Help me find the best gps for my car
February 8, 2011 10:27 PM   Subscribe

GPS for my car first time buyer: Please help me select the model you think will give me great service

I want a new gps to use in the car and have heard a few comments on buying from friends but want the latest information from the green: Thanks everyone!
posted by Upon Further Review to Travel & Transportation (14 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
What's your geographic location? Not all GPS makers are equally good everwhere.
posted by abx1-se at 12:09 AM on February 9, 2011


We have a couple of four year old TomTom Ones and are perfectly happy with them.

These days I just use the navigation app on my Android phone though.
posted by imjustsaying at 1:14 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Also, do you have a smartphone with GPS that you could get an app for?

OnStar is now available as an after-market addon and I really like it, especially since it's all done by voice. It's a bit steep at $30/month ($300 if you prepay the year). However, that price does include roadside assistance and automatic crash notification. Don't know if the after-markets do it, but mine (built-in) sends me an email every month telling me if I need my oil changed, my tires reinflated, etc. Like all GPS, it isn't perfect - I was in Minnesota and there was heavy cloud cover, and it couldn't pinpoint my location until I was about 30 minutes into Wisconsin. The nice thing though, in that situation, is being able to "call" a live advisor, tell her where I was, and she gave me directions to get on the interstate. Other GPS systems don't give you that option.

Compared to MotionX GPS Drive (99 cent app purchase w/30 days free voice directions, $2.99/month or $19.99/year for voice directions, free directions without voice) on the iPhone, OnStar tended to warn me earlier of upcoming merges/turns (important when going 70 in 10 lanes of traffic in downtown Chicago) but conversely, MotionX tended to be able to tell me to stay to the left to stay on the current road, where OnStar just assumed I'd figure it out on my own.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:20 AM on February 9, 2011


My wife and I have a TomTom model that we use a lot and are happy with. We bought a Garmin unit for my parents for Christmas a year or so ago, because reviews suggested that the Garmin might be a bit more user-friendly for technophobes. I like both just fine.

When we went on vacation last year, I was able to use free software to build custom point of interest databases and upload them to our TomTom. We drove with only a loose itinerary around the Mississippi delta, and every time we got within 5 miles of a restaurant we were interested in visiting our GPS mooed to alert us. I know you can do the same sort of thing with Garmin hardware. Not sure whether smartphone navigation apps facilitate such tweaking.
posted by jon1270 at 5:04 AM on February 9, 2011


I really love my Garmin nuvi 200-something. Generally with Garmins, the higher the number, the supposedly better performance. Mine was under $200 (but that was 2 years ago) and you don't have to pay a service fee. The only annoying thing is that there is a fee to update maps, recommended every year, to show new businesses and other changes.

My Garmin has never made me drive into the lake.
posted by shortyJBot at 5:29 AM on February 9, 2011


I have the TomTom USA app for my iPhone and haven't been happier. Right now it's only $50 for the app. The official car mounting kit is $120, which also has a decent speakerphone function built into it and Line-out. Something to consider if you already have an iPhone.
posted by swhitt at 6:27 AM on February 9, 2011


Best answer: Garmin nĂ¼vi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator. 1900 reviews. 4.5 stars.
posted by cashman at 6:28 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


I second the TomTom ONE. I've used other GPS units (Magellan, Garmin) in friends' cars and didn't like them because the interface and layout seemed clunky/dorky. Also the TomTom has lots of customization options, but the default is pretty damn good. And for $90 it's cheap enough to get a standalone unit and not worry about it (I don't like trying to navigate in a car with a smartphone at all).
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 8:02 AM on February 9, 2011


We've had TomToms for the past four years. We've also experimented with Garmin and Sony. I honestly wouldn't go with anyone BUT TomTom. They're extremely intuitive, super-easy to use (even when attempting to merge onto the freeway) and pretty damned reliable. BIG CAVEAT: spring for a model with the "lifetime" traffic and maps features (I believe they append a "TM" onto the model name to signify this). Map upgrades are expensive, and we've found that maps become noticeably outdated within a few years. Also, the traffic feature is way cool - it knows about delays before YOU do and gives you the option to avoid them.
posted by julthumbscrew at 8:29 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Garmin and Tom Tom are likely bont fine after you get used to them.
However, the Garmin is much more intuitive and easy to get started with.
The maps become progressively out of date it you don't update. I am too cheap to update, so I can sit in a Staples parking lot and have my Garmin tell me that the nearest Staples is ten miles away.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:54 AM on February 9, 2011


I came to second Cashman. I have a very similar model that cost me around $100 and it works great. The higher more expensive models simply are thinner with slightly bigger screens from what I can tell. They may have a little more functionality but from reviews I read it isn't significant. If you just need something to get you around thats consistent I would get that model. One thing you might want to check is wheter it talks to you or not. They are slightly cheaper with no voice. I prefer the voice (as annoying as it is) becasue i dont have to look down to get the next turn.
posted by Busmick at 9:05 AM on February 9, 2011


Text to speech is nice, and is available on Nuvis that are sold for under $200.

I have an older Garmin, and I keep spending the $99 a year to update the maps, despite almost never using it. I just use my (Nokia) phone, which cost me $200 and works better, since it has text to speech, so it speaks the road names, and the most current maps are free. I can preload the maps on the phone, or let it download them as it goes.
posted by wierdo at 9:25 AM on February 9, 2011


I have used TomTom as well as Garmin and I will say I like TomTom for the user interface, but I far prefer the Garmin for actual routing. If I'm not mistaken, TomTom uses TeleAtlas for its mapping while Garmin uses NavTeq, the same company that supplies Google Maps. I've had a TomTom One guide me to a residential cul de sac while confidently telling me I've arrived at a major attraction, but I've never had that happen with Garmin.
posted by reformedjerk at 4:40 PM on February 9, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks for all of the advice: Know a few folks who used both but reading this and looking around Tom Tom looks solid:now for a sale!
posted by Upon Further Review at 9:54 PM on February 9, 2011


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