu's are intuitive, bluetooth compatible, great volume level (I actually had to turn it down and I'm hard of hearing!), nice size screen and easy to follow while driving. The lane assist is perfect! Seeing a photo of the off ramp was a nice touch as well. One thing I really liked was the ability to transfer all my phone contacts into the GPS! Sure beats trying to enter them all in! Another feature that was important to us was the voice activation. A plus is the directions are not just street names! It will tell you to turn at the McDonalds. We are still trying it out and getting used to all the new features, so if anything comes up, I'll amend this at that time. For now, I can't say enough good things about this unit. My previous GPS was a Garmin that lasted me 6 or 7 years before it started to get "confused". After my brief experience with Tom Tom, I'm a Garmin fan for life. We love our new Garmin Nuvi and look forward to the next several years of use from it.

I had an earlier (about 7 years older) model of a Garmin GPS with voice control and with that as a basis of comparison, I have to give this model my best rating. The display is touch responsive, clear, and very readable even if it is not HD quality, and the 5" size step-up is just enough screen real estate to readily allow my older eyes to take in the graphic and written information without having what amounts to a small TV set sitting across my windshield view. Conveniently, the unit retrofit onto my old dashboard sandbag style mount, but I decided I preferred the windshield mount on this one. The voice command feature works MUCH better in this model. I do not have to yell out commands despite the road and wind noise of a pickup truck, and the speaker function is more audible. Commands are given in a more casual language style, not having to choose just the right phrase to elicit information. Finding known street addresses or having it identify points of interest is straight forward and the error rate is low. I love that lifetime maps and traffic updates are included, having previously purchased map updates separately and expensively. Updating the map and firmware upon setup was a breeze. Getting to what matters most in having a GPS navigator, that it effectively and efficiently helps me find my way, I would give it high marks based upon taking it halfway across the country and back, across geography that I have travelled for 40 years but also including novel routes and destinations in big cities with a lot of new road construction. It gave accurate and understandable instructions with good orienting graphics in plenty of time to adjust course. It was at its best where I am at my worst, namely, traveling away from the major arteries in unfamiliar areas. However, the caveat remains that there is no substitute for making judgements about whether taking a given route at a certain time of day or under certain driving conditions is best. So sometimes I disregarded the recommendations, mercifully without hearing "Recalculating" ad nauseam. It merely advised course corrections until some algorithmic point of no return, upon which it went along with giving instructions for the new course. There is more for me to delve into when I have time but upon cursory examination, the various options and controls were accessed in a easy, direct manner, though I still would not call them intuitive. All in all, Garmin seems to be stepping up its game to counter the GPS many people carry in the smart phones, and at the sale price I got and the easy to use features, there is enough added value that I got my money's worth.

I had an older model Garmin, that this one replaced. The improvements were outstanding! The new model has voice command, the real time traffic is very helpful for my daily work commutes, and I love the fun features that let you change the standard car icon to fun things like the tie fighter from star wars. There are also voices including Dr. Nightmare which was perfect for Halloween! I would recommend this product to others. Just wish Garmin could make GPS units that update themselves without having to use an app on the computer. -- That is my wish list for the product :)

This is my third Garmin GPS and the best yet. It works much faster when calculating or recalculating routes. Voice commands work surprisingly well. Speak the name of a place and almost instantly it comes up with a list of matches. Directions are improved - tells you to turn at the stop sign, or traffic light, or Shell, or end of the street. Bluetooth phone connection also works well. I can place a call easily to any contact I have saved in the phone, or to a place I find in the GPS database, using voice commands. Traffic information is presented with more detail. Tells you the length of the delay and also whether you are on the fastest route in spite of the delay or whether to consider an alternate. Very satisfied with this unit.

This is a great GPS. Ready to use right out of the box. You just type in the address and it does the rest. It is very accurate and always does seem to find the fastest route if that is what you select. I like how it can automatically divert you if there is a big delay ahead. The GPS also shows pictures of intersections and has arrows of where to go if it is a difficult-to-navigate intersection or split. I also like how it has lifetime map updates. I totally recommend this GPS.

This is my third GPS and the best so far. The screen is wide and you can choose your orientation. Using the GPS is very intuitive, and changing routes is a snap. When entering your desired end point it will list possible choices as you key in. This has saved me time and helped with accuracy. The screen shows which lane to be in and it will state, for example, "be in either of the two left lanes." Living in a high traffic area, having a GPS that includes traffic is a must for me. To me, this is a very good GPS for the price.

I was a bit skeptical about purchasing this mainly because of the price, but once I set it up and put it to work ALL worries went out the window! Very reliable and detailed navigation, Up to date, strong satellite connection, very easy to use and the Bluetooth pairing plus voice command is the icing on the cake. Whether you're going up the street or across the country, this is the navigation for you.