Garmin 6.95-Inch DriveSmart Satellite Navigation System with Lifetime Map Updates for UK, Ireland and Full Europe

I’ve used TomTom SNavs for years but recently they have been freezing and rebooting during use which is frustrating for a delivery driver. I thought it was a one off issue so purchased another, the same issue occured so I returned it to Amazon who refunded. I’ve been using this Garmin for a week now and it hasn’t missed a beat. The interface is excellent. Smart phone notifications useful and hints of sharp bends and nearby schools etc raise awareness. Generally I’m using it for 7 hours solid every day, 10-15 address entries an hour and it’s been spot on. The screen is fantastic, really responsive to touch and suffers less glare than other systems I’ve used. The phone link is great and the unit will read messages or emails your phone receives if required. I’d happily recommend this product.

This was a replacement for a 6 year old previous Garmin, and I am delighted with this satnav unit. The lifetime maps updates are now available by allowing the device to connect to home (or other) wifi, and there is no longer any need to use a Windows computer to apply system or map updates. The screen is noticeably higher resolution and larger than units available a few years ago, and the availability of traffic live updates through the power cable plugged into the car's power socket means no need to have extra antennas dangling around the windscreen. The voice advice is so much better than days gone by - the old "in one mile keep left" is more usually along the lines now of "in one mile be in any of the three left lanes, and then keep right towards the M62 towards Manchester" so there is much less likelihood of misunderstanding what you are expected to do to keep to your route at complex junctions. The database of points of interest is supplied by several databases so there is a good change you can find where you want to get to by using the voice commands and saying "Find place" and then saying where you want to go. The dash base from Garmin pairs up with this unit nicely and avoids the need to stick the mount to the windscreen making for a quicker and cleaner removal of the unit at a destination so it can be taken away leaving no temptation for would-be thieves looking for a quick grab. All in all this is an excellent unit and one which should serve me very well for some years.

Very good sat nav unit, seems to lose power quickly (needs charging every week, if preparing for a big trip) but this is a very clear, reliable and tough car sat nav unit. I chose this in preference to a TomTom due to (imo) better screen readability and information layout, and a good screen size. The screen is virtually edge to edge, as opposed to the TomTom 'surround bezel'. The unit has had no problems with getting its drivetime updates via the digital receiver/power plug, and is speedy at updating over home wifi.

Pros + nice and big screen + easy to navigate + clear and detailed instructions Cons - the Voice recognition only works when its very quiet in the car - you will end up in a dead end on the occasion

For me this is a very good sat nav, the one point I totally agree with other reviewers is the traffic, I don't get told of any traffic and then I find I am stuck in a jam and when I eventually get out the sat nav informs me I'll add 20mins to your journey. Very helpful (Not). It also tries to take me on a route I know via roadworks is going to be busy so I avoid those suggestions, the one time I didn't to see what would happen the sat nav announced there is traffic on your route, yes I know so why take me this way. (I guess it knew about traffic then as it's been going on for a couple of years). Overall I am happy with this unit, for me the voice input can be a bit sluggish but certainly works if not a lot of background noise. Would I recommend this sat nav certainly, but not if traffic is a priority. UPDATE! It needs an internet connection to receive traffic information how else could it know? Get an app called Garmin smartphone link and use your data connection then you'll receive traffic info! Been using with the smartphone link and the traffic is actually very good, I guess it's a case of I should have read the manual.

Firstly i will say this must be old stock as the maps date back 3 years the device also feels very dated and basic even with cheaper manufactures / competitors with far better features and options with better personalisations. the sat nav took absolutely ages to obtain a fix on my position which was very accurate once it finally found me, however it lost look very often which was annoying, it felt like one of the early sat navs that were far from reliable. the screen quality is great with crisp clear images and graphics which was great, i love the tiny bezel. the user experience and menus are a mess and not intuitive or user friendly and its hit and miss finding new features hidden away in random menus. the live digital service and traffic never once connected the feature is flawed or faulty, either way is not doing what was advertised, my windscreen is nothing special so my troubles are not due to some heating element or solar coating on the screen as i am testing this on a basic megane estate from 2008. i like the fact this has a standard charger method from a usb port but hate the fact they are using a lighter port for this and not a usb connector as the charger takes my only lighter port, i though i would use a usb lighter adaptor and plug in the usb to power the sat nav which in theory would allow me to use and power several usb devices from a single outlet however this would render the ability to use the live services or digital traffic redundant as it requires the power cable via the car charger plug as it must contain some type of antenna. i find the method of connecting to the suction bracket rubbish and awkward in the dark, maybe a magnetic type would resolve this or a more traditional bracket, the bracket is very short so getting the position in my window is awkward as i would rather have had it mounted on my centre dash area but the mount is too short so i will have to mount it on another plastic suction cup carrier for it to work how i want it despite the fact my old sat nav with a slightly more moveable bracket works perfectly with my old sat nav but i cant use this on the garmin as the power port and depth of the device is problematic so i am suck having to compromise or make changes to my setup with additional mounting plate (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QR6L1DP/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2SLFLF5B4VNUF) the garmin point of interest database is useless and a £50 sat nav has a far superior database and options for updating the databases with 3rd party databases, as a mobile engineer its nice to locate the nearest wholesalers or even just a toolstation or screwfix but this sat nav only holds a pathetic attempt at a poi database, my £30 igo has almost every wholesaler, screwfix or toolstation in the country and put the garmin to shame, the camera database is out of date and will cost a annual subscription to update it. the onboard apps are useless for me and only have very basic use for my needs. the mapping looks ok but i dislike the fact you can only customise the view in overhead or a high angle, the igo software allows you to set the perfect viewing position, this garmin misses the mark at every level and is a bit damp squib i think you would be better off buying a good quality app for your phone or just grab a cheap £50 unit running software such as igo

Having done a fair bit of research I had decided on the Garmin DriveSmart 61 digital. I will admit that some of the less positive reviews here did worry me a little but as there was a much larger number of positive comments I decided to go for it. I’m pleased I did. I have now used it for a few long journeys (3hours plus) and a lot of town journeys. It’s well made, the 7" screen is easy to read and the verbal instructions clear and easy to follow. It’s preferable to smaller 5” screens. Some of the nay sayers commented on set up issues. Personally, I had no problems. I updated the maps etc. straightaway via the internal wi-fi, which was seamless (took five hours overnight). I noted that a very recently built estate nearby was shown in full detail so it’s right up to the minute. Following recommendations from other reviewers, I slotted in a 16gb micro card and this certainly seems to speed things up, the longest ‘re-calculation’ so far is around 20 seconds. Generally, the operation is pretty intuitive and my wife and I found the best way to get used to it was to take it in turns and drive around while the passenger went through the on-screen commands and apps. Half an hour or so was all that was needed. The Bluetooth link to the phone is nice and clear and with the Garmin Smartlink phone app it makes texts available on screen which are read out aloud. DAB traffic info and alternative route suggestions are also good, as are the delay time estimates. It even advised of a broken down vehicle on the route ahead. Some people mentioned being irritated by the alerts for cameras, animal crossings, schools etc. I don’t have a problem with these but you can switch em off if you don’t want them. It’s actually performing even better than I expected. Price wise it initially looks a bit hefty but given you get full UK/Europe maps plus updates on everything for life I was happy with it. All in all, very pleased. Final point, I was born before the analogue era was even thought about so it’s not only for computer savvy geeks!

Easy to read and navigate with. I had a previous generation Garmin Sat Nav which I had used all over Europe successfully and so opted for this Sat Nav rather than the TomTom as all of the map views and controls were familiar to me. It is a good size, making it easy to view and some of the newer features make it ideal for what I need. I have a Porsche 911 with internal sat nav installed, but this is much easier to use and better quality. Recommended.

Zuerst war ich nicht sicher, welches Navi ich mir kaufen soll. Ich habe noch ein uraltes Garmin-Navi C550, und es funktioniert noch immer einwandfrei. Nur leider schon seit Jahren ohne Karten-Updates - nicht mehr möglich. Somit war die Überlegung mir vielleicht doch wieder ein Garmin zu kaufen, der guten Erfahrung wegen. Alles lief perfekt bis zur ersten Funktionsabnahme. Ich war echt überfordert, es funktionierte nicht so wie ich es gewohnt war. Hatte mir sogar schon ein Rücksendebutton geordert, wollte aber trotzdem nicht wahr haben, das es nicht so funktionieren könnte wie ich es mir vorstelle. Also mal an den Einstellungen gearbeitet, und nach gut einer Woche des Ausprobierens lief es fast so wie ich es mir vorstellte. Manche Dinge liefen noch nicht so ganz zu meiner Zufriedenheit: die Spracherkennung dauert bei mir länger als das manuelle Eintippen. Oder auch mal kurz lauter oder leiser stellen lenkt während des Fahrens doch durch etwas zu viel Getippe ab. Was ich auch noch nicht ganz raus habe, wie man mal schnell die Routenpräferenzen - also schneller oder kürzer am Ziel - ändern könnte. Auch dafür muß man erst recht umständlich tippen. Manche Dinge waren dagegen so perfekt, wie es gar nicht erwartet hatte. Z.B. die Stauumleitungen, da wußte ich zuerst nicht ob ich mich blind darauf verlassen soll was die Navi anbietet. Aber das lief so genial, ich habe jetzt nach einem Monat locker schon einen ganzen Tag, den ich nicht im Stau verbracht habe, geschenkt bekommen. An die Handhabung gewöhnt man sich insgesamt schnell und dann ist es eine Freude mit so einem großen Display zu navigieren. Eine klare Empfehlung kann ich fairerweise nicht aussprechen. Aber vielleicht habe ich auch noch nicht alles optimal eingestellt.

Lo GPS esta funcionando muy bien, mejor que lo que compré hace uno poco mas de uno año, que es de la misma marca, modelo anterior, pero tennia menor autonomia y error de cable, mismo com cable nuevo. El envio es Amzon sempre antes del tiempo o en la hora.

Per me Garmin è il numero uno, non ha rivali. Sono un navigatore-dipendente e lo uso principalmente per lavoro. Ho posseduto diversi TomTom che non mi hanno mai soddisfatto pienamente, per questo ho voluto provare a cambiare passando a Garmin. Il primo acquisto è stato un Nuvi 2597 lmt, mi ci è voluto un po' per abituarmi al cambiamento, poi è scattato il grande amore. Preciso ed affidabile ma oramai attempato ho deciso di sostituirlo con questo modello che ho avuto ocxasione di povare. Alla prima occasione l'ho acquistato ad occhi chiusi e non potevo fare scelta migliore. Un display grande quanto serve, estremamente luminoso e sensibile, l'indispensabile controllo vocale migliorato di tanto anche se qualche errore è normale, mappe migliorate, calcolo e ricalcolo veloce e finalmente (cosa che nel vecchio modello non è presente) la possibilità di scegliere se fare autostrada o strada normale. Fantastica la funzione delle notifiche e vivavoce collegando uno smartphone, anche gli aggiornamenti su viabilità e lavori in corso molto utili, migliore se collegato al cellulare con app smartphone link.

Mi è arrivato giusto due giorni prima di partire per la Croazia, dove ha ricevuto il suo battesimo di fuoco, con un utilizzo pressoché quotidiano, durato una settimana. Perfetto. Mi sono innamorato di questo aggeggio! Non ne ho mai posseduto uno, ma avevo sperimentato navigatori di amici e quelli di alcuni smartphone. Ragazzi... questo è un'altra storia! Lo "schermone" ti guida visivamente, con una chiarezza e una nitidezza straordinarie, mostrandoti la retta via anche in punti davvero complessi. Ti indica con discrezione quando stai superando i limiti, quando ci sono dei rilevatori di velocità, quando c'é traffico, dove trovare un distributore, un posto per mangiare, un ospedale. Il fatto di poter usare i comandi vocali, senza mai staccare le mani dal volante, non ha prezzo. Ho avuto difficoltà solo con il primo aggiornamento WiFi, iniziato ma non andato a buon fine (per ben due volte), quindi ho installato il software Garmin Express e risolto tramite PC. Devo rilevare anche il fatto che con il SUO cavo USB si collegava al PC ma non si ricaricava (te lo dice, che non si ricarica, e dovendo scaricare 3 ore di mappe, con un'autonomia di un'ora...), problema facilmente risolto usando un vecchio cavo di mia proprietà. Suppongo che il cavo in dotazione fosse difettoso. Nota di colore. Dopo aver smanettato per mezz'ora (era la prima volta che lo utilizzavo) per pianificare il viaggio in Croazia cercando di fargli evitare il tratto di autostrada in Slovenia (dove c'è l'obbligo di apporre un bollino a pagamento), facendolo uscire e poi rientrare dove volevo io, ci ho rinunciato. Il fatto è che mi portava a fare un giro anche in centro ai paesi che indicavo come tappe intermedie (avrei dovuto prima trovare delle vie precise, ma ho perso la pazienza!). Allora ho impostato il percorso in automatico sino all'isola di Krk, per vedere come modificarlo, e lui, dopo aver calcolato il percorso, mi ha chiesto se volevo evitare il bollino in Slovenia! Ho poi scoperto che andando su "Navigazione \ Caselli e pedaggi \ Bollini autostradali" si può impostare "Evita" per ben 7 nazioni (di default è "Chiedi sempre"). Vabbè. Al ritorno dalle ferie l'ho provato anche nelle mie zone, e la meraviglia iniziale è scemata un po', in quanto impostando la "strada più breve" lui ti porta effettivamente attraverso qualsiasi scorciatoia, anche se si tratta di una mulattiera! Si tratta comunque di un handicap comune a tutti i navigatori. Per risolvere questo genere di problemi credo che dovremo aspettare i progressi dell'intelligenza artificiale! Resta comunque uno dei dispositivi più interessanti con la quale abbia interagito. Potete spendere meno acquistando modelli con meno caratteristiche e con le stesse identiche mappe, ma pensateci. Io lo ricomprerei subito.

Buena precision, mapas de calidad y diseño. Pantalla nitida, rapida y de calidad.