Magellan RoadMate 2000 Review (GPSmagazine.com)

17. Routing Engine

I was surprised to find that the RoadMate 2000 frequently routed me differently than other GPS units that use NAVTEQ, and even previous RoadMates. The MRM 2000 ships with new NAVTEQ mapping data and POI database, but it uses a different routing engine than previous RoadMate GPS units.

To test out the routing engine on the MRM 2000, I compared the results form the RoadMate 2000 to the results against the more expensive Garmin StreetPilot c550, Yahoo Maps, and MapQuest. I selected the same starting point in Connecticut, and chose 135 Central Park West in Manhattan as the destination address. Take a look at the results

Starting Address Henry Sanford Road Bridgewater, CT	Destination Address 135 Central Park West New York, NY

MRM 2000	Garmin c550
Right: 0.8 Lillinonah Lake Rd Right: 0.6 Lovers Leap Rd Left: 1.0 Hine Hill Road Left: 0.7 Grove St Right: 0.4 Pumpkin Hill Rd Bear Right: 0.3 Still River Dr left: 0.3 Pickett District Rd Left: 0.6 US-202/Danbury Rd Left: 4.6 S US-7 Straight: 4.2 S US-7 Bear Right: 4.1 W I-84 Bear Right: 6.6 Exit 20/I-684/White Plains Keep Left: 0.1 I-684/White Plains Keep Left: 27 S I-684 Keep Left: 9.1 W Cross County Pky Straight: 2.4 W Cross County Pky Straight 0.3 W Cross County Pky Left: 2.1 Exit 2/New York City/Saw Mill Pky Keep kelft: 0.2 Saw Mill River Pkwy Keep Right: 2.0 S RT-9a/Henry Hudson Pky Exit: 10 Exit Boat Basin/79 St Roundabout: 0.1 W 79th St Right: 0.2 Riverside Dr Left: 0.4 W 72nd St Left: 0.6 Central Park W Arrive: 0.1 135 Central Park West	Right on Curtis Road (0.5 mi) Right on Christian Street (0.7 mi) Left on Sarah Sanford Road W (1.4 mi) Right on Main St S (1.7 mi) Left on Hwy 25 (7.4 mi) Keep right on Hwy 133 (7.5 mi) Right on Hwy 133 (8.2 mi) Left on Federal Rd (8.7 mi) Left on White Turkey Rd (10 mi) Right to US-7 S to Danbury (10 mi) Keep right on US 7 S (11 mi) Keep right onto I-84 W to NY State (16 mi) Exit 20 right to I-684 to New York City/White Plains (22 mi) Keep left onto I-684 to New York City/White Plains (22 mi) Exit 1 left to Hutchinson Pkwy to Whitestone Br (50 mi) Exit 15 left to Cross County Pkwy to George Washington Br (59 mi) Keep left on Cross County Pkwy (62 mi) Exit 2 left to Saw Mill Pkwy South to New York City (64 mi) Keep left onto Saw Mill River Pkwy South (64 mi) Keep right onto Henry Hudson Pky South (66 mi) Right to 79 St Boat Basin (76 mi) Take roundabout to 3rd exit (76 mi) 3rd exit to 79th St (76 mi) Right on Broadway (77 mi) Left on 74th St (77 mi) Right on Central Park W (77 mi) Arrive at 135 Central Park W on right (77 mi)
Total Drive Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes	Total Drive Time: 1 hour and 27 minutes

The Magellan RoadMate 2000 took a route that is 13 minutes longer than the Garmin StreetPilot c550 chose. Now, before everyone sends me emails reminding me that it's not fair to compare the MRM 2000 (which costs $299) to the Garmin StreetPilot c550 (which costs around $570), let me remind you that both the Garmin and the Magellan use NAVTEQ mapping data. So the purpose of comparing the two is to see how the two units have implemented the same NAVTEQ mapping data differently, how many mapping attributes each is using, and how the routing algorithms differ.

The fact that both units use NAVTEQ maps doesn't mean both units have the same data to work with. That is, NAVTEQ makes much more data than just basic maps available for purchase. At an additional cost, NAVTEQ can provide information about what side of the street an address will be on, what the average speed traveled on a given road is, whether travel on a given road is restricted after a certain time of day (such as a gated community, for example), and many many more attributes. Moreover, the NAVTEQ data may be compiled differently by Magellan and Garmin's engineers, also resulting in different routing between the two.

Clearly the Garmin c550 chose a more efficient route, and is very likely the result of having more mapping attributes available and a more complex routing algorithm.

Next let's see how the Magellan compares to Yahoo Maps:

Starting Address Henry Sanford Road Bridgewater, CT	Destination Address 135 Central Park West New York, NY
MRM 2000	Yahoo! Maps
Right: 0.8 Lillinonah Lake Rd Right: 0.6 Lovers Leap Rd Left: 1.0 Hine Hill Road Left: 0.7 Grove St Right: 0.4 Pumpkin Hill Rd Bear Right: 0.3 Still River Dr left: 0.3 Pickett District Rd Left: 0.6 US-202/Danbury Rd Left: 4.6 S US-7 Straight: 4.2 S US-7 Bear Right: 4.1 W I-84 Bear Right: 6.6 Exit 20/I-684/White Plains Keep Left: 0.1 I-684/White Plains Keep Left: 27 S I-684 Keep Left: 9.1 W Cross County Pky Straight: 2.4 W Cross County Pky Straight 0.3 W Cross County Pky Left: 2.1 Exit 2/New York City/Saw Mill Pky Keep kelft: 0.2 Saw Mill River Pkwy Keep Right: 2.0 S RT-9a/Henry Hudson Pky Exit: 10 Exit Boat Basin/79 St Roundabout: 0.1 W 79th St Right: 0.2 Riverside Dr Left: 0.4 W 72nd St Left: 0.6 Central Park W Arrive: 0.1 135 Central Park West	Turn Right on CURTIS RD - go 0.2 mi Bear Right on CHRISTIAN ST - go 0.8 mi Turn Left on SARAH SANFORD RD W - go 0.2 mi Turn Right on MAIN ST S[CT-133] - go 3.4 mi Continue to follow CT-133 - go 3.7 mi Turn Left on FEDERAL RD - go 1.6 mi Turn Left on WHITE TURKEY RD - go 0.1 mi Take ramp onto US-7 SOUTH toward DANBURY - go 1.3 mi Continue on I-84 WEST - go 10.3 mi Take exit #20 onto I-684 SOUTH toward NEW YORK CITY/WHITE PLAINS - go 29.2 mi Merge onto HUTCHINSON RIVER PKY S - go 7.7 mi Take Left fork onto CROSS COUNTY PKY WEST toward GEORGE WASHINGTON BR - go 4.7 mi Take Left exit #2/SAW MILL PKWY SOUTH onto RT-9A SOUTH - go 12.4 mi Take the 79 ST exit onto a local road toward BOAT BASIN - go 0.2 mi Turn Right on W 79TH ST - go 0.2 mi Turn Right on BROADWAY - go 0.3 mi Turn Left on W 74TH ST - go 0.4 mi Turn Right on CENTRAL PARK W - go 0.0 mi Arrive at 135 CENTRAL PARK W, NEW YORK
Total Drive Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes	Total Drive Time: 1 hours 36 minutes

What's interesting here is that both the Garmin c550 and Yahoo Maps chose the same route, yet the Garmin was more aggressive with it's estimated arrival time, saying the trip would only take 1 hour and 27 minutes instead of Yahoo's estimate of 1 hour and 36 minutes. I know this route quite well, and the Garmin c550's estimated drive time is more accurate -- provided there is no traffic along the way.

Starting Address

Henry Sanford Road
Bridgewater, CT

Destination Address

135 Central Park West
New York, NY

MRM 2000

MapQuest