What is the best GPS system for cars? When you’re shopping for a GPS system, you’re probably weighing various factors. Portability, bonus features like music: these may be on your list of priorities. But what about a GPS that is best for being primarily used in your vehicle?

The Garmin Nuvi 265T is a favorite GPS system for cars for one main reason; free traffic service. Unlike other rival GPS systems which charge around $60 a year to get traffic updates, the Garmin 265T includes free traffic service for life. This means that as you’re cruising along the highway, your GPS will be able to alert you that an accident ahead has caused a major backup. Traffic alerts like this could save you hours over the life of the GPS.

There is one small caveat with the free traffic service, and that (as it often is), is advertising. The Garmin Nuvi 265T can afford to offer you free traffic service because advertisers are paying them money to be allowed to show you their products and services on your GPS screen. No matter, many users say. You won’t even notice the ads which take up just a small corner of your screen.

Besides the free traffic, the Garmin Nuvi 265T is competitive in its usage and features. It’s incredibly compact, having just a 3.5” screen. It gives a fairly accurate prediction of travel time from departure point to destination point. The Garmin Nuvi 265T also includes Bluetooth capabilities, a photo viewer, and enough points of interest that you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding what you’re looking for.

The price range for the Garmin Nuvi 265T is around $300 but if you look around and do some comparison shopping, you should be able to find it cheaper than that.