Satellite Navigation is an invention born from great need. Without such utensils we would never have been able to invent missiles that can locate targets from great distances, guide army troops into unknown territories. Without satellites we would never have been able to invent Google Earth.

We all know, as testosterone-fuelled men, women are better map readers than us, we just don’t want to admit it. Yes, they do strange things like turning the map upside down, but really we’re just jealous that we didn’t think of that first. So, to get round our envy and embarrassment, we invented Satellite Navigation, originally a £5’000 option on the £70k Mercedes S-Class but these days a mainstream commodity in any rep-mobile and the fastest moving automotive supplementary product purchased from your local Halfords. Oh, and it’s also the most nicked item from any car parked in a dark alleyway, thanks to the driver’s inability to remember to a) switch it off and b) remove it from the windscreen.

I wouldn’t recommend buying the cheapest unless you are desperate for electronic guidance and have a limited budget, but you don’t have to spend much more than that to get yourself a decent Sat Nav device.

The One XL Europe is exactly the same device as the One Europe – the only difference is the size of the screen. The 4.3 inch screen is a whole 0.8 inches larger than its smaller brother but, as those map-reading ladies are fond of telling you, scale really does matter. The screen is clear and bright and the functions easy to use. Simply touch the screen and you are faced with six large, easy-to-understand on-screen buttons that let you access a plethora of options available to you on your TomTom device.

Tap the “Navigate To...” button and choose from your Home address, a Favourite (previously stored, so maybe a less annoying mistress), a Recent Destination, a Point of Interest (nearest petrol station, restaurant, mountain etc...) or type in an address directly. TomTom is fitted with a complete knowledge of all UK and Ireland post codes and even goes down to street address level anywhere in Western Europe. Finding somewhere in the UK is easy – put in your postcode, it’ll provide you with the appropriate address in its database, and then you select the house number or name that you want and sit back. Not being DVD based and, instead, working off an internal memory card, the TomTom – like all standalone navigation systems – will take longer than a manufacturer fitted device to work out your route. (A recent trial of getting it to navigate from Milton Keynes to an address in Rome proved that it could work out an exact and accurate route from location to destination, but such a journey took it over twenty minutes to calculate. I went and made a cup of tea while I was waiting.)

Map options are straight forward: the 3D option is my favourite – it gives the screen a ‘bird’s eye view’ of where you’re going and TomTom’s clear display shows the street names as you navigate. You can also switch to a 2D overhead view – equally as clear but not as appealing on the eye; however, it does swivel in the direction of travel so it tends to follow the female logic of turning the Ordinance Survey upside down... fortunately, you can switch that off so North is always North whichever way the car is facing. It just depends on your preferences. And your manliness.

The speed camera database is loaded and updated by connecting your TomTom to your computer via the included transfer cable and the software that comes in the box. To get regular updates a subscription is needed and then each time you plug your TomTom in to your computer it will check to see if any new cameras have been found or if any have been removed.

What it doesn’t have is an MP3 player or photo viewer like more expensive versions, but why would you need them? When you’re in a car you have a stereo to listen to your music on and if you want to look at pictures then, at some point, you and the rear of an Eddie Stobart lorry are going to become very intimate with each other. What it does have, however, is a superbly usable interface, clear and concise directions and the ability to navigate you from one point to another while on the way informing you of any potential traffic danger spots or speed camera sites. It even runs on batteries as well as from your car cigarette lighter, so you can swap it from car to car easily. What more could you ask for?