Daka,
I am pretty certain that you would come to enjoy the "wider screen"
models as it allows for better viewing in more locations in your car.

There are several models of Garmin without gizmos; ours may have
some ancillary stuff, but we don't use it. I'm sure there are other
brands that offer wide screen, minus extraneous stuff, too.

I suspect all the brands use the same "mapping services", so brand
should not matter. GPS car gizmos remain a "is that all there is"
device, imo. We have one, my wife uses it, I am not convinced they
really "do anything" for me, lol!

Shop around; my guess is the prices are very competitive...xmas is over
and these things, like most stuff, is not flying off the shelves.
GL,mD