This article will help you find the best vehicle GPS by outlining the things to compare that will make the biggest difference

Compare Price

Price is the obvious comparison point for finding the best vehicle GPS for you. But besides just shopping around for the lowest price, consider the model that you are purchasing.

Do you really need Bluetooth and live traffic, and even more importantly, will you use them. More features equals more to learn and a higher priced unit.

So be honest, you might find the best vehicle GPS system is the simple one that gets you where you are going without all the fancy features which drive up the price.

Compare Features

The list of features on the various vehicle GPS systems on the market can be intimidating. Make sure you do your homework and research what they all mean.

Also it is important to understand how different manufacturers may describe the same feature by different names, which can make it more difficult to comparison shop.

Compare Brand Names

Some manufacturers have just dived into making vehicle GPS units because they are such a hot product right now, but are they really committed or do they have the expertise to make a high quality product.

Garmin and other market leading brands are much more likely to create better quality vehicle GPS units due to the years and years that have been spent building satellite tracking and positioning systems. Look for industry leaders and you’ll be closer to finding the best vehicle GPS navigation system.

Find User Reviews

Comparing actual user reviews can make a huge difference and give you a lot more confidence when picking out the best vehicle GPS.

User reviews are unbiased and written by people with no agendas other than to help others make a well informed decision when buying a similar personal navigation unit.

The best way to use these consumer reviews is the look for trends rather than just basing your conclusion on one or two opinions.

The best vehicle GPS will have many consistent reviews from happy customers. Amazon.com, forums, and other shopping sites will have many consumer reviews for popular products. Avoid reviews on the actual manufacturer’s site as they may be edited or biased.

Other Factors to Compare

Here are a  few other final factors to compare that may help find the best vehicle GPS.

• Size of the unit: some GPS are a lot larger than others, and if you plan on using it while walking around this can make a big difference.
• Size of the screen: screens vary from 3.5″ diagonally all the way up to 7″ with the standard being a 4.3″ widescreen format. The best vehicle GPS for you may have a larger screen.
• Battery life: there can be big differences in the length of time that a GPS will run on batteries. Don’t always trust the manufacture’s “estimate”, look for actual user opinions.
• Carrying case: some units include them and some don’t. Make sure before you buy.

By following the tips listed above you should be well armed to pick out the best vehicle GPS for your needs.

You’ll find a complete list consumer reviews of all the best vehicle GPS units where we have gathered user reviews, feedback, complaints and feature lists for over 20 models.

Post from: GPS Consumer and User Reports

Compare to Find the Best Vehicle GPS

Below are the top 5 factors for making a well informed buying decision when picking up the best GPS system for your car.

1 - Go With a Name Brand

It takes years and years of quality products to develop a positive brand name. And you can use that experience to help find a more trustworthy company. Garmin is the market leading brand for GPS units, followed by TomTom and Magellen.

If you are considering brands other than the big 3 mentioned above, make sure you are getting a lot more value, like better features and benefits, to compensate for the lower brand trust.

The best car GPS system will likely come from one of the top navigation product companies.

2 - Get Clear about Your Needs

This is probably the most important tip to the bottom line, or the price you’ll end up paying for your GPS unit. For example you’ll pay a lot more for the newest models with the “latest” features. Early adopters pay more.

The other side of this is will you really use Bluetooth or full European street maps? If not, you’re paying a premium for those features for nothing.

The best car GPS system is not always the one with all the bells and whistles, it’s the one that most closely matches your needs.

3 - Buy from a Reputable Merchant

Yes, you can probably hunt for a couple hours online to find a website that is selling the unit for $10 less. But is that really worth your time?

And furthermore, is it worth the risk. A merchant like Amazon often has the best price on any car GPS system on the market, and certainly has a reputation of being completely trustworthy: it’s worth paying a couple bucks more for the reputation of a merchant and a return policy that is reliable.

4 - Find actual User Reviews

A lot of online reviews are either written by associates of the product manufacturer or they are produced by affiliates who have a vested interest to making the product sound great, so they can get a commission from you when you buy it.

The trick to finding “real” reliable reviews is to search forums or sites like Yahoo Answers to find actual users posting their opinions.

The last tip is to not put too much stock in a single user’s comments, look for trends. If 10 users write about how bad the company’s customer service is, then that may not be the best car GPS navigation system to buy.

5 - Register Your GPS System

Make sure you register with the manufacturer, usually at their website, quickly after purchase. There can be free updates that can make a big difference in the quality of your car GPS unit and your access to them can expire 30, 60 or 90 days after purchase.

You’ll want to get the latest software and firmware updates and install them and of course, get the latest maps to make sure any changes to roads and points of interest are as current as possible.

Overall finding the best car GPS system doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Get clear about your needs and follow the steps above and you’ll be enjoying worry free car navigation for years to come.

Post from: GPS Consumer and User Reports

5 Tips for Finding the Best Car GPS System

The fairest way is probably to find a model of comparable price to base the comparison upon. So for this review, we’ll compare the following two GPS units:

Garmin nüvi 760 - $339.49

TomTom GO 730 - $399.99

Consumer Ratings

The first factor we looked at was actual consumer ratings (the following are averages of all the ratings found online):

Garmin nüvi 760 - 8.5 out of 10

TomTom GO 730 - 8.6 out of 10

Features

As you would expect with similarly priced GPS units, most of the features are identical. Here we list the features that are different for each unit.

Garmin nüvi 760

• FM traffic receiver with 3-month subscription to TMC real-time traffic services
• “Where Am I?” helps find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersections.
• Qwerty or ABC keyboard

TomTom GO 730

• Voice address input
• Map Share technology
• IQ Routes - finds smartest routes
• Advanced lane guidance

Maps

TomTom’s Map Share and the ability to correct errors right in the 720 itself and have them updated so that other users can be aware of the changes is a really powerful feature.

Compared to Garmin where if you find an error in a map and report it, the only thing that will happen is that the change will appear in the next upgrade, which may cost you money to install.

Other Factors

Screen

The nüvi 760 is brighter, but the TomTom seems clearer and easier to read.

Multi-Point Routing

User’s report that creating a point to point route is able to be done much more accurately with the TomTom 730.

Setting up a route to an off road or new location (like a new construction site) is possible on the TomTom, but requires much more configuration (using custom POIs) compared to the nüvi 760.

The TomTom lacks the route optimization abilities that the nüvi 760 includes. These can save a lot of time if you are trying to find the fastest route on a complicated itinerary.

Conclusion

Overall, actual users rate the units very similarly. We’d give a slight nod to the TomTom 730 primarily for the Map Share technology which should provide you with faster map updates and less map inaccuracy.

You’ll pay about $60 for this benefit, but it is well worth it to have constantly updated maps which is the main reason to have a GPS in the first place.

We found the Garmin nüvi 760 on Amazon for $339.49 or less.

The best price for the TomTom GO 730 on Amazon was $399.99 or less.

Post from: GPS Consumer and User Reports

TomTom 730 versus nüvi 760

Magellan Maestro 4250

Price*: $235.00

Our Rating: 8.1 / 10

Positive: multi-point destination routing with optimization, excellent address and text inputting system.

Negative: questionable routing system, outdated map data, inconsistent voice recognition, cumbersome custom POI interface, poor text-to-speech quality, poor customer support in United States.

TomTom Go 920

Price*: $315.87

Our Rating: 6.9 / 10

Positive: advanced voice recognition, enhanced positioning technology, map share, excellent customization options, multi-destination routing.

Negative: questionable routing system, outdated map data (possibly offset by Map Share user map information sharing service), no routing optimization, awkward user interface.

Garmin nüvi 760

Price*: $349.99

Our Rating: 8.5 / 10

Positive: routing engine works very well, multi-destination routing optimization, good Points of Interest (POI) database, more frequent map updates compared to competition, intuitive user interface.

Negative: touch screen is not sensitive enough, outdated map data out of the box, FM transmitter is useless, more expensive.

Garmin nüvi 680

Price*: $357.14

Our Rating: 8.3 / 10

Positive: most of the same features and functionality as the 760 but with MSN Direct live traffic, louder speaker volume than nuvi 760, much better value than the 760.

Negative: no multi-point destinations, looks slightly dated compared to 760.

* prices on these units change rapidly, click the link to get the best price (you may be pleasantly surprise as we have seen some units go down over 25% from one week to the next).

Post from: GPS Consumer and User Reports

TomTom vs Magellan vs Garmin nüvi

In this report we go through all the various nüvi models and spell out the features and benefits that each model has compared to the ones the are similar.

Each model name has a link to our full consumer report. The prices listed are at the time of writing, but you can click on the price to get the latest price, sometimes prices on these type of electronics can drop very dramatically, so do check for the latest price before making a final decision.

All nüvi models come with the basics of a GPS navigation system: touchscreen, 3D maps, and turn by turn voice directions as well as points of interest, and custom points of interest and removable storage via SD cards. More obscure features include JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more.

This is a summary of the features and a comparison of the differences as you go up the product line of Garmin nüvi models. I’ve included the discontinued models because they are still for sale (even by Garmin, although you’ll pay a lot less at Amazon) and can be a great way to find deals.

If you click on the model name, you’ll be taken to our full consumer review, and if you click on the price, you’ll be taken to Amazon, which is the best place to buy a nüvi. Prices drop a lot, so the price on Amazon is likely lower than the one we have displayed.

Post from: GPS Consumer and User Reports

Compare GPS nüvi Models by Garmin