We have been looking at car GPS systems for some time and for a variety of reasons have settled on Garmin products. However, Garmin has a lot of product and they do a very poor job of explaining the differences between them. So we spent 2 hours grinding through Garmin.com and other sites trying to create a list of the meaningful differences between the current generation “Garmin Drive” products. Below is the product Garmin GPS feature table we developed.
GARMIN DRIVE NOTES:
Before you get to the table be aware that there are a few gotcha’s:
- Garmin has several model updates to their DRIVE line. In particular, they released the “Garmin Drive 50” line in 2016 and the “Garmin Drive 51” line in January 2017. We expect a “52” line by the end of 2018, so be careful with your selection.
- On some of the older “50” line, only US maps are included and you need to buy a slightly different model with both Canada and US maps. The “51” line seems to include Canada and US as standard, but we recommend you confirm before purchasing
- There are 5″ and 6″ models for all but DRIVE ASSIST (which only has a 5″) so make sure you are getting the model you want
We settled on the Garmin DriveAssist because it has a front facing webcam that:
- records everything that happens in front of the car
- provides the driver with several useful safety features like lane departure and collision avoidance
If you want to see a video of the unboxing, core configuration and review of the Garmin DriveAssist 51, we have ours HERE.
Take note that we are not Garmin experts so, while it is unlikely, it is possible there are mistakes in the table. If you are using this table for a purchase decision, please double check your specs before buying.
GARMIN DRIVE PRODUCT COMPARISON GRID:
We highlighted the main features of the current generation “51” line we thought you would care about.
| Feature | Garmin Drive | Garmin DriveSmart | Garmin DriveAssist | Garmin DriveLuxe |
| Lifetime Live Traffic data from FM??? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lifetime Live Traffic data from Cell | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lifetime Live Parking Data | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WiFi For Updates | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Smartphone App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Activated Navigation | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Display Texts (from your cell) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speaker Phone (from your cell) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lifetime Map Updates in NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Two Finger Pinch & Zoom Touchscreen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Powered Mount | No | No | No | Yes |
| Screen Size | 5 or 6″ | 5 or 6″ | 5″ | 5 or 6″ |
| Screen Resolution | 480×272 | 480×272 | 480×272 | 800×400 |
| Colour Screen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MicroSD Expansion Memory Slot | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dashcam | No | No | Yes | No |
| Lane Departure Warning | No | No | Yes | No |
| Collision Avoidance Warning | No | No | Yes | No |
| Driver Alerts (i.e. sharp curve ahead) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Red Light & Speed Camera Warning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weather Related Routing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can Pair with Garmin Backup Cam | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Length in Mins | 60 | 60 | 30 | 60 |
| Weight | 170g | 243g | 191g | 231g |
| Chassis Material | Plastic | Plastic | Plastic | Metal |
GARMIN DRIVE VIDEOS:
Garmin Drive 51:
Garmin DriveSmart 51:
Garmin DriveAssist 51:
Garmin DriveLuxe 51:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrCc9xpqLa4
4 Comments
uptoWord · November 10, 2022 at 1:56 am
I’m glad to see that you have tackled this question! I have been looking for a good answer to this myself. I have a Garmin Drive 50 and a Garmin Drive 60. I love them both, but I do notice a few differences
bernieS · August 6, 2022 at 3:27 pm
Is there any known modification or ‘hack’ to allow a Garmin Drive 50 LM to act like a Drive 50 LMT to receive and display traffic data, when using an appropriate Garmin power cable w/traffic receiver?
Is there a hardware difference between the Drive 50 LM and the Drive 50 LMT? If not, what prevents a Drive 50 LM from receiving and displaying traffic data when used with an appropriate Garmin power cable w/traffic receiver?
Michael Bertalot · September 6, 2021 at 9:16 am
Can I assume that my Garmin Drive 5″ LM EX with a USA map is a member of the Drive 50 model series for installing new maps (Europe)? Also, would an SD card make more sense than downloading (Assuming it has the capacity for another map)?
Ian Matthews · September 28, 2021 at 10:19 am
Hi Michael;
We no longer have access to this device so we can’t say for sure, but your Garmin Drive 5″ LM EX specs sure fits the pattern. The manual was written in January 2019 https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?partNumber=010-01532-0G&tab=manuals and after some poking around the internet I think this is likely a generation “52” model. As such, I THINK it will take Euro maps. I can’t speak to using an SD card for this as I just don’t know the model.
I hope this helps.
Please get back to us and let us know how it works out.
Thanks.