Garmin Drive vs Zumo

[Afan]

I'm considering to buy GPS. Garmin. And use it with Basecamp.
Question: Zumo or Drive?

I read some articles about the differences and, in general, the only (or the biggest) difference is Zumo is waterproof and more robust. And the price difference. Other than that it's the same software technology (from model to model, of course), navigation technology, logic technology, database, bluetooth technology...

So, is Zumo really worth paying double comparing to Drive?

I used TomTom about 15-20 years ago. Then last 10 years used my smartphone and Google Maps. Main reasons I'm switching from phone to GPS is

• I want to have my phone on me in case of an accident
• Since I use my phone for work as well it has to be locked when not in use. Google Map will not allow to lock the phone but it happens so often when touching wrong screen, wrong button, wrong... Then I have to pull over...
• Handling the phone with the gloves on is PITA
• Having my phone charging all the time is not good for the phone - and phone is more expensive than GPS
• ...

I bought used, and very old Garmin Drive 5 for $20 (for testing purpose) and I like it - except it drove me nuts because of some tech issues. Now I'm thinking about buy new one and was doing some research.

Any thoughts about Zumo vs Drive?

 

[LearnedButt]

I have a garmin Zumo, and while google maps is superior, the phone interface is not.

First and foremost, no matter how nice the mount, you are vibrating a thousand dollar computer. No bueno.

Second, shaking aside, and even with the claimed waterproofing, it's not robust enough.

Better to have a dedicated unit which does one job. The Zumo does this well, is easy to use, and fits all my needs. If they made google maps work on the Garmin hardware, it would be perfect. The Zumo is incredibly rugged and I'd trust it off road in a heartbeat. Hell, I'd trust it to hammer in tent stakes. My pricey phone stays in my padded pocket. If it gets hurt there, that's the least of my worries.

I can't speak intelligently on the Drive 5, as I don't have one, but it appears to be a car-focused unit upon cursory googling, and I'm not sure about the ruggedness.

 

[bigbird]

There is a huge difference in construction and quality, let alone water resistance, between a Zumo and Drive.
I have both.
I would hate to have a Drive fall on the ground from the handlebars.
The Zumo is designed to survive that kind of fall.
I had a Zumo XT and returned it and bought a 396LMT-S.
The XT did not like interacting with a Mac computer, the 396 was much more Mac friendly if you happen to use Apple products.

 

[670cc]

I have a Drive 51 (I think that is what it is) in my motorhome. I bought it as a refurbished unit and it is also the model with a built in dash cam. It’s a nice unit for a car/truck/motorhome but I would not put it on a motorcycle. The battery capacity is almost nothing, it is not waterproof, and it caters to urban automotive usage, not exploring with a motorcycle.

When you ask about Zumo, which model of the many are you asking about?

I had a Zumo 390 and hated it. I have on my Goldwing a Zumo 396 and it’s better than the 390 but I don’t really like it all that much. I have for my NC (and other bikes) a Zumo 220 (a 10 year old model), and I love it. The difference between the love and the hate on these Zumos is mainly due the software, not the hardware.

 

[Afan]

I had a Zumo 390 and hated it. I have on my Goldwing a Zumo 396 and it’s better than the 390 but I don’t really like it all that much. I have for my NC (and other bikes) a Zumo 220 (a 10 year old model), and I love it. The difference between the love and the hate on these Zumos is mainly due the software, not the hardware.

Do you mind to share what part of the software you don't like? Because 396 model caught my attention?
Thanks.

 

[bikemiser]

I have a Drive 51 (I think that is what it is) in my motorhome. I bought it as a refurbished unit and it is also the model with a built in dash cam. It’s a nice unit for a car/truck/motorhome but I would not put it on a motorcycle. The battery capacity is almost nothing, it is not waterproof, and it caters to urban automotive usage, not exploring with a motorcycle.

When you ask about Zumo, which model of the many are you asking about?

I had a Zumo 390 and hated it. I have on my Goldwing a Zumo 396 and it’s better than the 390 but I don’t really like it all that much. I have for my NC (and other bikes) a Zumo 220 (a 10 year old model), and I love it. The difference between the love and the hate on these Zumos is mainly due the software, not the hardware.

I also have Zumo 220 for motorcycle. I up dated maps once many years ago, it needs it again.

 

[dduelin]

Since 1996 I've had a long string of Garmin products for cars, sailboats, and motorcycles. My opinion is buy a dedicated piece of kit like a Zumo but I ride a lot in all kinds of weather and use it on the fly with gloves on, so no sandwich bags for me. When I'm out somewhere messing around and find something interesting I create waypoints or bread crumbs with a push of a button that drop into GPS memory and later show on my software for sorting and saving. I haven't seen a phone app that does that with just a single button push at 16 or 76 mph.

I'm currently using a two year old 396 LMS-T and a 10 year old Zumo 550 on different bikes. I note that there is a segment of riders coming into touring in the last 10 years or so that like to use a phone and some navigation or mapping app and seem to get along fine but none of them tour with me.

Each new Garmin model tends to lose some features that I liked on the old one but has a better screen, memory, or some new features so each new one took some getting used to while getting over the loss of a feature I liked. I'm happy with what I have.

 

[670cc]

Do you mind to share what part of the software you don't like? Because 396 model caught my attention?
Thanks.

396, if you touch a point on the map, it recenters the map on that point. On the 220, if you touch a point on the map, it identifies it, like river name, highway, park name, intersection, etc. This helps you identify in detail where you are and what is around you that you might be interested in. On 220 if you want to recenter map, you can just drag it.

220 will show more detail on the map than 396. Sometimes most of the 396 screen is blank space because until you zoom way in, it won’t show you secondary roads.

220 will show you a saved point of interest on the map with an appropriate icon and a name. 396 just shows you a heart icon and doesn’t identify it.

220 lets you shut off autozoom; not sure about 396.

220 screen is smaller than 396 but that does not concern me.

396 will do software and map updates over wifi, but 220 requires hard cable to computer. This is advantage 396.

On the 220 you can view sunrise and sunset anytime. 396 will not show you the next sunrise, for example, until the sunset has passed.

Hardware: 220 has a large removable battery that will run up to 8 hours or so. You can swap the battery with a charged one and keep going, in case you are in a situation with no power source. 396 has a small internal, non removable battery.

396 has icons for saved points like theater, bowling alley, and other urban things but not even an icon for a park or a campground. 396 seems to be an automotive based unit that has a few motorcycle perks added in. On the other hand 220 grew out of the explorer based Nuvi 500 and 550 models (also waterproof), and includes features important to hiking, boating, scootering, motorcycling, etc.

I have collected a Zumo 220, and about 4 Nuvi 500/550 units. I am stocking up on these older units because I don’t like the direction Garmin is going with their newer GPS units for motorcycling use.

I build routes on the fly with the 220, but I find it cumbersome on the 396. On the 220 I find it easy to pull over, pan through the maps, and build a quick route in about a minute or two right on the GPS. That’s the way I roll when exploring new areas.

 

[HarveyM]

I have both a Zumo 660 and a Kyocera Duraforce cell phone I've used on the bike. The Duraforce is fairly good, rugged, & waterproof, but I found the gps app I used (osmand+) has a too small/crowded interface to use on the fly. Used/refurbed models go for about $130 on amazon. A locked one (since you not using it as a phone it's fine) on eBay is cheaper. I like the Zumo 660 more but the screen washes out in sunlight and current versions of Basecamp might not be able to send routes to it- "These devices may appear to take a route without issue; however, when navigating the route, an error message may appear."

Automotive Device Compatibility with Receiving Routes Transferred from BaseCamp | Support Center

Garmin Support Center for Canada is where you will find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with all of your Garmin products.

support.garmin.com

Apparently the addition of shaping points to basecamp in 2014 which are not supported on the 660 broke the routing.
So I keep to Basecamp 4.1.2

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I have two Garmins. Between them they have let me travel reliably from prior to 2007 (Zumo 550) to date. My other one is a 590. Prior to 2007 I was using the 2610 and 2720 units.

A lot depends on the use You have for the unit. If You wish to go from A to B and let the unit decide the fastest or shortest route then any of them will do that. However if You want to do the same trip but include an offroad section in the route that is not in the units mapping, then You need a more specialised unit such as the XT. You also need robustness and the ability to cope with the bike vibes and the weather etc etc. Several garmins are specific to such use and make it clear in the description.

I am still using the 550 for my offroad and local expeditions. Strangely it is better in that regard than the much more modern 590 because of the software (as mentioned above). It will hold many more waypoints than the 590 and is also simpler to use. It is now falling apart from age but judicious patching keeps it going. The 590 is overly complex with too many features, many of which most folks don't use. However the 590 is significantly quicker to respond to the route and recalculations etc etc. The graphics are far better also. When tavelling on mainland Europe it was the one to have and worked faultlessly in all weathers. So in essence I am a Garmin fan, even with their occasional issues on downloading up to date mapping and the fact that I hate Basecamp (still using Mapsource version 6.15.11).

 

[HarveyM]

I also have Zumo 220 for motorcycle. I up dated maps once many years ago, it needs it again.

You can get OSM (Open street maps) for the Zumo for free (just google it). I find they're generally more detailed than what Garmin provides.

 

[Afan]

396, if you touch a point on the map, it recenters the map on that point. On the 220, if you touch a point on the map, it identifies it, like river name, highway, park name, intersection, etc. This helps you identify in detail where you are and what is around you that you might be interested in. On 220 if you want to recenter map, you can just drag it.

220 will show more detail on the map than 396. Sometimes most of the 396 screen is blank space because until you zoom way in, it won’t show you secondary roads.

220 will show you a saved point of interest on the map with an appropriate icon and a name. 396 just shows you a heart icon and doesn’t identify it.

220 lets you shut off autozoom; not sure about 396.

220 screen is smaller than 396 but that does not concern me.

396 will do software and map updates over wifi, but 220 requires hard cable to computer. This is advantage 396.

On the 220 you can view sunrise and sunset anytime. 396 will not show you the next sunrise, for example, until the sunset has passed.

Hardware: 220 has a large removable battery that will run up to 8 hours or so. You can swap the battery with a charged one and keep going, in case you are in a situation with no power source. 396 has a small internal, non removable battery.

396 has icons for saved points like theater, bowling alley, and other urban things but not even an icon for a park or a campground. 396 seems to be an automotive based unit that has a few motorcycle perks added in. On the other hand 220 grew out of the explorer based Nuvi 500 and 550 models (also waterproof), and includes features important to hiking, boating, scootering, motorcycling, etc.

I have collected a Zumo 220, and about 4 Nuvi 500/550 units. I am stocking up on these older units because I don’t like the direction Garmin is going with their newer GPS units for motorcycling use.

I build routes on the fly with the 220, but I find it cumbersome on the 396. On the 220 I find it easy to pull over, pan through the maps, and build a quick route in about a minute or two right on the GPS. That’s the way I roll when exploring new areas.

Thanks for very detailed explanation.

 

[Afan]

Following Dave's though "... Each new Garmin model tends to lose some features that I liked on the old one but has a better screen, memory, or some new features so each new one took some getting used to while getting over the loss of a feature I liked. I'm happy with what I have...", I decided to go with 396 over 220 or other older, discontinued models (670cc, it was so close )

But, just in case, I did some additional research about 396 vs 595 va XT models. 396 is on the top of the lists mostly because of the budget I dedicated for a GPS device. But I found couple used 595s and XTs on eBay too, so... Any comments?

P.S. Let me know if the link to the Google Doc doesn't work, I can paste the data here.

 

[Hank]

My wife gave me a zumo xt for Christmas. It is sturdy, easy to use, and very bright. I wouldn’t have spent the money myself, but I like it very much.

 

[HarveyM]

Bought an XT and installed it this week, so here’s my early impression

Main Advantages:
-Bright, Big sun readable screen.
-Can link to your cell phone for traffic info (suggests alternate routing), & weather map (currently animated weather map only available when stopped).
-Can plan trips on the XT (unlike my zumo 660).
-Can transfer routes from cell phone/route planning apps.

Disadvantages:
-It will drive you nuts because of some tech issues.
(Mine pairs OK with my mac, but it took an evening to figure it out).


I tried checking out your google doc, but it required access.

 

[Afan]

There was a problem with the link accessing the doc file.
... additional research about 396 vs 595 va XT models...
I fixed it in the original post too.