Review on 🗺️ Garmin nüvi 55LMT GPS Navigation System with Voice-Guided Directions, Preloaded Maps, and Speed Limit Indicators (Lower 49 U.S. States) by Anthoni Hayes

I have had Garmin GPS units for at least 9 years and love them! The touch icons on my old Nuvi 1490 weren't working reliably anymore (especially the back icon on the bottom left), so I figured it was time for a new device. The Nuvi 55 is a very good replacement, but I miss my old 1490 a bit. Here's why: 1. First, I can't figure out how it finds the fastest route. I went with the fastest route option in settings, but on a recent 1,000-mile ride it insisted on choosing interstate routes. I tried alternative routes and the Nuvi 55 said there weren't any. I've driven to this destination before and there are no freeways for most of the trip; My US Highway route saved 2 hours compared to what the Nuvi 55 calculated as the fastest route. I'm not sure I can trust this model and I may need to enter waypoints along a route that I know is the quickest, so it directs me there. 2. Second, I miss the green/yellow/red icons informing me about the traffic situation on my route. This gives me a split screen on the right that tells me if there's a lag and I like that it tells me how far the lag is. But I would like to have my icons back in addition to the split screen.3. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but the writing on the screen seems small and hard to read. I bought the 5 inch model and now I regret not getting the 6 inch version. I changed the background color to a different one (Netherlands) and that worked, but the banner at the top telling you which street you're going to take next is still hard to read. I also don't like that the road is marked with an interstate sign (a sign with a tiny interstate number) instead of "I-25" or "US 87," which was much easier to read on 1490.4. I realize the screen is a bit cluttered, but I wish it would show me compass readings so I know which direction I'm going. I accept being challenged. I can get the compass direction when I'm not driving to the specified destination, but I want it to be on the screen all the time. Nevertheless, it is a good device and deserves 4 stars. I hope to see some software updates in the future that will fix some of the bugs I've found.