TomTom XL 2 IQ 4.3" Sat Nav with UK and Ireland Maps

I've used several satnav sets and this one is the best yet. The Lane guidance is very neat and the overall ease of use is fantastic. The screen size is just about right and the unit is fairly compact. The quick release mounting is very neat and easy to use. Highly recommended. Can't comment on the customer service - I know some others have had problems in this area but so far so good for me - not had to call for support. Seems to be very reliable and the GPS locks onto satellites really quickly.

I purchased a new XL IQ Routes 2 (UK ROI & Europe) and it arrived at mid afternoon. I checked it on a short run in my car, then hooked it up to my laptop to downloaded updated maps. An hour later after updating my map I found that the update procedure (which is totally controlled by the Tom Tom software) had completely erased my UK map.

After emailing TomTom and receiving a facile email intimating that I'm technophobe. I returned the unit for a refund.

Then I found a really helpful guy in Halfords - he told me this model has a 2gb memory (and no facility to increase). It's delivered with about 1.7gb of files pre-loaded (including the UK & Western Europe Map) - but if you look at the free map update (which now includes Turkey) it exceeds 2gb - so it erases the original, finds it can't fit on the new map and offers either Central Europe or Eastern Europe instead - both are less than 2gb but neither include UK.

Tom Tom dropped a brick with this model and map update combination: The specialist suppliers are NOT recommending XL IQ Routes 2 (UK ROI & Europe) for this reason. So whatever you do DON'T DOWNLOAD A MAP UPDATE if you bought the UK ROI & Europe version until they've fixed this bug.

After looking at a few comments on this product I find myself in agreement with many of the positive and even some of the negative.

To expound on this, I purchased the XL IQ routes ed (Europe)last Saturday for a trip around Spain next month, with the thought that I'd best get hold of one early enough to get used to the device as a) I had never owned a sat nav before (having been blessed with a pretty good personal GPS and the ability to read a map). and b) having been in cars with others who have used these devices I was concerned they may be more distracting than useful.

I picked this product based on reviews of others and a 5 minute demo from a friend, which to be honest made it look indespensable, even for the things that are often never mentioned about the device, such as the help section, which one would assume is a how to guide, but is infact a set up to get the nearest hosptial/ doctor whether driving or walking even including a first aid guide. Although I've not had to use these features, so cannot advise if any good, what a great feature!

My first trip was a known trip and on the whole it marked the way I would choose, but it still managed to save me 30 minutes off a regular journey time by throwing me down a couple of country lanes, so by now seriously impressed with the device.

So the next thing I do the same as everyone does is connect the device to their PC to make sure they have the latest maps, cameras et al.

As soon as you connect it, it installs the software already pre-loaded on the device (a really nice feature, no disc to lose woohoo!) as soon as it this application is installed (called tom tom HOME) it asks if you would like to update.

!!!IMPORTANT!!!

CLICK CANCEL, DO NOT UPDATE UNTIL YOU HAVE MANUALLY BACKED UP THE DEVICE.

that is the message you should be shown first, how aleading manufacturer of such a product can get you updating before you've backed up a working machine is unbelivable, but just a sign of today I feel, in that once they have your money they no longer care.

Of course, I was not aware and like most clicked the update button, all is well, I disconnect the device turn it on and woohoo a nice tom tom shaped paper weight.

I then spend a week battling customer services, to get this working as I cannot return the device due to it being software and excluded from 28 day returns policy.

In the end I fixed the device myself, as customer service just insisted on forwarding me pre-prepared scripts that were not able to resolve the issue. I'll not go into how I fixed it but I did have to format it and start from scratch, re-installing applications and maps, which athough I'm capable is not something I feel I should have been doing.

Anyway now the device is backed up and working and in summary it is a great product and I would highly recommend it.

Just make sure you back up the device manually before updating (guide on tomtom website) and you should be golden.