Features:

  • GPS auto navigator with built-in dash cam, advanced driver alerts such as forward collision warning and 5. 0-Inch Capacitive touch, pinch-to-zoom display
  • Detailed maps of North America with free lifetime updates. Display type : WQVGA color TFT with white backlight
  • Provides real-time services, such as Live traffic and select Live parking, when using free smartphone link app on your compatible smartphone
  • View Live parking information, including pricing and availability trends for on-street public parking, as you approach your destination
  • Built-in dash cam with optional audio continuously records your drive and automatically saves files on impact; GPS records where and when events occurred.Display resolution:480 x 272 pixels
  • NOTICE: Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit use of this device. It is your responsibility to know and comply with applicable laws and rights to privacy in jurisdictions where you plan to use this device.
We have two of these that we used when traveling in various vehicles in the US and Canada. I would repurchase again.

Excellent. We use it frequently in rental vehicles. It is a better quality than found in most rental vehicles, and avoids having to relearn unique features on various rental cars. It pairs well with Smart Phones. It can be preprogrammed with your travel plans, places to stop, and updated by Wi-Fi before you leave home. There are also ones, for RV's, truckers, etc., not sure why they can't all be combined and the features just turned on as needed. There are reasonably software for use in various countries and continents.

Loving it more everyday

My old Nuvi 9 my brother gave me as a gift almost 10 years ago is rapidly aging after years and years of great and reliable service, so I needed to find a good replacement. I'm still getting used to it and getting to know the modern features this DriveAssist has and I'm liking it more and more as I test each of them. So far so good, it's showing day to day to be a worthy successor to my old Garmin GPS which has been a great asset as I mentioned before. As soon as I find any negative feature or behavior I will be updating my comments and rating to reflect them here

Love the DriveAssist Features!

This Garmin GPS is the BEST one I've ever owned. When positioned correctly, I LOVE the DriveAssist Featurers. I wanted a dash cam, GPS, and back-up camera. Got all of this in ONE unit! There are some features I'm still learning how to use, but am learning. Do NOT listen to the neg. reviews about the DriveAssist Features! If aligned correctly you will NOT give false readings (Mine is on medium sensitivitiy). I can use it in my car and SUV without changing any settings, just align camera.

Great Improvements over Previous Nuvi

Compared to other brands (and I use a lot in my travels) my initial impression of the new Drive Assist 51 is that it's a HUGE improvement with regards to the touch-screen sensitivity and responsiveness of the interface. The old Nuvi was great (and now it's on my motorcycle) but this new one can react as fast as I can type, loads quickly, and overall is seems to be a great improvement on an already-great product. UPDATE: I've put this GPS on the road for a few weeks now with me and I've got a better feel for it. INTERFACE: It's much easier to type on than previous models. It has a more glass-like screen, so it responds to touches without you having to press JUST SO with your fingernail like my older Nuvi does. So that's great! GPS Acquisition Speed: The speed at which is acquires satellites and comes on seems to be much improved over previous models as well. I turn on the truck and the power port comes on. The screen is active 10 seconds later, maybe less. Note: It will come up with the "I agree" screen everytime you turn it on. You don't have to press anything. If you just wait 30 seconds it will automatically switch over to map view mode. Backup/Exporting: I used Garmin Express (free download) from their website. I plugged in my old GPS, and updated it, and backed it up. Then I plugged in the new GPS, updated it, and it allowed me to import all favorites from the other profile in just a couple seconds. Real-time Traffic and Road Conditions: The real time traffic updates seem to be pretty spot on. I was stuck in 3 different 45 minute delays coming back across two states last weekend. It warned me ahead of time and was about spot on with the time delay. As conditions changed, it updated pretty regularly without being tied to my phone. Note: I purchased the Traffic Cable separately because I didn't want it to be have to be tied to my galaxy phone all the time, so my weather and traffic updates are via cable - not the Smart-link software. Downloading Files: I played with the travelapse feature, which basically took my 9 hour drive and time-lapsed the video just for something fun to look at later. When I got home and it connected to my house's WiFi from the driveway, I opened the VIRB app and downloaded the video from the GPS to my phone. Other Features: The lane departure feature works pretty well. It's just a visual indicator that lets you know you're traveling over the yellow line. I have seen it glitch a little when the lines on the road disappear due to poor road conditions. I assume the camera looks for the line and when it doesn't see one, assumes you're covering the line with your vehicle. Some areas the roads are poor and the paint was just gone for a stretch. That made it trip a false positive, but that's not really Garmin's fault, just shoddy roads. The Forward Collision warning seems to be geared almost identical to my truck's cruise control. I have radar cruise installed which keeps my truck about 160 ft from the vehicle ahead of me at 65mph. The garmin's warning indicator stops flashing just shortly before my truck's system has me fully backed off the vehicle ahead of me, so I'm pretty confident of it. Really I'd want to see some sort of audible alarm option for that. I keep my volume off, so if I didn't have that feature on my truck, and had my volume down, I'd still have the option for it to scream at me, but at least they give you the option to have the feature... so i'm pretty happy with it overall. The improved lane indicator system is pretty cool too. When you're driving down a four-lane, and your exit is coming up, it gives you a clear indicator of which lane you want to be in, second from left, second from right, etc. So far it's not been incorrect in a suggestion yet. Curve indicators are an interesting feature. It just pops up an amber warning that says "Curve 0.x miles ahead." It would be nice for someone older like my mother, but I don't really need it. I thought, from reading other reviews, that some of the alerts and indicators would be annoying, but in my experience they're not. My GPS sits in the middle of my dashboard, so not directly in my line of sight. I don't take my eyes off the road every time it flashes something, but it seems that it only took me about a week to just... know what it says without looking. If I see a flash of red in my peripheral vision, I'm too close. If I see an orange flash, there's a curve coming up. I use it without really paying attention to specifically what it says. After a certain amount of miles, if you have the feature turned on, it will prompt you for a gas station by putting upcoming food and gas listings on the right side of the screen. That's a pretty cool feature. When it pops up and shows an Exxon 8.2 miles ahead I glance at my tank and decide whether I want to take the exit or not. I haven't checked to see whether or not it's picking road-side gas stations or ones further into town, but I'm sure someone's tried it enough to know. Overall, I'm totally pleased with the value for the money. I'll gladly recommend this unit to friends (and already have). If I can answer any questions about it, feel free to comment and I'll try.

Garmin is the Best

I had the model before this with a 7in screen, I loved it, it always did a great job and the video was high quality. Unfortunately the screen went out on it after 28 months, I purchased this model even though the screen is 2 inches smaller it hasn't been that big of a loss and so far it is doing great Just like my old one did.

Almost created for me

The device is almost created for what I want to use it for. I like to travel, and I can create footage from my trips, I can plan the trips in a minute by using the Trip Planner, I can create Custom POI's, take pictures even from the footage and convert them into way-points or Custom POI's, I can use the unit with Garmin Basecamp, etc. I can even broadcast my travel position to friends and family, use Virb application to share the footage on the YouTube. Voice Command feature is also very good. I however noticed one interface flaw. Unit gives the option to set audible alerts off, but alerts are still showing up and blocking the "next turn street name" when navigating. It would be nice if they could be turned off. Other than that, I give the unit five starts.

Useful device for driving around town

I been using GPS since the beginning of the handheld GPS. This one is the best so far compared to the old model Garmin Nuvi 56 LMT and the Prius built in dash GPS (this one is good for only 1 thing.."Go home"). I don't know about others but I need a permanent GPS on my car's dashboard for everyday use regarding speed limit and all warnings because there are too many cameras in my area. The dashcam with drive assist features are bonuses even though they are not perfect yet. I love to fool around with the voice command on the unit. It works a lot better if you know what it wants to hear (format issues). One of my colleague said her Ipad's GPS works better than a dedicated GPS but i put her to shame on a Las Vegas business trip.

GPS + traffic works perfect, dash cam is an added bonus.

So far so good. I was hesitant based on the reviews, but it works great. The screen is clear, the TA20 cable provides hd traffic information. You might need to go into settings and activate it. Maps updated and gps updated via wifi, and Bluetooth also connects to my phone if I wanted to receive traffic and info that way. The dash cam placement seems a bit strange, but maybe there is a secret to this, it doesn’t seem to work well on the windshield. ETA: There is a clip on the back of the GPS that flips over and you can use the dashcam on the window.

Lane departure and forward collision Warning.

This is the best Garmin I've ever seen. It has many of the safety features that are just becoming available in new Automobiles such as lane departure warning, forward collision warning, automatic rerouting because of road construction, traffic accidents, and road closures. Video as you approach your destination. You can photograph your entire trip if so desired. Many more features as well.

I also wanted the dash cam feature as I've had a few close calls with terrible drivers, which hopefully

I had a much older Garmin Nuvi Unit for many years but finally the screen failed and it was time to a new model. Yes, I could just use my smartphone for this, however, I travel for business, and use a headset to connect via bluetooth to my phone so I can make/take phone calls. Ive had the issue in the past where I needed directions and was on the phone and wasnt able to get the directions I needed, so for me, I needed a dedicated GPS unit. I also wanted the dash cam feature as I've had a few close calls with terrible drivers, which hopefully, in the event of an accident would help me in regards to liability. Now in regards to the unit; its slim, but a larger screen than my older unit, and took a little getting used to. I love that the dash cam feature comes on automatically and starts recording. The unit's software is similar to my old unit, so even though the instruction manual was literally worthless, I was able to navigate the unit quite easily. A feature which I hadnt planned on using much, but actually found very helpful is the Voice command feature; just say "Voice Command" and it brings up a menu of options from which you can choose by just speaking and not having to take your hands off the wheel. Like other reviewers have stated; the lane departure, and collision warning features arent very helpful. The sensitivity on the collision thinks you are always about to hit someone ( I was hoping it would see far enough into the distance to alert me to stopped traffic on the highway kind of deal, whereas if you arent leaving 1-2 car lengths per 10 mph speed space in moving traffic, it thinks your about to hit someone)! Cool idea, and maybe in another few years the tech will be better for this feature. Same for lane departure; idea being that as you slowly drift out of your lane it would alert you; however if you just change lanes slowly it also alerts you. I understand, very hard for tech to understand the differences. Not that bummed about those two features not being the greatest. Ive not used the red light camera or live traffic features, plus a number of the other features this unit touts, like finding parking, etc, but it all seems fairly straightforward, and probably very helpful. If I took the time to learn how these features work (and maybe I will) perhaps I will find benefit in them, otherwise, they will just be unnecessary for me. I love the lifetime maps and auto download/update feature (when you're within distance of a known WIFI connection and the unit is powered on it will auto download/update). This used to cost me $20'ish every year or two to update; if the unit lasts me ten years like my old unit did, then it will have paid for half its cost just in map update savings. I did have an incident where the unit fell from my window onto the floor of the vehicle and the screen did land on something sharp and cracked the screen. I was able to continue using unit even though its touch capabilities were hindered greatly, because of the voice command. This was fine for a while until there were some software glitches; long story short, garmin is sending me a replacement refurbished unit free of charge. I had read elsewhere that this would cost $150 or so, and maybe if it was just the cracked screen (since they dont warranty damage to the screen solely) it would be, but Customer Support was totally helpful. All in all, I needed a dedicated GPS unit, and I wanted a Dash Camera; this unit had both features which cost less than buying both individual pieces of tech and it was in one easy to use unit. Yes, some of the features need some work, but even still, the unit is supremely helpful for me, and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend for those who spend a lot of time in a vehicle. If you're just finding locations in town, one trip per year, etc, this isnt for you, as your phone, or a more basic unit can do those for a lot less.

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