It's darn close but not perfect on my 5.

Although when I typed in a POI it actually found what I was looking for, so I say that makes up for being short maybe 1-2FPS (I used to say Apple Maps was reasonably decent until searching for "logan" in Boston and having to try about 15 different search terms before getting the Airport when I was two miles away; Google Maps got it right with "logan boston" while I'm sitting in Palo Alto)

boston logan airport was the second suggestion when finished typing boston logan. logan boston also gave an instant result although i suspect it the earlier search contributed to it.

It's very smooth on my iPhone 5, but it does have moments where you can notice a bit of frame drop (only if you've read this comment thread beforehand).

From a UI/UX perspective:

+ Fonts and text entry are great + Search speed and interface speed are fantastic

- The pull-out menu on the right (akin to a hamburger menu) feels a bit odd and it's not immediately clear as to what it does (they are layer toggles for traffic/transit routes/satellite) - I can't figure out how to bookmark my home or work addresses (whilst being logged in) - if there is a way it is not intuitive.

You're right - it's not intuitive. To set your work and home while logged in, click the person on the upper right and then the gear then edit home or work?

Bookmarks (while logged in) require you to find a location, and then slide-up to reveal the "save star". You use the slide-up option to "Share" and "Switch to street view" as well. If it's a business, the "Call" / Website / Zaggat(?) rating is available from slide up.

Tap the person icon to the right of the search bar, from there you can enter home and work.

I don't have a 4 or 4s to compare with, but I haven't noticed any significant lag on iPhone 5 over Verizon LTE. Even satellite and street view are pretty responsive.

Yes, I notice zero lag on my 5. I'm connected to fios/wifi, though I can't imagine that being the driver of lag.