Customer Ratings & Reviews

My last car GPS navigation unit was 10 years old and really out of date. I tried using a smart phone app but it was so glitchy when I would drive in the city between buildings. I do real estate and I hate looking like I don't know my way around when I am working with clients. This Garmin unit lets me program multiple stops into one route. It also has a "recent" and "saved" locations so I can quickly program it. I love how it shows the road I am on at the bottom and the next road to turn onto at the top. And when I hit an intersection, it has a graphical display of the lane I need to be in to make the turn successfully. It is one more device to carry. But it is so much easier to use than a smart phone app. The animated buttons are huge and easy to hit. These modern GPS navigation units offer so much technology at such an affordable price compared to just 3 or 5 years ago.

Does everything well..easy to use..great graphics!

This GPS is light years better than the one we had before. The accuracy is much improved, it tells you exactly when to turn (ex: turn at the next traffic light) and also will split the screen and show you what the intersection looks like. We recently moved and this GPS has really helped us to get to know the area.

This was a replacement for an older Garmin that was also voice activated with a separate button mounted on the steering wheel and was very accurate in its voice recognition when I used that function. And I drive a lot because I work for a black car service – at least six days a week – and at all hours of the day and night. So I get a lot of usage out of this unit, and would be literally lost without a GPS unit given many of the back roads and more remote suburban areas around our metropolitan area. This new unit has a larger and much better display, the graphics are excellent and the voice instructions work effectively although I generally keep the volume turned down and use visual clues from the map. The negatives are that the voice recognition in this unit I’ve found to be relatively poor. I will only use it to pull up pre-loaded (Recent) addresses and to start navigation as at least it can handle that. Forget about finding an address using voice recognition – worthless. Using the screen input to find addresses I’ve found is also very limited – example: looking for an address that has been in existence for decades – no results (and, yes, the spelling and other information was input correctly). But using Garmin’s SmartlInk on my phone finds the address about 90% - 95% of the time. And if the “HERE” mapping system Garmin uses doesn’t find it, then I have to revert to Google Maps and navigation on my phone to get me there. The Bluetooth SmartLink function does work well to send any address I find to the unit so that I can pull it up later on the Recent listings and start the navigation. On a couple of occasions I’ve had to use the mapping function in SmartLink that allows you to zoom into a location and ‘pin’ the location using mapping coordinates and then start navigation – it gets you reasonably close to where you need to go and I’ve been able to get to my location once I’ve arrived in the area. The unit is nicely designed – thin and apparently well-constructed. The magnetic connection to the windshield mount is excellent – but be very careful of the magnet on the back of the unit. Don’t get it near your iPod or other devices that may have a hard disk as it may damage or corrupt the information stored on the disk. The magnet is pretty strong and prolonged exposure in a briefcase or other carry-on could be very problematic. The unit accesses the satellites very quickly – in fact I have not encountered any delays in the initial start-up while with my old unit I could be driving for a half-hour and it would still be searching for and acquiring satellites. I have found that there can be delays in refreshing the graphics when you’re enroute which can cause you to miss a turn if it happens very quickly after the last turn. Not a big problem, but one to be aware of if you drive a lot. The traffic information is usually useless – I always use Google Maps on my phone to check traffic issues and to find the fastest route before and sometimes during my drives for more accurate and timely information. I also occasionally use the Waze app on my phone, but that same information is normally integrated into the Google Maps information shown as alerts for accidents and other issues affecting traffic. (Only issue with Waze or Google Maps navigation or any of the GPS based apps on a phone is the huge battery drain on the phone while it’s active – better be sure to have a battery back-up or in car charger if you use it for any extended period of time.) Overall a decent GPS unit with its strengths and weaknesses. I would likely buy again depending on what new units Garmin and Tom Tom put out, Or frankly when I’m due to replace my smartphone, go to the Samsung Galaxy (whatever happens to be current top model and with the replaceable battery) and use the accessories to create a powered windshield mount to be able to use Google Maps and Navigation instead. Best of both worlds.

The built-in dash GPS in my new car was so poor that I decided to return to a Garmin (I had one about 14 years earlier, that worked well). My car's GPS had outdated maps from the onset and wrong (or bizarre, or useless) instructions. This new Garmin Nuvi 3597 worked perfectly the moment I removed it from the box. It was so simply intuitive, it needed no instructions at all! The maps are clear and accurately guide you into the correct lanes in plenty of time. The traffic alerts were spot-on as to the place they would detect a delay, how long, and whether to stay with your route or switch to an alternate. We avoided several long congestion areas easily (and were quickly rerouted) and also did not change course when the delay was brief. We have used it all up and down the east coast and it has performed beautifully in major cities as well as rural areas. I could not believe how helpful this GPS has been and how poor my car's unit had been, by comparison. I recommend this GPS whole heartedly (despite its substantial price, it is totally worth it).

Shortly after I got gps we traveled 2700 miles and did not have a problem. It listed nearest food and gas stations when we needed to stop and Informed us of traffic problems, school zones, major intersections and what lanes to be in.

I have had many GPS receivers over the years and this one is simply the best. It's large glass display is very easy to read. The voice recognition works the best of any other I have used. It also has a very fast processor.

I have had a nuvi for many, many, many years ... this replacement has been terrific and so updated as far as showing the speed limits, my speed, where food and gas are located as you travel along. It's absolutely great.

THE GOOD: --5 inc clear screen and thin,silver color looks great,slimmer than a phone --Traffic report and voice command work better than i expected --Calculates the route fast and never failed to find a place THE BAD: --Traffic report usually works great and calculates a route to avoid traffic but sometimes it calculates longer route and more traffic routes --Voice commands for turning etc comes late,so if you are driving fast you can miss the turns easily.It is a big fail for a gps --3d view does not work everywhere and when it works it shows the buildings 3d view from top which does not make sense.It is not useful feature. --Traffic feature works when it is plugged to the charger with it's own cable(it is all same with traffic feature gps in the market) which i prefer usb cable SUMMARY: This device does not worth 329.99 plus tax for sure,but it looks like it is the best gps on market right now but it is sad that my galaxy s5 phone has a better gps and best traffic report.

Easy to use. Voice command is great when driving. Lifetime updates are very helpful for someone like me who drives for a living. Love the graphics. I wish there were better voices to choose from or download, but I usually have them muted so not a huge issue.

Very quick and responsive screen and visually sharp. The magnetic attachment to the suction cup mount is impressively secure and convenient. Lightweight and compact with very user friendly software for navigational searches. Saves my phone from battery drain.

This GPS does everything you would want, Did not give 5 stars, due to not being able to select which information to have on the main screen. You are not able to display mileage reaming on you route on the main screen. You are required to cycle through selections to get the information. Otherwise everything else is great.

This unit is really quite good. Once you get the features and entry instructions down, it's easy to use. The screen is a good size and bright. The directions are accurate. I would recommend this to anyone.

This unit is easy to use, and I like it better than the on-board unit in my car (I bought this for my son, his car does not have on-board GPS). Only complaint is that sometimes it gives the message that the "attached charging cable is not a supported accessory" even though I'm using the cable that came in the box.

Super features -auto turnoff when vehicle is stopped, voice recognition, traffic condition cautions, etc. Selection capability could be improved - Save current location (with name) as a favorite (Saved Places). Provide additional voice recognition to make selections rather than requiring touch screen entries.

Buyers remorse quickly passes as one becomes acquainted with this device. A long relationship is anticipated with this navigation tool. Has more than I will ever use, but suits my needs perfectly.

Only Con is it's high Price, Probably you never loose track of your destination. Specially with live traffic update and separate lane guidance system. The Mobile companion App is also useful.

I really love this GPS. I had a Garmin before and decided to go with this one. I love the features. I love that its so thin and the magnetic mount is the best. Love the voice activation feature letting you keep your eyes on the road instead of the menu on the screen. The only thing i have encountered is that once time i used the places feature to get directions so a certain restaurant and the restaurant was no longer there. It has worked perfectly other than that one time. I also like that this unit comes with free lifetime maps and traffic. My last Garmin did not.

Easy to use and update. User friendly, works everywhere, extremely accurate, great features excellent value

As someone who travels a lot for work, I found this GPS to be indispensable. The voice command features provide "hands free" usage and promotes driving safety. The screen resolution is crisp and clear, and the built-in traffic features are a plus. The only negative about this product is that if you are already wearing a bluetooth earpiece, the bluetooth feature takes over when making a phone call. If you wish to use the earpiece rather than the product's bluetooth feature, however, you can switch easily by turning off the bluetooth on the screen. Overall, an excellent product!