Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM Review

I have reviewed at least a dozen different GPS devices over the past 5 years, but have never reviewed a Magellan GPS. Immediately upon opening the box I could tell that the Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM was not your normal GPS. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the 7 inch touch screen that was at least 25% bigger than any GPS device I have used in the past.

Over the past several weeks I have used this GPS on trips to both Texas and New Mexico. It was very easy to setup (less than 5 minutes) and use straight our of the box. I was able to navigate the menu system with ease. The menu flow to input destination was very streamlined.

One of the features printed on the box, that did catch my attention was this GPS comes with lifetime map updates! Some of the other GPS units I have reviewed the map updates where often as much as a $100.00 per year.

One of the features I like to use while on travel is what I bill the attractions feature. I am always looking for places to stop and explore. The Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM did not let me down. This unit included a built-in AAA TourBook guide, that gives you ratings and descriptions on AAA-approved places to stay, play, dine, and more. This feature really set the unit apart from others I have tested.

I travel a great deal, and spend at least 1 week each month in a rental car, even though I travel the volume of phone calls I need to make do not diminish. Some rental cars have Bluetooth built in, and some don’t. It is always a pain to get them configured and usually delays my departure from the rental car location for 10-15 minutes, but now I do not have to be delayed as the 9055-LM has Hands free Bluetooth built in. It has an excellent microphone and of course the speaker works great.

Because this units screen size was so large, I was a little concerned in using it in a mid-sized car. My recommendation is that if you have a SUV or larger vehicle this GPS will be fine. For a mid sized car the screen was a little bit to big. But looking at other Magellan RoadMate series they have units with smaller screens with the same exact features.

One thing I hate about the GPS built into my Luxury Mazada CX9 is that it’s slow. My in car GPS seems it is always a street behind on it’s navigation. So I ran some head to head test with my cars built in GPS against the Magellan Roadmate. Not surprisingly the Magellan unit simply kicked my own in cars system butt!  Pretty sad but maybe the folks at Mazda should talk to the folks at Magellan.

This unit retails at $299.00 and is worth every penny and then some. I have only touched the surface on all of the available features but I can tell you that Magellan RoadMate GPS devices will be sitting on our car dashes.