Garmin Drive 60 USA LM GPS Navigator System with Lifetime Maps, Spoken Turn-By-Turn Directions, Direct Access, Driver Alerts, and Foursquare Data

I bought this unit as a refurb to save quite a bit of money. I always try to buy refurbs on this kind of equipment and have never been disappointed. This one is no exception. It looks brand new and performs more or less flawlessly. It replaces a seven year old Nuvi which was working fine, but lacked in some areas where I wanted improvement. This Drive 60 is larger and much easier to see. The driving instructions are much clearer and the detail on the map is very much improved. It has numerous features, such as look ahead, intermediate stops programming, and speed limit and curve warnings, as well as red light camera ahead. Even with the map set to "maximum detail" it doesn't have the lag of keeping up with where I am like the Nuvi did. It's very clear on when and where to turn or exit. It takes a few minutes to setup and download current maps and software, but once done it's ready to go. It came with the standard Garmin ball mount adapter, a windshield suction mount, 12 volt car cable, and USB charging and computer interface cable. I'm using the bean bag dash mount from my old Nuvi. The time to arrive window can be set to action projected time or countdown. I like the countdown so I can instantly see how long it is to a programmed intermediate stop. This is a great unit and I highly recommend the refurb.

Compared to my old Tom Tom XXL, the learning curve is much more difficult, but after that it works great. Be aware that it is not ready to use out of the package, you need to charge the battery before you can do anything. When you charge the battery off the USB port on a computer, you cannot operate the device at any time. For use in an automobile, the unit comes supplied with a cable equipped with the old cigarette lighter connector. That worked fine with our 2006 Toyota Highlander but, on a recent trip we rented a Mazda CRX5 which did not have a cigarette lighter port in the front console. It did have charger ports for iPhones and lap tops but useless for the Garmin cable. You can order a different cable from Garmin but be aware of the problem if you have a newer vehicle. On the road, the unit does a good job of navigating with very fast "recalcuting" directions. We live in the mountains of Western North Carolina where the roads are very twisty according to mountain terrain. It seems that all brands of navigation devices tend to take the nearest Interstate route, however in the mountains, sometimes you can't get there from here. The Garmin, just like my old Tom Tom, will finally get you to your destination but you may not like the route. The Garmin Drive 60 has a lot of features that my old Tom Tom did not have so overall I like it a lot better.

i did the update before a long trip.. update literally took several hours............ THAT, i find a bit of " you gotta be kidding me ?" kind of issue. i have fast internet, but the device/web site stated " this may take several hours"...so be prepared to have that kind of time for a big update.OK. it DID update..plugged in the address ( 710 mile trip ).. and left.. went on a couple of different roads i normally hadnt travelled ( not a complaint, it was actually an improvement ), and got me where i wanted to go, with little issue.coming back, slight change in my route, as i wasnt heading back to where i had started from ( work, not home).. again, no issue.it showed a few small side streets as not existing, or not connected, streets that have been around for some time, and shouldnt be "missing", even without any update.BUT, other than that, and again, only a minor error here and there, over all, its a solid 4 out of 5 stars. maybe slightly higher.shows nearby gas, food, lodging as you get close to them, will "ask you" if you want to stop ( you can just decline the reminders ) for gas or food/lodging, shows you school zones, and speed zones.it was "Off" in a few places, as the speed zones had been updated and Garmin didnt have the current ones in its system update, meaning the zone was higher than Garmin was registering.not an issue, unless you are a true " i only go the speed limit" kinda person.........Overall, i like this Unit. size is " just right" to see all i need to see (6" screen). touch screen is easy to use,inputting the address is a little issue, as it wants to only look for states immediately adjacent to where you are, for the address you input. i was going 700 miles, so i had to re-input the address a few times, to figure out how to get it to register the correct State i was traveling to.No paperwork came with this, so actual instructions might have helped. but again, not a "Note worthy" issue, I just had to figure out what i was missing, in my address input.once done, takes you where you want to go. it doesnt have live traffic updates, which might be a nice upgrade, as i got lucky on no real issues, other than construction that is just unavoidable on the trip.i would recommend this unit. just make sure you update long before you go, and practice inputting addresses if you are going on a really long trip. otherwise, it is fairly simple to use, for modest distances.

I hated the original Nuvi we had. It must have been made on a Monday as it was always problematic. Finally it couldn't find major cities in various states so it was time to toss it. I was dead set against buying anything made by Garmin after our Nuvi experience but found there weren't any other companies making GPS units that had such good reviews. Against my better judgement I ordered the Drive 60. I have to admit - I love it. It works just as I had hoped it would and is so easy to use. People have complained it has a dark screen, but you can adjust the brightness, so that hasn't been an issue. The touchscreen works with a light touch (not like the Nuvi) and makes inputting information a breeze. If you too were a Garmin Hater like me, consider giving them another chance and buy the Drive 60. I think you will be very happy you did.