Where do you want to go today?

Introduction

The satnav. It's everywhere. Using GPS technology to find your way around the country is de rigueur now. Everyone's doing it. And sometimes with disastrous/unexpected consequences that take a lorry through a quiet little cul-de-sac, or direct you to the edge of the cliff. There are plenty stories in the news about people who just put all their faith in these devices and sacrifice their common sense and sense of direction to the great satellite in the sky.

TomTom are one of the major players in the market. Lots of people have their products. They're well spoken of, and very popular.

The XL IQ Routes is one of their latest models. As well as having a large (4.3 inches) and easy to read screen (the "XL" part), it comes with IQ Routes (tm). This is an exclusive route calculation method based on historical actual average speeds measured on roads, rather than just the official speed limits.

IQ Routes is designed to take into account all of the factors that may influence the time it takes you to get to your destination, including traffic lights, roundabouts and speed bumps and other "traffic calming measures". It is switched on all the time, and could give you a different route if you travel on a Sunday afternoon (which may take an hour) to the one that it will give you on a Monday morning (which may take an hour and 10 minutes).

Sounds pretty good doesn't it?

Set Up

Take out of box. Charge up (via USB or via in car charger). Go somewhere.

You can also connect it up to your PC to improve the quality of the maps and overlay information. You can change the start up screen. You can change the shutdown screen. You can even change the little car icon that appears on the screen when navigating. You can share map corrections with the Map Share community. You can report speed camera locations. And of course you can download different voices, both free and paid for.

You can also connect an optional Traffic Message Channel Receiver, which will show you any traffic information that might affect your route. You can then tell the TomTom to "minimise traffic delays" and it will navigate around the blockage for you. Sometimes the quickest route may be to stay with what you are doing, and it will tell you that.

In Use

It's brilliant.

I've been a bit cynical about in car GPS systems. We've had a little hand held GPS for walking for 5 years. We never go walking without it. It's brilliant for route planning and recording your track logs. But it's not suited for turn-by-turn navigation on the road, so we've never used it like that.

And excuse the shameless trumpet blowing, but I'm pretty good at navigating my way around the country's roads, as I've been doing it for 18 years.

Where a device like this comes in handy is when you're off to somewhere that you've never been before. You may have a rough idea how to get there, but you might not know the best route at a certain time of day.

Your new friend Tom will help out. It analyses millions of routes in seconds and selects the best one for you. You simply tap the screen, select the Navigate To option and then select what you want to go to. You can enter an address (or parts of it such as postcode, street, house name) and then work your way to the correct address. It will ask if you need to arrive by a certain time. It then calculates your route and begins to guide you with a combination of spoken word instructions and on screen information. It also features "advanced lane guidance" which displays an image of the junction that you are approaching, and the exact lanes you need to be in. Whilst it is not available at all junctions, it's a really handy thing to have if you're not familiar with a particular road or junction layout.



The instructions and on screen information are clear and simple. And you can install any number of different voices on it for your amusement. We found the default "Jane" to be just right.

It can suggest when to take a break from driving. It can show safety reminders, and tell you when you're approaching churches or schools. It warns when you are exceeding the speed limit, or when exceeding a chosen speed. It will also warn you to take it out of the car when you switch it off.

We used it on several unfamiliar journeys and were suitably impressed. It got us from home to Yate, then to Weston, then back to Gloucester avoiding the M5 (which was blocked due to an accident) and then back home again.

It also gave us a handy detour when driving to Essex when part of the M25 was closed. I did disagree with one of its route suggestions, and used some local knowledge instead, but on the whole it gives very good advice.

It then got us to the centre of Canterbury and out again with ease, with a quick detour to a relative's new house that we'd never visited.

It also took us to a camp site in a tiny Warwickshire village and then around the streets of Rugby on a late night adventure.

I can't really fault its performance.

Conclusion

Brilliant.

Like I said earlier, I've been a bit cynical about these things in the past. But I was genuinely impressed with how good this was and how well it performed.

It's not a replacement for having a bit of an idea about where you're going, some basic map reading skills, and a vague sense of where places are. But it's pretty close. If you often find yourself going off to different places that you're not familiar with, you'll really benefit from one of these, particularly if you travel alone. It should get you there on time with a minimum amount of stress. It's easy to use. And you can customise it as much or as little as you like.

This will make a cracking Christmas present, or if the New Year will find you needing to travel the nation's roads, you'll want one to help you out. A top-notch satnav.

Recommended.

Wife rating

Before anyone goes mad about this section being sexist or patronising, can I just point out that my wife suggested that I put this into some gadget reviews. I'm a technology/gadget person. Using new gadgets is second nature to me. My wife freely admits that she isn't quite as good at such things. So this brief section is supposed to cover how easy it is for a less technically-minded person to operate a gadget.

And the XL IQ Routes comes very highly recommended. The interface is simple, intuitive, friendly. During testing I was usually driving, and my wife was programming the TomTom for our next destination with ease. It's the perfect satnav for people who think they might be scared of them - very easy to use and to get on with.