If you assume the 8x5 models are automatically better than the 7x5 models, you may be surprised depending on what features are important to you.
The most impressive feature of the 855 is the voice command. Many voice commands, such as "volume up", can be done from any screen. Doing "volume up" on the touch screen would have involved 5 presses: "menu", "volume", "+", "back", & "view map". You do have to keep an eye on the screen and speak only after you see the green symbol on the upper right corner. You can even speak the name of the place stored in Favorites, such as "San Francisco City Hall". Other systems would have required you to speak the line number.
The most disappointing feature of this 855 is the overall sluggishness of the system caused by the voice command system. The screen refreshes very slowly compared to Nuvi 765's ultra smooth refresh. The 855's CPU is just not fast enough to do voice command and high refresh rate at the same time. Garmin even eliminated the cool 3D building feature from 765, apparently in an effort to minimize CPU usage. Garmin could have kept the refresh rate high while voice command is not being used. But doing so would illuminate the refresh problem even more vividly as soon as the user presses the remote button to speak.
To use voice command effectively, you need to turn your car's audio system volume down before you speak; then back up afterwards. The better solution is to use the 855's built-in FM transmitter and put your music on a micro SD card. A 2 GB card is about $7. Nuvi will automatically lower the music volume during voice commands or announcements. But that means you cannot listen to regular radio broadcasts. The FM transmitter worked very well in my Toyota Highlander which has a front antenna. But the FM transmitter was completely not usable in my Toyota Prius which has a roof mounted antenna. Many new cars have small roof mounted antennas and probably will not work well with 855's FM transmitter. However, if the new car has an MP3 jack, then you can run a cable from 855's audio out jack to the car's MP3 jack.
[ Update: ] After using the FM transmitter for a few weeks in my Highlander, it did worse than I originally thought. Bear in mind that my Nuvi 855 has direct line of sight of my Highlander's hood mounted antenna. Power lines not even close by disrupted the transmission easily and often. I finally dug up my old Iriver FM transmitter and hooked it up to the Nuvi's audio out jack. The Iriver was way better and louder too. Several magazine reviews pointed out that the Nuvi's FM transmitter was underpowered - now I have to agree. Garmin's Webupdater log showed an update to the FM transmitter's firmware to "comply with European standard". I imagine that meant a reduction of FM transmission power. Tomtom forum also has many posts that recent firmware updates reduced the FM transmission power. Perhaps the FCC and/or the authority in Europe are now more vigilant in checking FM transmitter's power so cars next to you won't get interference. The bottom line is that you will likely be disappointed if you need to use Nuvi's FM transmitter.
I updated the system software via Webupdater. For some reasons, it unselected the City Navigator map. The next day I used it, it lost voice command and the map had only major highways. A call to technical support solved the problem. Only about 7 minutes of wait time and the rep knew right away what was wrong. But phone support is only available Monday through Friday.
Bluetooth connectivity is not provided in 855, a little surprising considering the price of this model. Routing is excellent and no stupid routes like my previous Mio C520. But that is expected of Garmin. I heard Tomtom is almost as good now.
I wish Garmin would implement split screen like so many other manufacturers. To me, the map view of the road ahead is more important than the sides. The left and right edges of the map screen are just wasted real estate. A split screen showing the next 2 or 3 turns would have been nice.
The lane assist works great but not too many interchanges have that feature incorporated. The photo realistic screen is nice but not that useful. The multiple arrows representing the different lanes already gave me full information.
The Nuvi 855 is not a bad unit. But it doesn't live up to my expectations. If you value lane assist and voice command (and your car can work with its FM transmitter or audio out), and you don't mind the sluggish screen refresh rate, then this is a good unit. However, many people may be happier with the "lesser" models with no voice command.Get more detail about Garmin nüvi 855 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition.
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