TomTom ONE XL

I have spent along time looking at the Sat Nav market (approx. 12 months) and was really waiting for prices to drop and to get a model to my needs. So far I have this with the TomTom One XL. The best thing for new buyers is that it works straight out the box. No need to pug it into your computer, but put in the destination that you desire and off you go.

The battery life is not brilliant (TomTom state is has a battery life of 2 hours) but can you really complain when you have it in the car and all you have to do is pug it into your cigarette lighter? Which can I remind you is pretty much free energy don’t forget. One negative point would have to be there is no AC power adapter (they can be bought separately), so that you can charge it at home – but then saying that why not just charge it in the car. Wires!! Might think it’s a bit mess!

The XL stands for an extra large screen, now I have no problems with my eye sight but it is a great luxury to have a clear view. However my parents eyes are not as good as they use to be, so this model has been really useful with there eye sight (so much so my father went out and also bought one! So did my neighbour!) So well worth a few extra pennies. The screen is a touch screen which makes navigating around the menus and entering information very easy.

The TomTom remembers previous visits, which enables you to quickly start up a journey that you have already done. If you haven’t been some where just type in the post code. Probably one of the down sides to this Sat Nav, is you don’t always know a postcode, that’s ok because the Sat Nav allows you to enter the address, its just not as easy. The TomTom is very fast at route calculations, this are done in a bout 10-20 seconds and is also pretty quick at re-routing around roadblocks and traffic. Lets say you take the wrong exit, TomTom will very quickly recalculate the best route for you to now take. TomTom has voice commands to guide you on your way, with plenty of different accents to choose from. You just have to set your level of music playing in the car to allow you to hear the TomTom.

This Sat Nav is portable and light, which makes it easy to put in a bag when you leave the car. Even with a larger screen it is still able to fit in my glove box.

You can subscribe to TomTom Plus service but I am unable to comment as I have not yet subscribed, however it is something I am thinking of doing.

I have however found a few roads to be wrong, of which the roads have been redesigned within the last 5 years. I am hoping that the free updates will take care of this. (The New TomTom Go 720 has Map share technology which enables you alter your maps – which may prove to be a very good feature to have – however currently comes at a cost).

The XL comes with pre-programmed speed camera’s, this is a feature that is not present on the TomTom One. This can be updated. Come on guy’s it’s a facility that shouldn’t be needed because we all drive at the speed limit. Even if this was to be true, it is nice to have the warning come up on the screen. It counts down how far away the stationary camera is and tells you what speed you should be doing.

Another ‘playful’ feature is the TomTom Buddy finder which allows you to see where your TomTom friends are. A little scary I think that they can be used in such a tracking way (just think you could spy on your boyfriend and see where his car is with the TomTom inside!! Hee hee).

In Summary – The TomTom One XL is now relatively cheap (Around £199 mark, get a deal and you could be getting it even cheap). At this price I think it is really worth the money. It does exactly what you need it to. Now longer will you have a map on your lap as you are lost trying to find your way while still driving – just think of the safety implications? A must buy.