Garmin Drive 52, GPS Navigator with 5” Display, Simple On-Screen Menus and Easy-to-See Maps

I knew nothing about Garmin till I used this Garmin Drive 52 for the past two weeks. To be clear, I suspect they offer more advanced features on the upgraded devices. I still need to explore the settings where I can tweak the routes results, I suspect. In regard only to my experience so far with this entry level Drive 52, I find it kind of like running an old Atari video game. I'd almost consider this a good toy for a preschooler these days. I guess that means it's easy to use. Having said that, this Garmin Drive 52 has gotten me out of a couple of jams, and for that it deserves 5 stars. There are too many new roads, highways and addresses being built in Florida for the Garmin updates to keep up. With completely updated maps, this device does not know where to go, a lot. It will take you to construction zones and closed roads where the Google option is smarter. But, again due to the growth, there are certain areas I just can't get connected to a cell tower to start the GPS signal on my smartphone. So, moral of the story, no brainer to carry this inexpensive navigation device as it will help you out of a jam once in a while. Overall, I like it a lot. It compliments and provides certain helpful tidbits and features. But the voice instruction is sometimes slow to evolve and adapt and does not give enough heads up to make a turn on occasion. Bottom line is, if driving professionally, you need multiple options on board because when you don't know where you are and the navigation shuts down, better have a map downloaded to your device and a compass. When the data runs out on this Garmin it's like the whole world melts away, like when I drove to the northern newest ends of one of our ever-expanding highways down here. Updating the maps with the most current data is easy enough through an app on your computer with the provided cable for the purpose. I have more peace of mind, hundreds of miles away from home, with this Garmin Drive 52 onboard than without, so I definitely recommend.

We have several older Garmin GPS's and love them, except when we have to update the old ones. This new one is better!! Much Better. You can update with through wifi and it updates in just a few minutes, not hours like the old ones. The display is nice and bright and works by touch or voice and connects to your mobile device via bluetooth so you can enjoy hands-free telephone calls.

I wanted a handheld GPS to use on trips without having to rely on my cell phone. The Garmin Drive 52 fit my price point, and I also know that Garmin is one of the leading names in the navigation industry. I figured it was worth a shot to try. The navigation system does work however it's not the easiest to use. Typing in an address can be a nightmare at times. It is almost like the keyboard is stuck or does not register the letters I am selecting. I have been given wrong directions twice- it sent me in a big circle- randomly changed my directions to head back to the location I was leaving and sometimes cannot even connect to the satellite to get me directions. Do not get me wrong it has also worked flawlessly on other occasions. Glad I made the purchase but could definitely use some improvements. Maybe if I had more money to spend on one of their higher end products, I would not have these issues. I still trust the Garmin name.

OH MY,,,,, This is for a person that is NOT Completely Knowledgeable with Hooking These types of Driving, Direction Helpers.....I Now am going to travel to Minnesota, Florida to meet Mr.Paulides soon without WORRY!!! I am single and travel by myself. I NOW solved my last bucket list item to BE TOTALLY SELF SUFFICIENT!!!! I cannot wait til next week, I am taking a OUT of MY State Trip FEELING 100% safe without fear of getting lost!!!!! This Garmin is rated # 1, OUT of ALL the Many brands, DO YOUR DUE Diligence and Research the Top 3 Brands. Again Friends there are Certain Items in Life that "ONE" should UP THEIR Product Quality..This is INDEED ONE of those Items.. I RATE this and Tested this and I GIVE this Model a PERFECT 5+.....I Also bought the bean bag type that this with ONE Click this Device sits on right in the middle of my SUV Dash board. It weighs, When I made sharp right and left turns and I can drive IT DID NOT SLIDE OR BUDGE!!!! It does come with a suction cup as well. But I was a TRUCK Driver for Years and I tend to be a racy type gal driver 40 years I am driving no accidents no tickets and this my friend is yet another Perfect 10.....

Tried this out around home to see what routes it chooses for you. Preforms as it should by getting you to where you want to go. However, when I deviate from its route it wants you to go the new route isn’t quite how I would go knowing my home area, but it will get you there without a doubt. But if you’re in a new area and it takes you to your destination, you won’t know if it’s the best route or not, but you’d still get there. I got it to save from using my phone all the time, plus it will work where there is no cell service as it uses satellites.

I did not buy a unit with the traffic monitoring cable since I live in an area where it would not be available, plus I have HD traffic on my Toyota Tundra and it is marginal at best. I also did not want something else that would connect to my iPhone like the other Drive models. The Drive 52 is a little larger than my Nuvi 1300, and easy for me to see. I have a Garmin dash mount and don't use the suction cup mount. I really like the speed limit and turn lane displays. I also like options for routing and faster searches for POIs. The touch screen works well, but you have to hold your finger on the map for a second or two if you want to pan it. The only issue I had to figure out on my own concerned the map layer option and "Up Ahead Places". Apparently you can only select three categories at one time, which is more than enough for me. I could not find this documented anywhere. The Drive 52 is a great unit at an excellent price. It is my 7th Garmin product, and hopefully will be as dependable as the others have been.

Update: I used my phone and the Garmin at the same time on my trip to SC and for the first three hours, both gave the exact same directions, but as expected, once I got to the part of I40 that was closed, my phone knew to go around the closure and the Garmin tried to send me directly through it. I had the map up on my phone and the Garmin and I could see the Garmin wasn't routing me around the section of I40 that my phone showed was closed. Before I pulled up the maps, the Garmin was showing a shorter drive than my phone and I was hoping maybe it knew something my phone didn't (sometimes Google Maps doesn't always send you the quickest way), so I skipped the exit my phone was telling me to take, but after that exit, it was just me and one other truck on the highway - everyone else had already gotten off the highway and I started to get nervous so I looked at the maps and took the next exit my phone told me to take, even though the Garmin was still telling me to stay on the highway. Even after I exited the highway, the Garmin was telling me to turn around and get back on the highway and it kept telling me to turn around for a while. By skipping the first exit, it ended up adding time onto my drive b/c I had to get back to the detour route. If I only had the Garmin, I'm curious where it would have taken me and what the route would have looked like. I turned the Garmin off once I realized it kept wanting me to turn around and get back on the highway and I only used my phone on the way back from SC and my phone worked perfectly. I'm confident the detour my phone sent me on was the correct way to go because it was a lot of one lane (each way) back roads and there was lots of traffic on those roads. Original review: I'm enraged right now. I have a last-minute unexpected trip coming up and my phone was spotty the last two times I needed to use it for GPS so I thought I would be better off buying an actual GPS unit. I'll be driving by myself this time and can't depend on someone else's cell phone like I did the last two times. Of course, I looked at a ton of GPS units and decided on this one partially because of the brand name, partially because of the reviews (on multiple sites, not just on Amazon) and in big part, because they make a big deal of saying it's ready right out of the box. That was important to me because a lot of the other/cheaper units I looked at needed a separate SD card and needed updates right out of the box, etc. This was an unexpected expense, and I'll hardly ever use it, so I really didn't want to spend a bunch of money, but in the end, I decided it would be worth it to spend more and go for a name brand unit. I thought it would be better quality and more reliable. So anyway, the GPS arrived yesterday, and I was excited to look at it and get it setup and make sure I was good to go for my trip. Imagine my frustration and honestly, panic, when I put my sister's address into the GPS, and it couldn't find it. What the heck. The sticker on the GSP says there may be updates available online, so I hook it up to my computer and look for updates and sure enough there is an update available. Great, I start the update. OH WAIT. NOPE. You need a micro-SD card bigger than 4 GB but no bigger than 32GB in order to do the update. WTF. I specifically looked all over the listing to see if I needed an SD card b/c so many of the listings for other units needed one. I didn't see anything that said I would need an SD card. So, I had to go to Walmart the Thursday before Christmas (might as well be in actual hell) to get this stupid SD card. Got the card, did the update, which thankfully was very fast. The update says it can take a few hours, but it only took a few minutes. I have no idea what the update did. It STILL can't find my sister's address. I used my hotel address instead and it found that, but I have to drive through TN to get to SC and the GPS is trying to send me through the section of I-40 that's closed because of damage caused by Hurricane Helene in September. Google Maps says that section of I-40 is closed until 2028. It's been closed for a while now, so how is that not updated on Garmin's maps. Thankfully I've made this drive a few times before, so I know the drive is usually around 5.5 hours and when Garmin showed me a route that was 5.5 hours, I knew that was the original route, not the route detouring around the closed section of I-40. Google Maps and MapQuest show 6.5 hours, so they're both accounting for a detour. So anyway, I absolutely hate this GPS and I'm panicking about having to rely on this for my trip, but I don't have time to buy something else. Maybe my expectations are too high since I'm so used to using Google Maps and haven't had an actual GPS in a very long time. On Google Maps, I love that I can switch between the map and reading the directions so I can get an idea of what roads to be looking for, etc. Obviously, I don't do that while I'm driving, but I don't see an option to do that on this GPS so that's frustrating. Maybe you can, I need to keep digging around. Also, the other person who wrote about the cord being extremely short is absolutely correct. The cord for the car is fine, but the one you need in order to plug into the computer or into the wall is extremely short and you can't use this GPS unless it's plugged in, so I had to mess around with it and look for different addresses and try to change my route, etc., while hunched over 3 inches away from the plug in my surge protector that sits on the floor. Very frustrating. I don't even know if I'm going to take this with me on my trip. I might be better off using my phone since I'm not confident in this GPS at all. At this rate, I don't see how this GPS is better than the $60 random brands.

This is a good GPS, we have had it for about a year, and has come in very handy when going to a new doctor or when I go out to a new client's house for the first time. We are very rural and sometimes the roads and homes are not very well-marked, but I have not missed an appointment or had to call for directions yet.

Excelente producto lo compré para un viaje a Los Ángeles sabia que tenia que rentar un coche y necesitaba un gps, es preciso y dinámico no necesita de nada solo actualizarlo

Only usable in US and no maps to download for ASEAN countries

great GPS--audio great, navigation fast and accurate to a tee. I like the smaller screen--why do they make 7" screens anyhow??

The Garmin unit works well

Another quality Gramin unit.working exactly as described. Thank you.