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Garmin Drive 51 LM review

GPS unit. Priced at $179.

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CHOICE Expert Rating

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What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?

CHOICE Expert Rating

This is the product's overall performance score, based on key tests conducted by our industry experts in the CHOICE labs.

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Good points

The product's best features and benefits

Bad points

Drawbacks or issues you need to know about
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Navigation type View more details.

Do you want a dedicated GPS unit, or a navigation app on your smartphone?

GPS unit
Recommended View more details.

We recommend any unit or app that is currently available and scores 80% or more overall.

CHOICE Expert Rating View more details.

This CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of: find an address (25%), ease of use (20%), verbal instructions (20%), screen quality (15%), points of interest for GPS units (10%) and map refresh speed (10%) scores. Points of interest assessment is not conducted on apps. Remaining weighting is evenly distributed among the rest of the scores.

Find an address score View more details.

Our tester selects various regional and city locations, and performs two sets of distance calculations for each location. The total of the predicted distances is calculated; the more accurate the predicted distance (compared to a reference map) the better the score. Note: models and apps tested before 2021 used different regional locations.

Ease of use score View more details.

We assess how useful the GPS's instructions are, how easy it is to attach and remove the unit and whether it vibrates during travel. We look at how easy it is to use the menu structure on the touchscreen and, where supplied, whether it's necessary to use a stylus to navigate the menu.

Verbal instructions score View more details.

We assess the quality of the voice, timing of turn and other instructions, how clear the instructions are, and whether it's possible to rely on verbal instructions without looking at the screen.

Screen quality score View more details.

We assess map readability, including route and road clarity, as well as text size; visibility in a bright setting/daylight; and visibility in low light/at night. Extra points are also awarded if the unit automatically activates dimming when driving through a tunnel.

Points of interest score View more details.

Assesses ease of use in finding a point of interest in a dedicated GPS unit. High-scoring units have clear categorisation of locations such as caravan parks, hospitals and public transport stops. Point of interest assessment is not conducted on apps. Remaining weighting is evenly distributed among the rest of the scores.

Speed of map refresh score View more details.

Our tester checks how long it takes the GPS to recover after a missed turn, and after coming out of a tunnel, with a planned turn-off immediately after the tunnel exit.

Time from start to ready to navigate (sec)
Year tested View more details.

We changed the regional locations used in our "find an address" assessment in 2021, which is why we've noted the year of each test. Though results for models tested before 2021 are very similar, they are not directly comparable (strictly speaking).

pre-2021
Availability View more details.

'Tested' means you ought to be able to find this in shops or online. 'Discontinued' means you may have trouble finding this product as it's an older model, however you may find it online either locally or overseas.

Discontinued model
Price View more details.

The recommended retail price or cost of the app on the App Store/Google Play Store. Some app pricing is recurring – see product pages for more info.

$179
Recurring fee (per year) View more details.

Whether or not the price is recurring. We quote the price for a full year's subscription, but some products have multiple subscription options with different pricing (yearly, half-yearly, monthly, etc.).

Not tested
Auto orientation View more details.

Map automatically orients in landscape and portrait modes when the smartphone is rotated (apps only).

N/A
Screen dimensions (mm, W x H)
111 x 63
Screen resolution (px)
480 x 272
Screen size (in)
5
Weight (g)
171
Website
garmin.com/en-AU
Walking mode
No
Cycling mode
No
Voice recognition View more details.

This feature allows you to read street names or destinations and have the GPS unit find it for you. Some work more effectively than others.

No
Avoid tolls View more details.

This feature allows you to set a route based on roads that do not demand a toll.

Yes
Avoid unsealed roads
Yes
Avoid highways View more details.

A nice feature if you don't need to get to your destination in a hurry, or if you want to avoid an incident on the highway.

Yes
Announces school zones
Yes
Full-route display
Yes
Drag to edit route View more details.

Set route using touchscreen.

N/A
Lane guidance
Yes
Landmark guidance
Yes
Public transport information View more details.

Includes public transport as part of the navigation options. Handy if you can't or don't want to drive the entire route (this feature does not include timetables).

N/A
Safety camera warning View more details.

Alerts the driver to upcoming speed cameras.

Yes
Fixed speed camera warning
Yes
Current speed limit
Yes
Over the speed limit warning
Yes
Text To Speech (TTS) View more details.

TTS stands for 'text to speech'. It will tell you to 'turn left into George Street' rather than simply 'turn left in 300 metres'. While most of the car GPS apps also have novelty voices such as Darth Vader or Homer Simpson, these voices can't perform this task yet so you have to cope with the computer generated voice if you want this very handy feature.

Yes
More than one TTS option View more details.

TTS stands for 'text to speech'.

Yes
Remote trip planning
Yes
Itinerary planning
Yes
Bluetooth (for hands-free mobile calls) View more details.

Some devices allow you to take and make phone calls using the Bluetooth connection between the device and your smartphone.

No
Trip log
Yes
Live traffic included
No
Live traffic update mechanism View more details.

Alerts you to traffic hold-ups as they're happening. Some models like the most expensive TomTom have an embedded SIM chip that uses any available mobile network to gather live traffic information access. An alternative is for the car GPS device to access live traffic by pairing with your smartphone via Bluetooth. The final option is via radio using SUNA traffic information, providing live feeds of traffic from motoring traffic authorities.

No
Lifetime maps included
Yes
Mac support
Yes
NZ Map support
Yes
Other countries available
Yes
Offline base maps View more details.

Allows you to download maps prior to travel in order to navigate with your smartphone offline (apps only).

Yes
Memory card (microSD) View more details.

Supports microSD storage expansion.

Yes
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