Garmin Nuvi 760
Article by
Video by | Edmunds
Last spring Consumer Reports magazine picked the Garmin Nuvi 760 as the best all-around GPS-based portable navigation device (PND); in its December issue it picks the Nuvi 880 model, which hit the market in January, as the current cream of the crop.
The magazine says it tested 49 models and recommends the top 14. The Nuvi 880, while perhaps cringe-inducing in these times at $800, provides intuitive controls, good guidance, an array of features, and an effective voice-recognition system that lets a user enter an address, choose a point of interest, or change a setting simply by speaking a command, according to the magazine.
(Video By | Edmunds)
Overall, Consumer Reports said that it found GPS navigators will typically get the driver to where they need to go, but not always by the most efficient route. Most devices will track a car's location and provide spoken and visual turn-by-turn directions, but when the driver is in an unfamiliar area, GPS devices are no substitute for local knowledge, the magazine noted.
Consumer Reports further observed that real-time traffic data information, which is available in many metro areas, is becoming a differentiating feature in the extremely crowded PND market. Some devices are traffic capable out of the box, while others require a receiver to be purchased costing up to $200, the magazine noted. Then there is the subscription fee of about $60 annually, although both Garmin and Navigon have models coming this fall that will provide free traffic information; the magazine says it is now testing these models.
A good PND can cost less than $200, the magazine concludes, but for extras like traffic info, voice recognition, and Bluetooth, the price jumps into the $400 to $800 range. For most drivers the Garmin Nuvi 255W at $280 and Nuvi 255 at $230 are best buys that offer a good combination of features and value, Consumer Reports said. For shoppers on a budget it recommends models that range in price from mid-$100s to $200; The Garmin Nuvi 200, 250, 270, at $150, the Nuvi 200W at $200, and TomTom One 130 at $170 are all good candidates, the magazine concluded.
