Which TomToms have lane assist?

[Bexx]

Hi all

I'm a relatively new driver, still quite wary of going to places I don't know but I try and go to a bit further every time to get used to new places.

I've got a sat nav already but I don't really trust it, I once dropped my Dad off at work and it kept repeating "do a u-turn" at me. Another time I went to Blue Planet Aquarium for my birthday, it's about a 30/45min trip each way but the way back took us at least an hour because it was directing us through side streets and avenues with houses!

Next year however I'm going to Manchester and I'd like to drive there instead of getting the train, it'll be my first time on a motorway and I'd really like a sat nav with lane guidance which I know some TomToms have. But which ones have it, incase I buy the wrong one?

Thanks

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF!

Just about all models sold in the UK have ALG (Advanced Lane Guidance). Think you also want a model with IQ Routing.

See here for more info.

Also, supermod, Mikealder, is UK based and will more than likely provide more info in this thread.

 

[Bexx]

Thanks for the info, I'd hate to have to go through every model I could find just to see which had it and which didn't

What does IQ Routing do?

 

[mikealder]

The device I would be looking at is the XL IQ or the XL IQ Live if you are driving over 12K per year, any less than this and the cost of the Live Subscription won't be cost effective. The XL IQ device is a great navigation aid and has the features you want, I should point out it is devoid of Bluetooth so it cannot offer handsfree for the mobile phone but the cost diferential between the XL IQ and a Go-550 which does offer the handsfree isn't worth the extra IMHO (use the spare cash to purchase a decent reliable handsfree kit for the car, or don't accept/ make phone calls when driving).

IQ Routes provides routes based upon actual road speed depending upon day of year and time of day, therefore it avoids congestion and tends to offer routes based upon local knowledge, it works really well from what I have seen of it. Take a few minutes to think about this, if it can offer routes a local would drive anywhere in the country so its got an advantage over something that just goes for the class of road (M, A or B etc) - Well worth it, if you find it doesn't work in your local area and you know better than the route offered by the device simply ignore it, in areas you don't know (Manchester?) it will route you as you have local knowledge even though you have never driven there.

Not too sure where you are located in the UK but if going to Manchester is going to be a long trip please take some time to try driving a few miles on the Motorway BEFORE you try a long trip on such a road, for a start its a different style of driving, its also something you have had very little tuition about due to the stupid rules in the UK about driving on such a road while learning to drive, also watch your speed when you exit the motorway as prolonged driving at 70MPH can make it rather difficult to stick to 40 or 30 MPH speed limits without extra concentration (wouldn't want you to get caught speeding after a long haul on the motorway and believe me its easy for the speed to drift up to a higher level than permitted after driving at speed for a few hours, it takes a conscious effort to prevent this from happening) - Mike

 

[Bexx]

Thanks for that, I'll certainly look for the XL IQ when looking for a new sat nav, I don't think I'll be after the Live one as I don't want to bother with subscriptions and such and I don't plan on connecting anything with my phone so the lack of bluetooth is fine with me

I really like the idea of being told the local routes in a place where you're not a local! It's one thing for me to drive to a place I've never been before but driving round inside it through all the streets was an additional worry for me aswell

I am about 60 miles from Manchester but as we've got about 9 months before the actual trip we're going to try going further and further, probably with some motorway driving (I agree about the silly learner driver motorway law!) and then a full practice trip before the actual one Hopefully this will get me ready for the motorway and also for driving in and around Manchester

Thanks so much for your help, and the advice