Finally, here it is! After weeks of persistence we finally received one of the latest Garmin creations.  It’s with this Nüvi 255T that the manufacturer fills out some of its entry level.  The 255T has a 3.5 inch screen, European maps and Premium version TMC traffic info.

Faithful to its philosophy, Garmin still offers a simple and clear interface.  Neophytes and those allergic to new technology can rest assured because use is ultra simple.  In fact, anyone will be capable of using the 255T without having to go through the users manual.  In this same spirit, there is the presence of a "Where am I?" button which is very practical for quickly finding your location and important nearby POIs (hospitals, police stations, gas stations, etc.).


Looking for an address is practical and fast.  The small defects of the previous software version (see the Nüvi 250W’s test) were resolved.  Quotation marks are no longer indispensable but the search engine still gives us several identical addresses if we do not specify the exact street number.  Searching for POIs is very easy and enabled quickly finding our points of interest.  On the other hand, we found a rather strange choice on Nüvi’s part concerning display in this area; when looking for POIs in any given city, the distance is given from the city center and not from your current position.  The contrary would have seemed more logical to us.

Another small defect found in the interface involved the search for addresses.  Going back to a previous screen after doing a search erases the text you entered in and you will therefore have to type it again.

Otherwise, while things generally go well with a single destination, it’s an entirely different story for waypoints.  It's not possible to display a clear summary of the order of waypoints and we don’t know in what order the GPS takes us to the various destinations.  It’s best to avoid its use in order to take unwanted detours or at least limit the 255T to a single waypoint.

During driving, visual and voice directions are clear and precise.  Moreover, Garmin made a new effort compared to the previous program by adding supplementary visual indications.  We now find the permanent display of the street name you are on, the distance and direction of the next change in direction, arrival time and your current speed.  It’s even possible to zoom in on the next change in direction.
Our only reservation here is a robot-like voice that, although it is not entirely unpleasant, is not as natural as the current best GPS in this area.

Otherwise, radars were correctly indicated in our tests (although for French speakers there was no translation!) as ''Mobile Safety Camera'' for mobile radars and as ''Fixed Camera'' for stationary ones.  Another disappointment was a lack of information on the speed limits of some roads.

Using the TMC traffic info requires plugging into the cigarette lighter as the receiver and antenna are integrated to the power cord.  You can add the included antenna extension in more difficult conditions.  Automatic searching then works amazingly well and a good number of traffic incidents are taken into account.

In the end, the Nüvi 255T is an excellent small entry level GPS that is easy to use and is accessible to almost everyone.  Moreover, it’s a serious challenger to the TomTom One.  For those looking for a bigger screen, they might opt for the 255WT which is identical though there is a 4.3 inch (10.9 cm) display in 16/9.