GarminDriveSmart 86, 8-inch Car GPS Navigator with Bright, Crisp High-resolution Maps and Garmin Voice Assist

I got this to upgrade my very old Nuvi model. On those old GPS displays, the touch screen is SO frustrating and you have to really press and wait for it to recognize each tap. The old one was also frustratingly slow to recalculate the route if I detoured for something like a rest area or exit to get gas. The voice saying "Recalculating" becomes a running joke on long road trips.So, enough about the old one... the new Garmin models have a much more responsive touch screen just like cell phones. The processor in there is a lot faster to recalculate if you're doing a detour (and without the annoying voice telling you about it). It also supports extra nav systems besides GPS which seems to help it be even more accurate (with 10 feet is usually what I got). The old one would sometimes lose signals in valleys or downtown between buildings and might show me a hundred feet away, but this model does a great job of showing where I really am.The voice navigation is amazing. It was so cumbersome to type in addresses on the old one but with the nice touchscreen, that's a breeze, but what I really loved was being able to say "Okay Garmin, go to Walgreens" or something and then pick which one I wanted to go to from the list. I don't know how thorough the database of locations is, but on my recent 3500 mile road trip, I rarely asked it for something it couldn't look up. Fast food and gas stations are just fine, I even asked it to go to a Verizon store when we needed a new phone and it pulled up the nearby locations.My one gripe is probably about the connectivity to my Android phone. The Garmin Drive app works, but the GPS keeps wanting to change the volume of my phone on its own. I also connect to my car radio over bluetooth to play music, and I've setup the Drive app and GPS appropriately for that case, but it seems like when the GPS connects it wants to lower the volume of my phone (and thus how loud it plays music to the car stereo). I can turn it back up, but that only lasts until the next time I get going again. Very weird.I also had problems where the GPS would keep showing "Galaxy S8+ disconnected" over and over. I think that was the power savings on my old phone putting the Drive app to sleep... maybe? I disabled it from being able to sleep, but I haven't driven long enough after that to see if it helped, and then I updated to a newer phone anyway so the jury is still out on whether that's still an issue. That doesn't concern me too much because when I'm driving, I don't really need the GPS linked to my phone although, if I understand correctly, it can get data through that phone connection for even minor things like weather updates or road conditions that maybe the traffic data doesn't get? Or using that tether for software updates too if I'm not within range of my wifi (which really only happens when it's parked in the garage anyway).Overall I'm very happy I splurged for the update. I miss my old Nuvi 1390's ability to connect to the ecoroute module plugged into the OBDII port so I could see the real time gauges right there on the GPS, but I do have a bluetooth dongle for OBD that I can use to see that on my phone. It was just handy because I'd use that whole ecoroute stuff on the GPS to keep track of my gas usage between fillups and it would show my MPG. I got an app for that now, it just means manually putting in my mileage instead of having the GPS already know that. It'd be cool if Garmin added a gas tracker app directly on the GPS... shouldn't be that hard?

At 78 years of life, I grew weary of always squinting down at small screens of any type. The Garman GPS given to me by my son for a birthday gift was one such. I purchased this 8" Garman and WOW - what a difference! I use it in its vertical position (it can also be used horizontally). The "DEPTH OF FIELD" (DOF) that can be seen when used vertically is truly IMPRESSIVE! The shorter DOF found on all smaller models leaves you with the thought you're rushing up on your destination/turn because you can't see it all in one glance (be aware the 'vertical' position will have your arrow moving left or Right which can be VERY confusing). I prefer my arrow to be moving in the same direction I'm going. BOTTOM LINE: Greater view, greater DOF, large comfortable screen...buy with confidence. JCH

For those of us with older vehicles that did not come with nice displays and cameras the DriveCam 76 is an indispensable tool. The first one I purchased had technical issues and would not connect up to the Garmin camera I had on the rear of the vehicle- bluetooth connectivity issues. The replacement however is working great. This 7” display is perfect for my use, mounted just under the rear view mirror it’s easy to view when driving either providing navigation, keeping track of my lanes, speed, and warning me of proximity issues. The voice commands work well to bring up or hide the rear camera view.Easy to update software and maps via WiFi in the garage - no need to pull the unit out and hook up to the computer. Integration with the Garmin Drive app provides additional function but I rarely use it and your phone can be integrated for making and receiving call if that is needed.Probably the last Garmin with dash cams and newer technology integrated with phones seems to be taking over. Glad to have this unit as it addresses my requirements.