Vehicle GPS Units

A dedicated vehicle GPS is one of the most useful tools ever.  I use Garmin.  Previously had a NUVI which I liked but it's been acting up for the past several months and getting rid of it.  I see some of the recent Garmin models have limited Map Display options.  I do not need to see how many kilometers I'm going as it is on my vehicles dash.  And you cannot choose to have the Time, Direction and Kilometers left to Destination all displayed on the Map Screen at the same time. The new model also doesn't allow me to switch the kph to the right corner instead of on the left.  I'm looking for more customization. 

I had a look at several models and they all seem to have this simplified Map Screen.  I'll call them up to confirm if there are any models that have more options on the Map Screen.  I know, nowadays people just use Google Maps on their smartphone. I love Google Maps but haven't figured out how to work with it off-line yet. There is  a way to use Google Maps off-line so you do not get charged for data usage. (I just figured it out - thanks to youtube).

I'm just wondering if you are still using a dedicated vehicle GPS in 2020 and what brand has the most features on the main Map Screen (the screen you see while driving).  I don't think it would be a Garmin. 

Perhaps you should have listed what features you must have on your main map screen ?

I use a dedicated vehicle GPS because I drive an old, simple, car. Have been using it for several years now. Honestly, I don't look at it much while I'm driving. It has voiced directions - like "turn left after the white building" - and so that helps, too, really helps.. Even if there're tons of things shown on the screen I doubt I can read them because they look too small from my driving position. I know it can show locations of parkades, gas stations, or restaurants for example on the map screen though. And it's a Garmin.

DChan wrote:Perhaps you should have listed what features you must have on your main map screen ?

I use a dedicated vehicle GPS because I drive an old, simple, car. Have been using it for several years now. Honestly, I don't look at it much while I'm driving. It has voiced directions - like "turn left after the white building" - and so that helps, too, really helps.. Even if there're tons of things shown on the screen I doubt I can read them because they look too small from my driving position. I know it can show locations of parkades, gas stations, or restaurants for example on the map screen though. And it's a Garmin.

Important things for me to have on the Map screen would be 'Time' /  'Direction like North, Southeast, when the sun is out, no issue' /  'Kilometers to Destination'.  Traffic update is nice to have and I do have the Garmin cable that receives traffic updates (this is hit and miss using the cable).

The Garmins have turn-by-turn and voice command so it is hands-free.  If I glance at the Map screen it would be to look at how many kilometers left to go, the current time and once in awhile, direction of travel.  

The new Garmin I have also provides red-light camera locations.  I don't have a need for it but nice novelty feature. I want my driving to be stress free and a dedicated GPS is awesome for this.  And for learning more efficient routes (I have benefitted from this a lot).

This tells how to add more data fields to the screen.

https://support.garmin.com/en-SG/?faq=J ... WPw98nkzp7

Not sure, but I was just comparing GPS's before buying one. The Wirecutter might have some information that could be helpful.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-car-gps/

Thanks everyone.  You know how some people like to buy the same brand of camera because the menu system is familar or almost the same?  Not Garmin vehicale GPS.  Their handhel portable GPS units do have a familair menu system but not their automobile GPS models. Some of the same features on my old Garmin Nuvi GPS now have other menu systems to navigate.  On the older Nuvi they had an icon called "Where Am I".  Now that feature is via another icon.   

After driving with it for a week, I am getting used to it and actually like it now.  Turn by turn instructions have been greatly improved (now it is almost like Google Maps' turn by turn directions but even more detailed on the new GPS compared to my older Garmin Nuvi. I like the red-light camera warnings too not that I ever need this feature.  Still nice to have.  Actually, I really like this feature as it keeps popping up on my GPS screen in red.  I'll be very careful with yellow lights at these intersections.  

New GPS is also much lighter in weight and has a much better mounting system.  Always figeting with the old mount.

My old Garmin Traffic cable/power cable still works on the new model.  The Traffic / Power cable alone is about $100 if you buy a new one. 

Update:  OK, I'm lovin' the new GPS.