Having now had two Garmin Sat Nav's, the above one most recently, I have found them to be reliable from a navigation point of view and have the features that I need. The only reason that I purchased the 57LM really, was because the previous version that I had didn't come with free lifetime updates. The small difference in cost between paying for the updated maps and getting a new unit was so small that I went for the new one as that came with the free lifetime updates. It's also the number 1 best seller on
Amazon, which is another indication that it was a good purchase to make.
The
Garmin Nuvi 57LM has a 5" touch screen which is quite responsive, an improvement over my previous version where you needed to press hard on the screen sometimes. Along with preloaded maps, in this case for UK and Ireland and the free lifetime map updates and voice guidance, the other things that I specifically look for in a Sat Nav unit are speed camera alerts and lane guidance, both of which this unit has.
When the lane guidance activates, it gives a clear view of which lane you need to be in at junctions along with road sign visibility too, as you can see above. Also displayed as you drive are any speed limits in force where you are driving, your current speed and if you are using navigation, your time of arrival. The 57LM also has the Garmin "Up Ahead" feature, which is customisable, showing you places coming up in the direction of travel such as petrol stations or restaurants. As I mentioned this feature is customisable to your own preferences (I always include restaurants, but that's just me!). Similarly it also includes data from Foursquare so there are millions of locations, such as restaurants and other points of interest.
Input to find locations or what you may need at the time is easy as you can see from the above picture.
Access to input where you want to navigate to is also really easy and also allows navigation using postcodes along with being able to use the Garmin direct access feature or data from Fourquare for example to go to specific locations. This is really useful if you need to go to somewhere such as a shopping centre or another point of interest.
Using Garmin Express software on your computer, you can manage and update your maps etc. When you buy the unit is comes with a USB cable to connect to your computer, along with a power cable for the car, a suction cup bracket to fit in your car, pictured above and a quick start manual to get you up and running.
Compared to the previous unit that I had, the 57LM is greatly improved in terms of the usability and features, although it doesn't have Bluetooth connectivity for connection to your phone for handsfree calling as my previous model did. The wasn't essential for me however, as Bluetooth is fitted in my car. This is a great value for money Sat Nav with lots of useful features and is easy to use.
Currently you can save £20.99 on this unit giving a selling price of just £79.00, with free UK delivery via Amazon, so just click
here to buy. This is also available via our
Car Care website where you can view and buy other motor accessories.
