Garmin's new 2008 (v9) Maps vs. v8 Maps: is it worth upgrading? (GPSmagazine.com)

Garmin v8 maps vs. v9 maps

Garmin has finally released updated maps -- a good thing since the previous maps were getting a little moldy (they were several years older than Magellan's or TomTom's maps). With a new map database, however, comes the risk of changing Garmin's legendary rock-solid routing engine logic.

How do the new maps stack up against the old ones and is it worth the $70 upgrade cost?

To test Garmin's new "City Navigator 2008" maps, I entered three different starting points in different geographic regions in the Untied States, and picked three trips of varying distance. I then tested the results using a Garmin nuvi with v9 (City Navigator 2008) maps, and an older Garmin nuvi with v8 maps installed. Take a look at the results:

ROUTING TEST #1
Start: 16 Oak Tree Road, Southbury CT. Destination: 135 Central Park West, NY, NY
Garmin v9 Maps	Garmin v8 Maps
◄200ft Left on Bullet Hill Rd ◄0.3mi Left on Bullet Hill Rd ►300ft Right to I-84 W ▲14mi Keep left on I-84 W ▲4.1mi Keep right onto I-84 W to NY State ►6.5mi Exit 20 Right to I-684 to New York City/White Plains ◄0.1mi Keep left onto I-684 to New York City/White Plains ◄11mi Keep left on I-684 S ▲17mi Exit 1 left to Hutchinson Pkwy to Whitestone Br ▲9.1mi Exit 15 left to Cross County Pkwy to George Washington Br ▲2.7mi Keep left on Cross County Pky W ▲2.0mi Exit 2 left to Saw Mill Pkwy South to New York City ▲0.2mi Keep left onto Saw Mill River Pkwy South ▲2.0mi Keep right onto Henry Hudson Pky South ►10mi Right to 79 St to Boat Basin ▲500ft Take roundabout to 3rd exit ►400ft 3rd exit to 79th St ►0.2mi Right on Broadway ◄0.3mi Left on 74th St ►0.4mi Right on Central Park W ▲120ft Arrive at 135 Central Park W on right	◄200ft Left on Bullet Hill Rd ◄0.3mi Left on Bullet Hill Rd ►300ft Right to I-84 W ▲14mi Keep left on I-84 W ▲4.1mi Keep right onto I-84 W to NY State ►6.5mi Exit 20 Right to I-684 to New York City/White Plains ◄0.1mi Keep left onto I-684 to New York ▲28mi Exit 1 left to Hutchinson Pkwy ▲9.1mi Exit 15 left to Cross County Pkwy to George Washington Br ▲2.7mi Keep left on Cross County Pky W ▲2.0mi Exit 2 left to Saw Mill Pkwy South to New York City ▲0.2mi Keep left onto Saw Mill River Pkwy South ▲2.0mi Keep right onto Henry Hudson Pky South ►10mi Right to 79 St to Boat Basin ▲500ft Take roundabout to 3rd exit ►400ft 3rd exit to 79th St ►0.2mi Right on Broadway ◄0.3mi Left on 74th St ►0.4mi Right on Central Park W ▲120ft Arrive at 135 Central Park W on right
Total: 80 miles / 1hr 19 minutes	80 miles / 1 hour 19 minutes

Both the v8 and v9 powered Garmin nuvis produce identical routes, although the newer v9 maps are slightly more verbose in their instructions, providing more detail at complex interchanges.

ROUTING TEST #2
Start: Fry's Electronics, 550 E. Brokaw Rd, San Jose CA Destination: 300 Grove St., San Francisco, CA
Garmin v9 Maps	Garmin v8 Maps
►0.3mi Right onto I-880 S to Santa Cruz ▲0.8mi Exit 4C right to US-101 N/San Francisco ▲0.2mi Keep right onto Old Bayshore Hwy to San Francisco ◄0.3mi Left to US-101 N to San Francisco ▲25mi Keep left on US-101 N ▲8.6mi Keep left onto US-101 N to San Francisco ▲7.3mi Keep left onto US-101 to Bay Bridge/Civic Center/Silver Ave ▲3.0mi Exit 433B left to 9th St-Civic Ctr/Fell Street/Mission St ▲0.3mi Exit 433C left to Golden Gate Bridge/Mission St ►0.5mi Exit 4343A right to US-101 N/Duboce Ave/Mission St to G G Br ◄0.2mi Right onto US-101 N/Mission St to G G Br ►0.6mi Left on Grove St ►500ft Arrive at 300 Grove St on right	►0.3mi I-880 S to Santa Cruz ▲0.8mi Exit 4C right to US-101 N/San Francisco ▲0.2mi Keep right onto Old Bayshore Hwy to San Francisco ◄0.3mi US-101 N to San Francisco ▲25mi Keep left on US-101 N ▲8.6mi Keep left onto US-101 N to San Francisco ▲7.3mi Keep left onto US-101 to Bay Bridge/Civic Center/Silver Ave ▲3.0mi Keep left onto US 101 N to 9th St-Civic Ctr/Fell Street/Mission St ▲0.3mi Keep left onto US 101 N to Golden Gate Bridge/Mission St ►0.7mi Mission St ◄0.6mi Grove St ►500ft Arrive at 300 Grove St on right
47 miles / 44 minutes	47 miles / 43 minutes

Both the v8 and v9 powered Garmins get us to the destination in about the same amount of time, and have us arriving with the destination on the right. The newer v9 (City Navigator 2008) maps differ slightly in the street/exit names, reflecting recent construction changes in the San Francisco area. So they both pick the same route, but v9 shows the new exit names.

ROUTING TEST #3
Start: 998 Beacon St, Boston MA Destination: 5 Cambridge Center, Cambridge MA
Garmin v9 Maps	Garmin v8 Maps
►20ft Right on St. Marys St ◄0.2mi Left on Mmountfort St ▲0.1mi Right onto Hwy 2 W to Arlington/Cambridge ◄0.1mi Left on Commonwealth Ave ►300ft Right on Boston University Brg ►0.2mi Right to RT-3 S ◄0.2mi Left on Vasser St ►1.1mi Right on Main St ►0.2mi Right to RT-3 S ◄0.2mi Left on Vasser St ►1.1mi Right on Main St ◄0.1mi Arrive at 5 Cambridge Ctr on Left	►400ft St. Paul St ►0.5mi Commonwealth Ave ►0.3mi Keep right onto Hwy 2 to Cambridge ►0.1mi Mountfort St ◄0.4mi Take roundabout to 1st exit ►200ft Brookline St to Cambridgeport/Central Square ►Massachusetts Ave ◄300ft keep left on Main St ◄0.7mi Arrive at 6 Cambridge Ctr on left
3.0 miles / 5 minutes	3.0 miles / 5 minutes

Anyone who'se spent any time driving around Boston knows how much it sucks, as evidenced by the cockamamie route you have to drive to go just 5 miles. Nevertheless, both v8 and v9 Garmin maps get us to our destination in 5 minutes, and the v9 maps reflect some of the "Big Dig" changes in Boston's street names.

Conclusion

Overall Garmin's new maps appear to be a significant improvement over the previous maps. The new maps retain Garmin's excellent routing engine and update its aging map database. It was high time Garmin released updated maps -- running with maps that are 2 years old (or older) can be problematic in many areas, and was Garmin's achilles heel (after all, what could be more critical on a GPS than the maps?).

Having recently taken a long road trip with both an older nuvi and one with the new maps installed, I also noticed the newer maps' preference for surface road over highways during peak traffic hours - a welcome addition to the Garmin routing logic.

No question about it: if you own a Garmin GPS with v8 maps on it, you NEED to upgrade to v9 ASAP. Unfortunately, Garmin has been less than generous in its upgrade policy. Looks like no one will be receiving free map updates, even if you just purchased your GPS (surprising given's Garmin's normally outstanding customer service). The v9 map upgrade is available via Garmin's website for $70.

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July 25, 2007

Garmin's new 2008 (v9) Maps vs. v8 Maps: is it worth upgrading?

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