Figure 1: Settings Menu

Garmin's ecoRoute feature is automatically added to your nüvi 205 or 705-series unit when you update the software via Garmin's WebUpdater utility.

If you don't see the ecoRoute icon on your settings menu (tap the wrench on the main menu), then you need to update your unit's internal software by running Garmin's free WebUpdater utility. Any firmware released after February 1st 2009 will include ecoRoute.

Once you've got the nüvi's software up-to-date (something you should be doing every few months anyway), tap the ecoRoute icon from the Settings menu.

Figure 2: Create A New Car Profile

The first time you launch ecoRoute, the new profile wizard appears. A profile is needed to set various information about your vehicle's fuel efficiency, and the cost of fuel in your area. Tap OK to begin entering the needed information.

Figure 3: Fuel Type

Select the appropriate fuel type for your vehicle and tap Next.

Figure 4: Enter Fuel Cost

In order to properly calculate Mileage Reports and fuel costs per trip, ecoRoute needs to know the cost of fuel per gallon. Enter the average price per gallon of whatever grade fuel you normall buy and tap Next.

MSN has a useful (and free) website that lets you see local gas prices in your area. There are other websites that also report on local fuel prices, though I find the MSN Direct site easiest to use.

You can also adjust the price each time you fill up the tank.

Figure 5: Enter City Fuel Economy

Next you'll need to input the city driving fuel efficiency for your vehicle. Enter how many miles per gallon your vehicle gets when driving in the city.

If you don't know your vehicles city/highway MPG ratings, you can lookup city, highway, and overall average fuel efficiency ratings HERE, at the fueleconomy.gov's website. This website lists fuel ratings for virtually every make and model vehicle.

Figure 6: Enter Highway Fuel Economy

Next, enter the highway miles-per-gallon rating for your vehicle, then tap Done.

Figure 7: Vehicle Profile

Once all the required information has been entered, the Vehicle Profile screen appears, shown above. If you need to change or correct any of the information, tap the box that needs updating. Once everything looks correct, tap Back to get to the ecoRoute Main Menu, shown below.

Figure 8: ecoRoute, Main Menu

The ecoRoute menu provides the following features:

• Fuel Report - Provided you have entered your vehicle's fuel costs, the nüvi can calculate your fuel consumption, total fuel cost, and average fuel economy
• Fuel Price - Let's you set/update the price per gallon of fuel
• Driving Challenge - teaches fuel efficient driving skills by letting you play the "Driving Challenge" game. Lets you score points by accelerating/decelerating smoothly and maintaining a constant speed
• Vehicle Profile - Lets you change vehicle settings, such as fuel type and MPG settings
• Mileage Report - Displays mileage and fuel usage on a per-trip basis. Reports can also be downloaded off the GPS in Microsoft Excel format
• Tips - Displays tips for fuel efficient driving

Figure 9: Fuel Report

The Fuel Report, shown above, displays the following fuel-related statistics about your current trip:

• Distance
• Cost of Fuel used
• Carbon Footprint
• Time Traveled
• Average Fuel Economy
• Fuel Used

Figure 10: Calibrate Fuel Economy

You can calibrate the fuel economy to get more accurate fuel reports for your specific vehicle and driving habits. To calibrate ecoRoute, perform the following:

1. Fill up your gas tank
2. Calculate your miles per gallon per 100 kilometers
3. Touch Calibrate
4. Touch the plus (+) and minus (-) icons to enter the result from step 1
5. Touch OK

Calibrating fuel economy isn't required (can you just use your vehicle's published MPG rating), but it allows you to get even more accurate fuel statistics.

Figure 11: Route Preference

With ecoRoute, you now have a "Less Fuel" option as a routing preference. When selected, the nüvi will determine if more fuel efficient routes exist based on road speed data and vehicle acceleration data for a given route.

To change the route preference to "Less Fuel", tap Main Menu > Tools > Settings > Navigation > Route Preference > Less Fuel.

Figure 12: Mileage Report

Mileage Reports makes it easy for business travelers to keep track of distance traveled for company reimbursements. A detailed report is available for each trip driven.

Figure 13: Mileage Reports On The Computer

Mileage Reports can be viewed directly on the nüvi, or copied to a computer and viewed on your PC/MAC.

Figure 14: Accessing the Reports Folder

To view Mileage Reports on a computer, connect the nüvi to the PC/MAC using a standard USB cable, then open the Reports folder.

Figure 15: Mileage Log File

Mileage Reports are stored in a file called mileage.csv. CSV, or Comma Separated Values files can be viewed using various programs, including Microsoft Excel, Apple iWork, or even Notepad.

Figure 16: Viewing the Mileage Log on A Computer

Figure 17: Driving Challenge Game

The "Driving Challenge" game teaches drivers more fuel efficient driving techniques.

Figure 18: Tips

Garmin provides some tips for improving fuel efficiency when driving.

Conclusion

Garmin's ecoRoute is a useful feature that helps drivers save money, and provides business travelers with good mileage logging capabilities. Drivers who must frequently file expense reports for work-related driving will greatly appreciate the Mileage Reports feature, which makes it easy to keep accurate records of distances driven and gas used. Mileage reports can also be archived onto a computer and saved for record keeping or tax purposes.

ecoRoute is easy to configure, easy to use, and automatically runs in the background whenever routing to a destination. That means you never have to manually start or stop logging, or forget to capture a trip.

Garmin might want to consider allowing more than one vehicle profile, and MSN-Direct enabled nüvis should be able to automatically download gas prices into ecoRoute. Overall, ecoRoute is a significant, free enhancement to the nüvi that's definitely worth checking out.