Garmin Drive 52, GPS Navigator with 5” Display, Simple On-Screen Menus and

9 reviews for Garmin Drive 52, GPS Navigator with 5” Display, Simple On-Screen Menus and

1. 

   Grim_Rodent – 10 January 2025

   Almost very please
   This is my 6th dash top Garmin gps. I have used Garmin Nuvi’s for a long time. I like this one better than all the past ones. It is very easy to use and I really like the large size. It is easy to see even in bright sunlight, way better than any of my past models. I do not use the bluetooth function for the phone or the voice command so I cannot comment on them. It has built in wifi so once you connect it to your home network, it will automatically download upgrades without connecting to your computer. If you have purchased custom “voice” files, like Dr. Nightmare, they provide no way to install them…at least it is not documented. You can download them to your computer and then copy them manually to the proper folder in the GPS and they will work fine.I would recommend this GPS for anyone who wants to get from here to there with ease. It works great!!Dislikes! I do have a few….1. I do not like the way this model attaches to the ball mount. It take two hands to release it whereas all of my other models could be easily released with one hand and they were still very secure in their attachment.2. I am an avid geocacher, since 2003. ALL of my past models could easily display geocaches on the screen. All you had to do was put them in a .gpx file and copy them to the proper folder in the GPS. THIS model does not do that very well. You can follow the same procedure but instead of getting the neat little geocaching icons on the screen you get these big ugly icons that look like tabs or signs. I do not like this at all…big downer. But the overall good outweighs this downer. There is a “workaround”. You can export your caches to a POI file and copy it to the POI folder in the GPS. All of the caches will then display on the screen using a much smaller, and less ugly icon. You can then select one and navigate to it. The upside to using POI is that you can have more of them. I easily put in over 3000. The name of each one will NOT display on the screen, but at least you can see them. If you touch one, you can navigate to it, or you can quickly find them in the menu. So…. it works well for geocaching but not quite as well as any of my older, smaller models.3. I use LINUX on my computer, not Windows. I also have a MacBook laptop. ALL of my older model Gamins would plug into Linux or Mac and display on the screen like a disk drive. You could then drag and drop your .gpx or .poi files over to the proper folder. THIS model GPS will NOT do that…. not on a Mac and not using Linux. You MUST have WINDOWS to transfer your files. This really sucks… I had to install Windows on my desktop using dual boot just to retain my sanity. I admit I am a Windows hater. I could give you reasons but I’ll spare you. So if you are a Windows hater like me, plan on being disappointed. Again, the good of this GPS outweighs ever this. It is a keeper.4. Although this GPS is very very easy to use and easy to figure out, the documentation is poor. You might even say it sucks but not quite that bad. If you are a basic user, new to GPS, then the documentation is OK but if you want to do more complicated stuff, you just have to figure it out for yourself.

2. 

   beancounterboy – 10 January 2025

   Invaluable piece of kit – I live in the UK and needed it for travel in USA/Canada
   Really excellent piece of kit that proved totally invaluable for our trip from the UK to Canada. After years of working from paper maps and internet screen shots – we rented a vehicle in Florida (back in 2019) that came with a dash mounted Garmin as a free upgrade and immediately realised it was taking a huge amount of stress and pre-planning away from us. Post pandemic and travelling again I decided to buy this unit to make life much easier. Living in the UK – I was able to order this GPS (SatNav) on Amazon.com (rather than Amazon.co.uk) and have it delivered to me in the UK direct from the USA. It is a great sized unit that is very very easy and intuitive to use and for the driver to see and read as you are driving. Like all GPS (SatNav) units it can very occasionally get small things wrong – but 99.999% it was very accurate. Anyone travelling to Canada – be warned that mobile/cell phone costs in Canada are unbelievably high – therefore EVEN with a USA/Canadian sim card in our phone – it would have cost a fortune to buy enough data in Canada (not necessarily the same in the USA which had much cheaper mobile/cell phone charges) to use a smart phone as a GPS/SatNav. Therefore we found it much more cost effective to buy the GPS/SatNav outright and it will work for years for future visits.One last thing about this model – after doing loads of research online – it tells you that this model is designed to work in tandem with a connected mobile/cell phone in order to receive traffic updates. It tells you this model works perfectly well as a GPS/SatNav on its own – but will not give live traffic updates without a connected mobile/cell phone – I considered this before buying – but decided that route guidance was enough and more important to me that anything else. HOWEVERE – after arriving in Canada – this device WAS giving us live traffic reports and rerouting to take the least congested routes – and we did NOT pair it with a mobile/cell phone – but still received live traffic reports.Great unit – Highly Recommended

3. 

   Honest reviewer – 10 January 2025

   Works well but can be buggy at times
   I wanted a handheld GPS to use on trips without having to rely on my cell phone. The Garmin Drive 52 fit my price point, and I also know that Garmin is one of the leading names in the navigation industry. I figured it was worth a shot to try. The navigation system does work however it’s not the easiest to use. Typing in an address can be a nightmare at times. It is almost like the keyboard is stuck or does not register the letters I am selecting. I have been given wrong directions twice- it sent me in a big circle- randomly changed my directions to head back to the location I was leaving and sometimes cannot even connect to the satellite to get me directions. Do not get me wrong it has also worked flawlessly on other occasions. Glad I made the purchase but could definitely use some improvements. Maybe if I had more money to spend on one of their higher end products, I would not have these issues. I still trust the Garmin name.

4. 

   Kevin K. – 10 January 2025

   I love this Garmin, Easy to see and use
   I bought this as an upgrade to my TOM TOM GPS. This way outshines that older unit. I have learned to trust the live time updates it provides. I didn’t think it was right when I took it on a trip to Florida. It warned of a long delay on I-4 and it was exactly right. Trust the warnings it provides, they are accurate. I wasted an hour wait on a normal 10 min drive. Lost valuable amusement park time. One other warning, watch the arrival time closely. I tried to be cheap and avoid all tolls on my trip up to Niagara Falls and when we were very close, I stopped at a gas station. When I went to take off it asked me about the tolls again and I selected avoid the tolls. It was going to take us 10 hours out of our way to accomplish this. There is no way around the tolls in that area unless you drive around the state. I ended up driving a half hour out of my way before I caught on.

5. 

   JohnSam – 10 January 2025

   Got this to replace a 10+ year old Tom Tom. There is a bit of a learning curve to using it, was not intuitive. The on line manual is large and not easily interpreted. I can customer service with a question. Had a short wait for a call back but the service rep was very patient and helpful solving my problem.It has a very good display showing a lot of good information ( and a lot of clutter which I learnt how to dismiss). It give speed limit, your sped, and subtle warning when exceeding the speed limits, school zones and red light cameras. Once you learn how entering your destination is easy as is saving favorites. I like that it turns on and off with the ignition.Very USA centric and National park and Historical site features are only for the USA but can be disables.I have only had it for a few weeks but am liking it more over time, For a dinosaur like me who wants a GPS rather than a cell phone app it is a very good solution. Would recommend it.76 year old male

6. 

   Josue Saenz – 10 January 2025

   Compre este producto por que hice un viaje largo de mas de 8 horas en Mexico. No tuve ningun problema con el GPS, te avisa los limites de velocidad, no todos estaban correctos y te avisa cuando hay curvas. Lo que me preocupo un poco es que como tiene que ir conectado todo el tiempo a veces lo sentia muy caliente, pero aguanto todo el viaje conectado. La ventosa que tiene queda bien fija en el parabrisas, solo se me cayo una vez despues de pasar tu reductor de velocidad muy rapido.

7. 

   Jude – 10 January 2025

   Great if you live in US ….. not if you are in Australia! Cannot change maps to Aust.

8. 

   Noel Ng – 10 January 2025

   Navigator come with US and Canada maps only.Assume that as I am buyin from Singapore through Amazon Singapore, it should be preloaded with Singapore Maps.Tried to download from Garmin web Singapore map but has been unsuccessful too.Navigator comes with good review even though no more in production but ridiculous if it cannot download the maps I want.Not sure if Amazon has a solution or can I return the product.

9. 

   Bruce Gow – 10 January 2025

   I ordered a Garmin GPS from Amazon.com.au on express post and they sent me one from the USA with USA maps. I asked them if they could delete the USA maps and send me a download for Aussie maps. Nope, I had to send it back and it has taken weeks to get my refund.