The Bottom Line
Pros
- Big, 5-inch screen, with 30 percent more screen area than standard (4.3-inch) touchscreen.
- Good for vehicles that have deep (distant from driver) windshields, including RVs and trucks.
Cons
- Must go up one model, to the $299 XXL 540S, for TomTom's Advanced Lane Guidance feature.
Description
- Price: $259 - $279
- High-sentitivity receiver and TomTom QuickGPSFix service.
- Includes USB cable and TomTom Home software for managing map updates, updating QuickGPSFix, and more via your PC.
- Included maps and points-of-interest: All of U.S. and Canada. International versions available.
- EasyPort windshield mount folds flat to be easily stowed for transport.
Guide Review - TomTom XXL 530S Car GPS Makes Room for More with a 5-inch Touchscreen
In the XXL 530S, TomTom bundles up many of its best features, and packages them in an economical, large-screen, buy-it-once-and-you're-done package. The XXL 530s is the "anti-smartphone" GPS, because it does not feature Internet connectivity (and the ongoing charges that entails) and its big screen - nearly a full two inches larger than smartphone screens - provides ample real estate for maps, large fonts, easy use of the menu, and multi-function display. In fact, its 5-inch (diagonal) screen has 30 percent more area than a standard size GPS touchscreen.
I notched several hundred miles on the TomTom XXL 530S in mixed urban and highway driving.
TomTom doesn't add any data or display elements to the menu or mapping system beyond what it offers in smaller-screen units, but having more space makes everything a little better. For example, TomTom's outstanding route preview feature, which shows an overview of the complete route after you input your destination, is much easier to see in detail, thanks to 30 percent more viewing area.
Once you're on route, it's easy to see the large-font navigation display, including miles to next turn, distance to destination, travel time, current time, and arrival time.
The XXL 530S falls into the middle of the feature sets available through TomTom. It has "IQ Routes," which calculates the quickest route by actual speeds of travel, rather than posted speed limits, true text-to-speech instructions and street names, and the "help me" menu, which displays local emergency information wherever you are. Notably absent is one of my favorites, TomTom's Advanced Lane Guidance, which shows you very clear images of upcoming signage and ramps (and a little arrow showing you the correct lane to be in). You'll need to move up to the XXL 540S for this feature. Also, if you want high-end features such as hands-free calling via Bluetooth connectivity, or voice input, you'll need to move up to TomTom's GO line.
The XXL 530S is capable of providing full traffic detection and avoidance service. However, you'll need to purchase a separate, $59 RDS-TMC FM traffic antenna available through TomTom retailers, to enable traffic service.
Overall, the TomTom XXL 530S is a pleasure to use, and its larger screen is taking dedicated car GPS technology in the right direction. It's about visibility, more room for touchscreen input, and much less squinting.
