Customer Ratings & Reviews

Bought this unit june of 2020 on sale and what an amazing unit. Unit seems solid and well built. Pros: ease of use, being able to use Bluetooth on your phone to send your destination to the unit. Cons: sometimes my phone doesn't automatically connect to the unit once its powered on. turning it off and back on fixes the issue. Nothing serious enough to not purchase. Not being able to display the time and direction being traveled at the same time use to bother me but I got use to it. It would still be nice to customize the screen though. When alerts are turned off they stay off. There's several other options within the unit that I can't comment on because I don't use them.

The 7 inch screen is a great selling point along with life time map updates, traffic updates, live parking, smart notifications - ex: red light camera ahead, over the speed limit etc. The instructional voice in not as annoying as my previous Garmin, it doesn’t scream recalculating when u miss a turn, it simply gives u left and right instructions until you get back on route, love that.

I had a Garmin NUVI many years ago, but since my current cars had good navigation, I sort of let that go. Rental cars are whole different animal. Since I needed something reliable for use with a rental car, I purchased this Garmin DriveSmart 65, and I am completely satisfied. I like the loud volume, accuracy of the maps and the easy to use the Garmin app on my laptop to download updates. I had to purchase the proper "cup holder" from a 3rd party vendor, which worked out great. I look forward to using my Garmin DriveSmart65 for a few more years of renting cars in other locations.

I really like this gps unit, big screen, many useful functions, accurate and a really useful traffic updates feature which also includes providing faster alternate routes, it also connect to smartphones if you want that to provide more features

Great product. Works as advertised. Links up to phone and traffic. It's large and easy to use. Places of interest are very important to me.

Love the size. Easily read without staring to see directions. So far so good when using. Good value for money.

Very easy to use and set up. Great directions, good display. Does everything I wanted it to do. It's great

The unit was purchased as an upgrade to my prior Garmin that I have had for 8 years. I like the clarity and size of the unit. The unit allows me to update the maps via WiFi which is much more convenient than my olderunit which required connection to a computer for updates. It also easily pairs with the Garmin app and provides live traffic updates.

Just tried out this weekend on a trip to Vermont worked well, still figuring out how to set the settings for my liking, my only real complaint would be the loudness of the speaker, it would be the complete package if the volume wasn’t so low

i have garmen units from back when you had to load the street mapping software years ago ,, meebe decade ago ,,Now with the features on this new purchase make it much better ,, and the bigger the screen the better .. the features that i liked the best is the traffic and street names displayed . ... and all others are nice too .. very happy with this and got on sale deal of day ,, i built a arch mount over my shifter and my right hand reaches the unit with a breeze ..

Love the large screen. I would have given 5 star except there are too many missing location

Really good service and evrithing works pefectly good price and fast delivery

I am camping across Canada this stunner and it has been a lifesaver

Setup the way you like it no toll road and no u turns helps a lot

In 2 years i only used it 5-10 times now wont work tried everything

I already have a Nuvi 2597 LMT which has a 5” screen and the Garmin traffic feature. I have always liked it and saw no need to upgrade other than a couple recent trip driving trips to Chicago where on busy sections of interstate, the screen suddenly seemed a bit small. When in Best Buy, I took a quick look at the 6” models and the DriveSmart 65 caught my eye. It seemed just enough bigger that I took a chance when it was on sale and upgraded. I am not disappointed at all and am quite pleased. The screen is noticeably larger making it much easier to read and the graphics are crisper with better detail. It uses the same mount so any mounts I already have still work. My only complaint is the volume can’t be accessed quite as easily but isn’t difficult. Now for what I found surprising in a good way. Adding an additional stop to an existing trip is much easier and more intuitive. On the Nuvi 2597 the questions were a bit confusing on adding a stop along the way (checking for a restaurant or music store nearby). On the DriveSmart, adding to the trip is simpler and works well. The other feature I’m enjoying is the voice control. I’m not a big fan of all the Amazon and Google assistants – I don’t need Amazon listening in to my conversations and reporting everything back to the mothership so they can sell me more product; and in general, I feel capable of doing things for myself; but the Hey Garmin commands are pretty handy while driving. The voice recognition isn’t perfect but gets me to a screen where a quick tap completes the task. Much safer navigating while driving. I still prefer a dedicated GPS rather than using my phone. I don’t want to be approaching a turn/change in directions when a call comes in taking my focus off the directions. If you feel the same, I highly recommend the Drive Smart 65. I’m very pleased with my purchase.

I haven’t tested all the features, but it is way better than my 8-ish year old Nuvi GPS I had with a smaller screen. Tried it out for a complicated route criss crossing Michigan the other day and was blown away by how much easier to use this unit is. Better touch screen, bigger screen, brighter screen, better voice control, better navigation aids, voice control, stand alone updates without a computer, etc. I like that the user guide is built into the unit along with Trip Advisor ratings. Did everything I needed and then some. And in case any commercial drivers are wondering, it does NOT have the special features needed for commercial truck drivers. You need one of Garmin’s dēzl products for that. My quick speaker phone test didn’t go so well, had volume control issues. Everything else seemed to work pretty well though.

Wow! This is an absolute necessity, in my opinion, for every driver. It helps you drive SO much safer. It gives timely directions where to turn, merge, lanes to stay-in, etc. It watches your speed and gives updates for construction, too. It’s very important to attach it to WiFi every now and again, just to stay current. Easy as can be to WiFi update! The price is great for such a necessary tool for every day life. The touch screen is an absolute dream. It is easy as can be and the screen is a great size making it readable from even the back seat! Syncing the Bluetooth to your contacts and call logs, is a wonderful feature. Makes hands free calls safer without ever touching your phone. The “Okay Garmin” feature to add stops, addresses, making calls is so much safer and easier. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this GPS! What a wonderful tool to make life easy!

I bought this device for our (my) '95 Neon Sport Coupe that I purchased new. I wanted a bigger screen, the newest features and it's compatibility with the use of a backup camera which I also purchased. I especially like the higher resolution screen & its' "Ok Garmin" voice control. Along with the BC30 cam I bought the 12V DC adapter to have the "65" hard wired to the car's ignition wiring allowing the Neon's one and only DC plug to be free for other uses. The Geek Squad installed both accessories. The navigation is top notch as can be expected. Very happy with the purchase.

I had an old Nüvi Garmin that I relied on a lot. The newDriveSmart 65 is a big improvement in many ways, starting with the most obvious: that big, bright, beautiful screen that is easy to read, even with my aging eyes, And scales itself automatically. A nice feature is that the DriveSmart puts flames at every entry in the saved list. Entering addresses is a big improvement, too, with a bigger virtual keyboard - but be careful, being a touch screen, it is easy to make typos. The faster processor makes finding destinations and plotting routes easier. Sometimes the location of a destination is misplaced - I believe there is a way to correct them, but I have not delved into how to do that, nor have I delved into integrating the DriveSmart with the free Garmin Traffic app. A nice feature is the unit telling you to “turn right at the traffic light” or stop sign. Garmins in general have been good about routing around traffic, announcing accidents coming up - it would be nice to know which lane of those Dallas freeways they are in- and giving alternate routes, which I can actually see now. Highly recommended.