Garmin Drive™ 53 GPS Navigator

Garmin is just as wonderful as ever. I had one for about 20 years and when it finally died a few years ago I though I would just use the navigation system in my car or on my phone. The system in my cars is awkward to use and can be programmed only while sitting in my car. I prefer sitting in the house, entering addresses for my whole trip before I hit the road. I also found that it frequently took me off track, telling me to meander down back roads when the interstate was right there in front of me. Next, I tried my phone. Much more convenient, but not all of them speak which I prefer, and the ones that do are data hogs. On a two-week summer trip, I had to buy more data twice for over $100 in order to use GPS. So here I am, getting ready to hit the road again with a brand-new Garmin that will get me where I'm going easily and reliably without have to buy additional data.

So, first, I'm not a Garmin fanboy. On the other hand, I am. I own like 5 now with this one for my car. I've tried knock off brands and they're not the same, not even close. Don't waste your money. Just get the Garmin. This one, just like all, needed a couple of updates. My Mac took the updates and I had it done in a half hour. Very good tracking, bright screen, easy to see. Maps included some newer streets, which was needed. I wasn't sure if I was going to be ok with the small screen, and it actually does well in my Crosstrek. For the money, it can't be beat. Very intuitive, but I know Garmin already so this is a breeze. I'm very pleased.

Lives up to Garmin's reputation for safe reliable product design. Still features the verbal directions, with other improvements over the early versions. Excessive speed warnings, symbols to indicating road hazards ahead such as winding roads, etc. Settings feature is easy to use, with the familiar navigation options to choose from such as avoiding toll roads and bridges. All in all a good way, at a reasonable price, to travel to unfamiliar places with good guidance, with the additional benefit of the option to find national parks, restaurants, gas stations and places of interest. Recommended.

Like most electronics, GPS units eventually wear out, especially when they're exposed to the harsh environment inside a vehicle. That was the case with my Garmin DriveSmart 55. It began acting erratically and became unusually hot to the touch. I even tried replacing the battery, but that didn't solve the problem, so it was finally time for a replacement. I've always used Garmin GPS units, and I saw no reason to switch brands now. My DriveSmart 55 lasted through several vehicles, which says a lot about its durability. In fact, I own five other Garmin units, and aside from replacing their batteries every few years, they've all been exceptionally reliable. The Garmin DriveSmart 53 seemed like the perfect replacement. As far as I can tell, the only significant difference between it and the 55 is that the 53 doesn't support a backup camera. Since my car already has a factory-installed backup camera, that wasn't a concern for me. Setup was quick and straightforward. Right out of the box, I connected the unit to my computer, updated the software and maps, transferred all of my saved data from the old GPS, and installed it in my car. Everything worked exactly as expected. Based on my long experience with Garmin products, I expect this DriveSmart 53 to provide the same dependable performance and long service life that I've come to appreciate from the brand. UPDATE: Unfortunately, I have a major update to my previous review. This week, while I was out driving, the screen on my Garmin DriveSmart 53 simply fell out of the unit and ended up hanging by the ribbon connector. I have owned and used several Garmin GPS units over the years and have never had one fail in this way. When I got home, I carefully put the screen back into the unit. Unfortunately, it fell out again a short time later. After that, the GPS would no longer power on, so I assume the ribbon connector was damaged when the screen separated from the unit. What really concerns me is how the screen is attached. Apparently, glue is the only thing holding it in place. That might be adequate for a device that sits on a desk, but a GPS mounted in a vehicle is subjected to heat, vibration, and constant movement. I would expect the screen to have some sort of mechanical attachment in addition to adhesive. Unfortunately, Garmin only provides a 30-day return period through the seller, and I am well past that point. I also chose not to purchase an extended warranty because I don't believe you should have to pay extra to get reasonable durability from a product like this. I have been very loyal to Garmin over the years, and I've had excellent experiences with their GPS units. That's what makes this failure particularly disappointing. When it comes time to replace this unit, I may have to reconsider that loyalty and take a serious look at what other manufacturers have to offer. Update2: Garmin is going to replace this item under full manufacturer's warranty! I hope they use better glue on my replacement. I don't want to do an update 3!

This thing was an exercise in frustration. I bought it because I needed simple capture of time/distance/average speed, which Garmin documentation says it does. It “tracks” those data points, but not in a USABLE manner, because the function to simply and accurately control start/stop tracking doesn’t exist. Without a set, entered route, the “go” button to start tracking is not available. The device just starts tracking as soon as it powers on. And, without a set, entered route, the “stop” button is greyed out, so it requires hunting through other menus to find the alternative “stop” option to get it to stop tracking. THEN, even after "stop" and clearing the current data, the overall time immediately starts running again, as long as the device has power. Ugh. I also tried it for trip routing, thinking that if I could get at least some value out of it, I would keep it. NOPE. It chooses the most obvious/fastest route. Supposedly that route can be edited, but when I tried to do that (because I avoid all major highways when traveling) the “shaping point” feature returned an error of “can’t calculate route” and several times the road I wanted to travel (paved, official state and county highways) didn’t even appear on the map as an option. This was after installing the “latest” updates directly from Garmin. AND – this device has very little stored energy. It must be plugged in to a power source to work when traveling. I’m on a motorcycle, so that’s another major fail. I suppose if you travel on freeways all the time between major points, it could be okay. For secondary roads or any kind off accurate data capture, it’s not. Completely unusable for me. Returning.

I like this gps. It was not difficult to operate. It was user friendly. And it was accurate and never got us lost. As soon as I received it, I unpackaged it and updated it using my laptop like the instructional videos recommended. But later found out that my brother who has the same gps, unpackaged it and immediately started using it.

I bought this to replace my Garmin 360. The improvements are appreciated. You don't have to punch the screen to make it work, Just touch it. With the 360 I had to take off my sunglasses to read it. To my surprise, with this unit I could see it plainly. Thankyou Garmin. They kept it simple. Everything you need to know about your trip for dummies is right there. It did take time to transfer favorites from my old unit. They could have kept the old full SD slot instead of going mini but I don't use that enough to complain. You can't talk to this one, but it is better it doesn't hear me while driving.

Great product. Price is affordable, user friendly, screen size is perfect, navigation system is accurate, best part - usage without wifi. Recommendation Garmin Drive 53 GPS Navigation to all drivers.

Touch screen is sensitive and device is easy to use

Bom equipamento. Comprei como backup para viagem internacional, em caso de dificuldade com 5G no celular.

Ce produit est certainement excellent, sauf qu'il ne correspond absolument pas à une clientèle française, qui attend de tout GPS une cartographie de la France, alors que votre produit ne contient qu'une cartographie américaine, sans aucune spécification claire de cette particularité. Quoiqu'il en soit, je vous remercie du remboursement de ma commande : vous êtes une entreprise sérieuse : ma clientèle vous est acquise !

Be very careful and check your purchase within return time as the unit we received was for USA only. It cost a further £80.00 to buy a Europe SD card. Then the sat nav worked correctly in UK! We have had Garmin equipment previously and as with this one we were very pleased with its operation. I don’t know who was at fault here but it left a bad taste!!! Check quickly on receipt!

Thank you absolutely love this no wifi or data needed