With the release of the Start 60 Europe, TomTom now lays claim to 13 different sat navs under four categories in car navigation alone.
That's a lot of GPS-powered devices, and with such a breadth of offerings from one manufacturer, the TomTom Start 60 Europe needs to offer something special in order to set itself apart from its brethren, let alone from the rest of the market.
The good news, on paper at least, is that the TomTom Start 60 Europe can be seen as the current pinnacle of sat nav devices for most drivers. It draws on the best bits of TomToms and other sat navs and throws them all into a bigger screen, while keeping the price tag at a reasonable level. There are no hidden subscription charges here, either.
The main selling point for the TomTom Start 60 is the screen - the 6-inch diagonal display makes a notable departure from the standard TomTom fare, which tend to measure 5 inches across for the more recent models, or 4.3 inches for older ones.
The display used by the TomTom Start 60 Europe is a 16:9 widescreen offering, measuring 132mm across by 80mm high. It isn't as big as the Navman Panoramic, which is a whole inch bigger, but in real terms you'd be hard pushed to notice the difference.
This extra screen space has enabled TomTom to up the resolution over previous models to a healthy 800 x 480 pixel display. This produces clearer text and images, and gives more room to display the information that is most useful.
The result is a sat nav that gives a clear indication of what you need to do on any given stretch of road, provides plenty of information on your journey and yet manages to stay uncluttered.
It is of course a touchscreen device, and while resistive screens wouldn't be seen dead on a decent tablet or smartphone, when it comes to sat navs they're fine - and this is one of the better ones we've used. Interacting with the screen doesn't require much force, but you won't be making accidental changes, either.
Apart from the larger screen, the other physical feature TomTom is keen to promote is the mounting system. The TomTom Smart 60 Europe can be mounted on your windscreen or, thanks to an included adhesive disc, on your dashboard (if you've got a flat enough surface). The screen automatically flips to whichever way up the device is held, so there's no worries about having to get it the right way around.
The windscreen mounting system is the same as that found on the TomTom Go Live Top Gear Edition, which we found to be brilliant for that unit, but we're a little less convinced here.
The sheer size of the TomTom Start 60 Europe means that accessing the USB connector and the power button at the back of the sat nav is incredibly tricky when it's in place on the windscreen, since these are either side of the mounting system. It would be better if TomTom could mount these on the opposite side of the unit.
The suction cup system sticks well though, and if you have a big enough stretch of flat dashboard in your car, the alternative to attaching it to your windscreen is an interesting one and can give you more options for unobtrusive locating. We did find the arm on the Navman Panoramic a little more versatile, but it's not as compact.
The TomTom Start 60 Europe is attractive and convincingly robust in its styling, with a pleasing curve to the rear of the unit to keep the edges thin. We weren't sure that the standard 5-inch TomTom design would transfer to a large screen so easily, but as a whole the unit feels and looks great.
TomTom has a good reputation for its maps and software interfaces, and the Start 60 Europe makes for a great companion for any journey. Picking your destination, looking for points of interest, highlighting fuel stops and deciding whether you want the fastest or the most economical route are all handled logically and clearly.
When it comes to the maps, the clarity of the display and the accuracy of the maps mean that you can spot potential hazards and tight bends much easier than with previous sat navs we've looked at. Our driving style genuinely changed because of this, and since the display is so large, a quick glance is all it takes to see what's coming up.
Voice navigation is still important to any sat nav, of course, and here TomTom continues to set the bar. The default voice, Serena, is clear and precise, and while the more obscure B-roads can be a bit of a mouthful it doesn't break down into gibberish even with some of the odder place names. There are nearly 90 voices installed by default too, covering a range of languages, giving you plenty of choice when out and about.
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