Continuing with the successful launch of their revamped automotive line, the Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S continues to be an integral part of Garmin’s 2017 vehicle GPS lineup. The Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S has all the top of the line features you want in a car GPS and then some. The GPS has features not found in other Garmin lines. It’s a step above the Garmin Drive line.
Anyway, Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S has integration you can’t current;y find in a single smartphone app and that includes my favorite which is Waze. The Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S has Live Services. This includes Live Traffic and Live Parking. Live Parking shows pricing and availability trends for on-street public parking. Download the Smartphone Link app to enable LiveTrack. This service lets drivers share their location with friends. Live Traffic helps to see what the traffic is like and routes you around any jams.
Additionally, the Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S notifies you when driving the wrong way on a one-way street and sends warnings for nearby school zones (haven’t seen that in Waze). A unique feature from Garmin is integration of alerts for nearby red light and speed cameras. A fatigue warning suggests break times and potential rest areas after driving for an extended period.
Incident Notification will automatically send a text message if you get into an accident. The text notification includes the location of where the incident occurred.
New is a WiFi link to update your lifetime map subscription. Gone are the days of needing to plug the GPS into a computer to update the maps once a year.
The Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S features a 5.1″ diagonal display and physically measures 5.57”W x 3.16”H x 0.622”D (14.1 x 8.02 x 1.58 cm). The display isn’t near as good as my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. It sports an 800 x 480 pixel resolution and features a multi-touch screen and WVGA color TFT with a white backlight for night viewing.
This Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S uses the same cradle and mount as last year’s model. The included Garmin DriveLuxe Vehicle Suction Cup Mount has a powered cradle that attaches to the back of the GPS. The cradle attaches to the Garmin suction cup mount. Like all the Garmin car GPS mounts this utilizes a 17mm ball and socket design.
The DriveLuxe model as well as the rest of the Drive series is relatively new so most mount packaging is going to specify that it fits a Garmin Nuvi, but that’s ok because Garmin carried the 17mm design over from the old Nuvi line to the new Drive and DriveLuxe line.
Those looking to replace the suction cup part of the mount should consider the Arkon Windshield Dash Garmin Nuvi Suction Mount. This continue to be a favorite of ours. This is a terrific mount that we have used ourselves for many years. It’s more rugged and slightly longer than the Garmin mount you received in the box. Comes with an adhesive dash mount if you wish to use this on your dashboard which is especially useful for states where windshield mounting is against the law. A 2-year warranty is included from the manufacturer.
The Garmin Vent Mount is one of Garmin’s best mounts for a GPS. It’s made by Garmin specifically for their GPS line so it’s going to fit that cradle socket perfectly. Garmin’s vent mount has a clamp on the back if it. This means these mounts will fit horizontal and vertical vents and again don’t worry about it not saying it’s for a Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S, it will fit fine. It’s a well made mount that you can easily install and remove.
For a reliable car dash mount, look at the Garmin Bean Bag Mount. The mount has a 17mm ball which Snaps onto the back of the cradle. We wrote an in-depth review of this mount which can be read here. This mount has been around for many years. I remember using it for my old Garmin Nuvi 350. This old mount still works today with the much newer GPS Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S. It’s a good mount and can be used for a long time. It will likely outlive your GPS.
On the motorcycle, the best manufacturer from our experience continues to be RAM Mounts. As of the publication date of this article, RAM does not make a custom mount for the Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S. We will update the article if they do.
Fortunately RAM makes a good line of universal cradles which work with GPS devices as well as smartphones and tablets. We discussed RAM’s X-Grip line of universal cradles in a previous article which can be read here. RAM offers the RAM Handlebar Mount with Universal X-Grip IV Holder which includes the mount and cradle. The cradle opens up to 4.5″ and that’s wide enough to the Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S. The mount fits handlebar diameters to 1.25 inches. The included cradle can be used for large smartphones as well as this GPS model. The mount comes with a safety tether which we suggest using.
The Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LMT-S is an impressive GPS. Can you do a lot of this with several smartphone mounts? Probably. But there is an advantage to having everything in one easy to use device without having to open a bunch of non-integrated apps.