Consumer Reports Says Garmin is Best, Recommends Discontinued Models (GPSmagazine.com)

Now, don't get me wrong. I've got a lot of sympathy for any editor/journalist trying to keep up with the ridiculous pace at which new GPS products are released, but Consumer Reports' October 2007 issue is probably doing consumers more harm than good. The magazine recommended old, discontinued models for all three "CR Best Buy" choices.

Read on to view CR's top 10 GPS models, and how their selection compares with our own top ten list.

They agreed with GPSmagazine's findings that the Garmin nuvi 660 is top banana, rating the wide-screen unit 83/100, the highest rated unit in their round-up. They also agreed with us on the nuvi 350, ranking it in the #2 spot with 80/100.

However, the three recommended "CR Best Buy" models Consumer Reports chose are the TomTom ONE, Magellan RoadMate 2000, and Garmin StreetPilot c330. Magellan's RoadMate 2000 has been discontinued and replaced by the Maestro product line, and TomTom's ONE isn't a unit I'd highly recommend. Most disconcerting, however, is CR's decision to recommend the Garmin StreetPilot c330 -- a discontinued model that uses an older, 12-channel GPS receiver (instead of the superior 20-channel receiver found on most new models), and maps that are several years old. Given the current $250 street price of the c330, you'd be much better off buying either a Magellan Maestro 3100 or, if you can spare a little extra loot, the nuvi 350.

Consumer Reports Top 10 GPS are as follows: