Road trips usually mean relying on cumbersome maps or a shotgun buddy who barks bad directions between nacho-induced naps. Now, however, there’s the Navman iCN 630, a digital wingman that changes that whole road trip dynamic.

The iCN 630 is a self-contained, GPS-based in-car navigation system. Compared to hundreds of maps stuffed into a glove box, the iCN 630 is a godsend. Before leaving the house, you simply download the map or maps you expect to need using Navman’s own collection of detailed maps. The unit contains 64MB of flash memory as well as an SD card slot. You can download as much or as little information as you need for your trip.

We first tested the iCN 630 in the gritty streets of New York. From Brooklyn, we typed in a Manhattan address and started driving. A calming female voice led us to the first few turns and we were well on our way to reaching our destination. Then we ran into some traffic. When we took a side street as an alternate route, however, the system began to panic. We crossed the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan and the iCN 630 told us to take another bridge back into Brooklyn and then turn around and go back into Manhattan. Then a software error caused the system to crash. Not an auspicious start.

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