I have a Garmin unit mounted on my car windshield that comes on with the ignition, and the user experience is just so much better. The route lines don't blend in with the background and it has large labels that are actually readable. The low angle of the 3D map actually lines up with the view through the windshield, which compresses a decent amount of roads into a small space. Even the spoken directions are better (I've used British English Daniel for years, and I rarely notice when someone speaks in a British accent).
I don't often set a route, so it mostly functions as an always-present map, which it does exceptionally well. I especially like the banner at the bottom that shows the road I'm currently driving on and the banner across the top that shows the next cross street.
It really depends on what features you want. I've found the voice commands to be quite handy. It has a hard time understanding some addresses, but for stuff like "go home", "turn down the brightness", "navigate to the nearest Tim Hortons", it's great. I wish mine had a built-in dashcam like the newer ones, but they're not cheap. Mine has Bluetooth as well, so it can get more frequent traffic updates from my phone (instead of through the FM receiver), as well as take speakerphone calls.
It's pretty much a single function device, which is perfect. I never have to mess with it, it's always there, and it leaves my phone free for audiobooks or for me to use if I'm in the passenger seat.
It seems like another victim of Google's optimizing their products for one common use case and neglecting others. See also: search.
ive found bing's maps to very good and user friendly, ive been switching over.