I don't think it really matter what kind of car you have with these type of systems, but which one is more reputable?

 

Garmin...hands down

 

Personally I like Magellan. I have the Magellan Meastro 4040. It's very accurate, easy to use, and it looks really nice.

 

Magellan is the way to go.. Better looking maps across the model range than the other brands. You can get models with MP3, bluetooth, etc... I never got lost with my Magellan.

 

I haven't heard much of TomTom as of late so customers are probably not happy with their product. Have you guys used any other GPS systems besides Magellan? If I see a lot of people using Magellan, I'm going to check it out. I also see that Garmin is tops too from some of the other reviews on CNet. So hard to make a decision. TomTOM do make a nice screen (touchscreen too) from what I've seen with the TomTom One.

 

Where i work we sell these brands: (portable units)

Magellan
Garmin
Pioneer
Clarion
Sony
Becker
+ some other europe-only el-cheapo-brands i wont mention.

And out of these the Garmin is IMO by far the best choice...ease of use/affordability/weight & size...BUT...keep in mind...im in europe...so the old "this map is better than that one" wont apply here

 

Whoa, representing all the way from Norway. I posted this also on other forums and checked out a lot of guides and user reviews. Seem like Garmin has the majority of the votes. I just wish that the LCD display could be more streamlined and thinner. I don't like that bulk in the back of most of them.

I really like the touchscreen capability too, but I know some models, they're locked because they don't want you messing with it while the car's in motion. Just like if you were to get a DVD player installed in your car, it won't play until the car stops. But I'm sure there are ways to bypass that.......

I prefer not to spend anymore than $500 on a nice nav system, if possible. Any particular Garmin model that you recommend?

 

Then the Garmin Nüvi series would be your best bet...they are as slim as you would want them...any slimmer...and youd be affraid to break it
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134

What youre describing sounds like the StreetPilot-series...and to be honest...we dont sell to many of those...just because of the size of the rear housing as you said. This extra size is..if you ask me...only good for one thing...and that is if your going to use the Bluetooth-handsfreeset alot...the bigger backside alows for more and bigger speakers

None of the larger companies selling portable navis in europe today offer non-touchscreen versions....so therefore ive never tried any This is mostly an issue if you swap your original oem stereo for a large aftermarket navi-unit.
But if im not mistaken...that isnt a possibility on the 2IS yet....

I not entirely intouch with us-prices on these things, so i guess someone else will chime in also? BUT...any of the NÜVI 600-series will do

 

Although I voted for and like the more expensive models of the Garmin Nuvi series, have friends that work at Garmin, and live near their headquarters here in Kansas, I instead bought a Magellan 2200T a few weeks ago at Costco for $219 including AC and DC adapters, a USB cable and a windshield mount.

The Garmin Nuvis seem very pricey and I did not need many of the features (FM transmitter, Bluetooth, traffic) they offer. I like the Garmin 670 - comes with both North America and Europe maps - but its discounted price was about $800 when I checked a few weeks ago. The simpler Garmin 200 ($400 at Target last week) seems fagile and it does not announce the street names -- a serious shortcoming.

The touch screen Magellan 2200T seems unusually rugged and it is water resistant. It is probably a little light on POI's compared to the Garmins but so far that has not been a problem here in southern Florida where we are vacationing this week. (I am going to load several custom POI files to the Magellan when I get home.) The Magellan announces the street names and it seems louder than the Garmin C-series I recently borrowed from a friend. Even at its low price the Magellan 2200T has the latest GPS chipset and it can track 10 - 11 satelites even while on my lap in my LS. It is usually ready to go within five seconds of turning it on.

The Magellan has steered us wrong only once when it could not find a restaurant (it was in its database) we were looking for in Homestead FL. It must have been smarter that we were since when we finally found the restaurant, it looked awful and we left without ordering. The Magellan directed us flawlessly as we drove to a number of locations in Miami and is having no problem here in the Key West (OK, sad to say, I can get lost in Key West).

One aspect I like about the Magellan, Garmin 300 series and other compact narrow screen aftermarket navigation productions is that they can be mounted on the dash beside the radio and take up a minimum about of space.

The windshield seems does not seem to be a very convenient place to mount a nav - at least in our LS and in our rental Honda Accord here in Florida -- too far to reach, especially for my wife, and the sunlight makes the screen a little more difficult to read.

Any newer name brand navigation product would probably work fine for most people. My wife didn't think we needed one but now she is completely hooked.

I sure am glad I avoided the OEM nav when I bought my 00 LS used in 2003. These days, even the cheapest touch screen aftermarket navs you can buy seem a lot better than the ones Lexus was putting into their 98-00 cars.

 

You can't go wrong with Nuvi 360 or 370! I sure haven't!! Garmin Nuvi 3xx FTW!!!

 

TomTom seems to be the 'it' brand in Europe, and Garmin is the 'it' brand in North America.

 

 

My old Garmin eMap works very well for me in Mexico. Gave it to my cousins to use.

 

SOme good reviews. I think I'll stick with Garmin now.

For updated maps, do you download those for free like Windows Update or do you actually have to pay to get the latest map?

Nav systems don't have monthly service fees right? You can tell already that this will be my first Nav system ever so these are noob questions.

 

TomTom

I love the graphics and easy of navigating through the menus. There are plenty of user customisable items (like time format, units, left/right handed, compass display, language, voices, safety features etc).

It's also built on a Linux platform so plenty of 3rd party products that you can d/l for free to personalise your TomTom (OffRoad Navigator for navigating off the beaten path, Tripmaster for tracking your route (main purpose... it shows other stuff too like altitude, accelerometer, speed etc) and then saving it and loading it to Google Earth (or the 5 other extensions like .gpx). MobilNova for watching movies , NanoX for playing games .

The new GO 720 (due anytime now) will have voice recognition (hopefully it works better than OEM units), MapShare (ability to edit YOUR maps so you don't have to wait til the next map update as well as sharing your edited maps with others).