Opinions On Nuvi 3597

It works for me. I can't see spending a couple hundred bucks for something that's not that much improved over what I have. Also, I now only use mine for personal use, and I've dropped from driving 20-25,000 miles to less that 15,000 er year.

Mostly mine is now a gadget to allow me to see where I am, more than finding my way somewhere. Unless you want the latest bells and whistles, I find the 3597 still very capable and timely.

Just updating the maps on my 3597 as we speak. Bought it the first week they were available and still use it regularly. The best of my many Garmin units.

Although I purchased a Driveluxe 50LMTHD last year I find that most of the improvement over the 3597 are really just eye candy and if I had to do it over again I'd save the $200+ I spent on the Drive.

Thanks for the input...i kinda figured the new ones just had more bells & whistles and now i know...Stan

I've seen several models that have come out since the 3597 and none seem to offer anything that's functionally better. One feature Garmin has abandoned that I personally like a lot is the magnetic mount with the amplified speaker. I was looking for a replacement for my nüvi 750 and the 3597 was the current model at the time and I didn't realize what a gem it was until I started using it.

I'd agree... I purchased a Nuvi 3597 a couple years ago to replace an older Garmin and I couldn't be more happier. Hands-down one of the best models out there.

I totally agree but for folks trying to buy one now, there appears to be very few being offered and they're offered at a very high price. So for someone looking to buys now, look toward the DriveLuxe. I think some folks have reported that the DriveLuxe is even available already as a Factory Refurbished item and that's what I'd tend to go for.

I agree with CraigW that a DriveLuxe refurb is the best bet for someone planning to buy at the present time. That said, it is a shame that Garmin removed the speaker from the magnetic mount on the DriveLuxe models.

I hope my 3597 lasts a long time. It will probably be my last GPS unless Garmin surprises us with a really great new product (unlikely).

Any chance the Drivelux will attach to the 3597 Magnet Mount? Or does the Drivelux not use a magnetic mount?

The Driveluxe does have a magnetic mount, but the form factor is different. Why? Only Garmin knows. Maybe they saved 10 cents or so in manufacturing cost? I would also guess that the Driveluxe mount does not have the audio pin outs since it doesn't have a speaker.

...a year and a half ago. One of the best units that I have ever bought. I, also, hope that mine lasts for many more years. When it dies, I will have to go back to my 3590.

And does that ever make a huge difference in the loudness/volume level of announcements at highway speeds.

Same here.

With those who think the 3597 is the best GPSr Garmin has produced to date. I don't have any experience with the Drivelux series though so I can't offer an opinion there.

Used 3597's on eBay are going for close to what many of us paid for our refurbs. Not that I would consider doing so but one could recoup most, if not all their investment by selling their 3597 to offset the cost of a newer model.

I purchased 3597 when it came out back in 2013 or 2014. I still love it. Its Bluetooth connectivity is very smooth and never had any issues compared to Nuvicam. It is compatible with Smartlink app digital traffic. It has pretty much everything you need in a GPS. The only reason I like Nuvicam more sometime is the screen size. But we still use 3597 in our second car.

I bought a refurbished Garmin Nuvi 3597, also, a year or two ago. A few weeks ago I bought an open box Garmin DriveLuxe 51. I didn't really need it, but the price took another drop and I couldn't resist. There are four of us in my immediate family and we have five vehicles.

First off, let me say that you really can't go wrong with either one of them. If you have the 3597, and are wondering about upgrading, I would be hard pressed to convince you that there are compelling features necessitating an upgrade.

There are differences, however. As noted in earlier posts, it doesn't come with the GTM 60 receiver. As noted in other posts, traffic data via Bluetooth is probably superior, Despite that, I bought a used GTM 60 from an eBay seller. I just wanted redundancy.The price was right, too.

The Auto Zoom disable is something that I want. It is available natively on the US settings of the DriveLuxe 51. With my 3597, I have configured some non-US settings to get the Auto Zoom disable ability. One of the "side effects" is that my speed limit icon is round rather than rectangular.

The 3D buildings are visible on the 3597 and I don't believe they are on the DriveLuxe 51.

The wifi capability of the DriveLuxe 51 doesn't seem to fully work on mine. I have tried twice, but it failed. I ended up updating via USB cable, so no big deal to me. I did catch the notification the other day that new maps were available. Perhaps that alone made having built in wifi a nice feature.

While I don't always connect my DriveLuxe 51, via Bluetooth, to my smartphone, it can be handy to have text message alert come through. You can select telephone, text, or both. I generally have little or no interest in routing my telephone calls through my GPS. It is a nice feature, but I just don't use it that much.

On the other hand, getting text alerts on the GPS is great. I can usually determine by quick glance if it is something that might require me to stop somewhere and reply to it.

I really ought to put both of them in my car again someday, with all of the settings configured the same, to see how routing compares. I am somewhat inclined to suggest that the DriveLuxe 51 is a bit better of a learner when it comes to routing. My best evidence of that would be my commute to my previous job. My last few blocks of my route varied from what the 3597 directed. Even after months of that, it never seemed to "learn" that piece of it. On the other hand, there are some other things that it did "learn" and remember fairly quickly.

My new job and new commute started about a week and a half ago. I have been using the DriveLuxe 51 almost exclusively for it. The route from my farm to the new job is a direct shot north about 14 miles on a secondary road. It takes about 30-ish minutes. Since I have set it for the fastest route, not the shortest route, it does what I have told it to do. There are a few variations, but mainly two good "faster" routes. It has remembered pretty quickly which of those I prefer. They are about the same drive time, in normal conditions. Add a collision along the route and/or snow, icy roads, etc., and it changes dramatically.

The DriveLuxe 51 came out of the box with more memory than the 3597. However, since you can add a micro SD card, that isn't necessarily a big game changer.

Ironically, some of the things that were on some older units, but are not available on newer units, are things I miss. For example, nüLink! services always sounded neat to me. Some of those tings are available anyway, but the fuel prices, flight status, and white pages sounded handy. I think movie times were even available on some Garmin.

I know that there are, indeed, some other differences between the two units. Some/most have already been discussed. I do think that most people can't go wrong with either unit.