GarminDriveSmart 86, 8-inch Car GPS Navigator with Bright, Crisp High-resolution Maps and Garmin Voice Assist

I have Wave and all the rest but was taking a cross country trip in my Crysler Crossfire 2 seater convertible. Decided I should have the availability of a larger screen with GPS and Live Traffic reports and was I glad I purchase this. Saved me a lot of time avoiding many construction sites going on across the country, especially a major detour on Rt. 71S in Ohio. The vocal instructions and the city pictures were right on the mark. Not one wrong destination.

I've been using this for over a year, and it's been fantastic. In case this review is appearing in the wrong place (because for some reason, Amazon is grouping reviews for different Garmin devices together), I'm reviewing the Garmin DriveSmart 86. If you think this is your dad's Garmin, you couldn't be more wrong. It merges the best aspects of smartphone navigation (traffic updates, points of interests (POIs)) with the excellent Garmin features. If you don't drive a lot or don't use a GPS a lot, you don't notice the problems with smartphone navigation. But use it enough and you'll notice how much better Garmin is. Do I always think Garmin navigation is always better? No. But on average, I feel 60-70% of the time it's better. Now, if I'm in a heavy traffic situation or if I'm in a very unfamiliar location, I will run both at the same time and then decide based on my prior knowledge of the area and my instincts to determine which one to trust at any given moment. Here's some pros for the Garmin. You don't need any cellular reception in order for the navigation to work. This came in quite handy when I was in areas of poor reception like rural areas. Sure, with smartphones you can download maps but that requires some preplanning. The Garmin is still the best for letting you know ahead of time what lane you should be in which comes in handy when you need to switch multiple lanes multiple times in short succession. You can also have both the map and some text turns at the same time so you can see ahead of time what your turns will be. The 86 has a fast CPU so it doesn't get laggy like older Garmins. It looks great in both vertical and horizontal orientations and for the first time, I feel like the 86 works better in the vertical orientation because of the better viewpoint. The screen is beautiful. The response and touch is great. If you connect the 86 to your smartphone via the Garmin Drive app, you now get all the benefits of the smartphone with realtime traffic (provided by Google I think) and the much bigger database of points of interests. So if you ever thought the Garmin POIs were too small or out of date or if you thought the search engine in the Garmin device was too weak, you can search in the Garmin Drive app and push that location to the Garmin GPS. Same for traffic. Garmin real-time traffic was often too slow to update but now with Garmin Drive, you never miss out on traffic alerts. If it's in Google, you'll find it in Garmin Drive. Of course, if you use Garmin Drive, you will need cellular reception but only while you're searching initially for the location. Once the Garmin is navigating, no cellular needed. The Garmin has so many options on how to pipe the audio. You can separate what type of audio goes through the Garmin and what goes through your car. So if you want phone to go through the car but nav instructions to go to the Garmin, you can. If you want everything to go to the car, you can. If you want phone and music to go to the Garmin but nav instructions to the car, you can. I send nav audio to the Garmin and everything else to the car because I've always hated the up and down volume when smartphone nav sends out nav instructions. You don't have to worry about draining your phone battery. It's easy to use the phone while navigating on the Garmin. The Garmin now uses USB C and the car charging cable also has a USB passthrough if you wanted to charge something else. The only negative (and I don't know if the situation has changed) is that at the time, there was no dashboard mount for the 86. Only the included window mount. The window mount is good but if you don't regularly clean the windshield and the mount, the Garmin will fall off.

Garmin one of the best , easy to follow and change route, I been using Garmin for.over 15 years , I Travel all part of the state. very easy to understand. Now I upgrade to the 66 6" with Bluetooth and voice commands. I have 4 different Garmin gps , for work , my car, bicycle. And it good for the price. GARMIN ALL THE WAY.

The DriveSmart 76 is my second Garmin GPS. My first one was the DriveSmart 61 that I bought in 2018. The 61 and the 76 look virtually identical. They both have the same screen size (6.95” diagonally), and they both have the same screen resolution (both screens look very sharp). I’ll be comparing the two in my review.My older model 61 still works fine after six years of use. So, you may ask, why did I feel the need to upgrade to the model 76? Quite simply, the voice recognition on the model 76 is significantly better.Voice recognition is very important to me. I don’t use my GPS while mounted on the windshield or the dash. In my opinion, the moving-map display on a GPS is a major distraction. I see people all the time weaving in traffic because they’re playing with their phone and not watching where they’re going.A few years ago, a driver who was texting crashed into my car. I don’t want to be guilty of that kind of behavior. So when I’m driving, I keep my eyes on the road and my Garmin GPS laying facedown. Because I depend entirely on verbal commands from the GPS when driving, the voice-recognition of the device is very important to me.Voice Recognition: To begin a verbal search on my older model 61, say “Voice Command.” How well does it understand my request? On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it a five (5). Some searches are OK. But about half the time it thinks I'm requesting something completely different. This happens even though I’m speaking very clearly and distinctly, or even after repeating the name of a business or a restaurant numerous times. Quite often, the verbal search results on the model 61 are ridiculous, frustrating, and so bad they’re comical.To begin a verbal search on my new model 76, say “OK Garmin.” How well does it understand my request? On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it an 8.5. It’s not perfect, but it’s significantly better than the model 61. As a test, I drove around one day with the 61 and the 76 side-by side. The model 76 can usually understand my search request on the first try. However, there were many times when the model 61 failed to understand the exact same request after numerous attempts.Search by Category: Depending on the name of the place you’re looking for, some searches are easier to find on the model 76 by category. For example: You may be looking for a specific German restaurant. If the GPS is having a hard time finding the name of a particular restaurant (because of your pronunciation or some other reason), try requesting “German Restaurant”, followed by the name of the city and state. If there are any German restaurants in the requested area, you’ll be presented with a list to choose from.Improved Voice: Another thing that I like better about the model 76 is a much improved voice. For “American English” (with full “OK Garmin” capabilities), Garmin uses a female voice named Zoe. It’s more clear and natural-sounding than the voice on the model 61.Battery Life: The 61 and the 76 both have a rechargeable internal battery. When fully charged, you can expect the battery to only last about an hour. That’s not very long. But keep in mind that the unit will be plugged into a 12V outlet in your vehicle when in use.The internal battery is really only necessary to power the unit while it’s connected to your computer with a cable (or Wi-Fi), while downloading updates and maps. I find it very helpful to use an AC adapter when downloading updates. Amazon sells them, and they’re not expensive. What you want is an AC adapter that plugs into a standard home 110V AC wall outlet, and has a cigarette lighter socket that supplies 12 volts DC. This allows you to charge the GPS in your home, and also provides you with all the time you need to download updates without running out of power.Tip: When you press the power button on the model 76, it turns off the display and it appears to be off. Not so. It’s only sleeping. To completely turn off the unit and preserve maximum battery power, hold down on the power button. After a few seconds the screen will ask if want to turn off the device. Tap “OFF”, and the unit will be turned completely off. Note: When connected to an outlet supplying 12 volts, the internal battery will still be charged even though the unit is turned completely off.Note: After about five years of use, my model 61 got to the point where it wouldn't hold a charge for more than a few minutes. I replaced the internal battery myself. But to do so, you need the right tools, and you need to be comfortable with taking it apart and putting it back together. I expect the longevity of the model 76 battery to be about the same.Model 76 Likes: 1. Big and clear display. 2. Much improved voice-recognition. 3. Once you learn a few basics, the operation of the unit is pretty intuitive. 4. It has a more pleasant and natural-sounding voice than older models. 5. Free map and software updates. 6. You can sync this device with your mobile phone for phone calls and music. However, I use my model 76 as a stand-alone device.Model 76 Dislikes: 1. The voice-recognition is very good, but it’s not perfect. There are times when I have to repeat or rephrase my request. 2. The one-hour battery life isn’t any better than my older unit. 3. Garmin only provides one voice selection for American English that has all of the “OK Garmin” capabilities. Again, the voice is pleasant and natural-sounding. But it would be nice if they offered other voices for download. 4. Battery replacement could be easier. Garmin knows that no rechargeable battery lasts forever, and that at some point it'll need to be replaced. The internal battery in my model 61 needed to replaced at five years. I did it myself, but it required the right tools, and I was OK with taking it apart and putting it back together. Not all consumers may want, or otherwise have the skill to tackle the job. In five years or so, I expect the model 76 will also require a new battery. Garmin, why not make it easy for the consumer to replace the battery without the need for any tools or skill when the time comes?Final thoughts: I like the Garmin model 76 very much. In fact, I sold my model 61.