Not that long ago TomTom devices had a captive market as far as GPS navigation was concerned, despite them being a little more expensive than its competitors. Only they could offer the balance of accuracy and ease of use required by the average road user. Now the company is facing quality competition from Garmin and Magellan, among others, while the likes of Nextar and Pharos produce devices that offer decent value. Clearly Tomtom has seen that it is time to add more value, and the TomTom One XL is a fair start.
The XL's main selling point is the wide screen, a 4.3in colour one, which is touch-sensitive so there's no fiddling with buttons to access menus and options. This automotive GPS device is now much thinner than previous models – barely the depth of a cigarette packet.
The extra screen width made a real difference on the routes we used to test the One XL. The roads at the periphery of the main route were clearer, giving a better context for the spoken directions, which were as clear as ever. The onscreen keyboard is still fiddly for adult fingers so it's worth keeping a pen with a lid in the glove box, for easier use.
TomTom has introduced a new menu screen for navigation that improves vastly on earlier versions. Instead of just choosing an address or point of interest, drivers are now given the choice of entering a house and street number or just general directions to a city centre, as well as choosing to drive to the crossing point between two roads.
The wider screen means you can also see more of long road names when entering addresses, although particularly long names can still leave you wondering whether you have found the street, road, avenue or lane, as this bit drops off the side of the screen.
The windscreen attachment doesn't look or feel as sturdy as its predecessors, but it took the bumpy roads in its stride, and directions were accurate, despite the tendency of all GPS units to take drivers via main roads wherever possible. The TomTom One XL offers all of the customary GPS features such as the ability to store favourites, locate points of interest and plot routes via other addresses. An in-car charger is provided.
If you have a phone with Bluetooth, you can even do this while out and about. Software is included to copy updates to the device, and this gives you the chance to back up recent and favourite routes or addresses.
In all, though, the key element is price. The TomTom One XL is a very competent navigation aid, and although it's still expensive compared with some, for what it does and how it does it it's good value, particularly as it's cheaper online.
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