TomTom One 140S

Reliable experts say the TomTom One 140S squeezes a lot of advanced features into a budget-priced unit. It can sort multiple destinations into one efficient route, tell you which lane to be in at major freeway interchanges, and its IQ routes feature "learns" the best routes based on actual average speeds on a given road. However, some users report problems. Several say that when they tried to download map or firmware updates, their TomTom One 140S died, frozen with an error message. Others complain about poor customer service, bad routes or garbled street names. Expert tests reveal none of these problems, although professional reviewers say the One 140S's screen can be hard to see in bright sunlight, and the all-in-one EasyPort mount can sometimes be more of a hassle than a regular mount. Critics also note that the One 140S offers no Bluetooth hands-free calling, no SD card slot to expand memory and no traffic receiver. Experts recommend Garmin's traffic-ready budget units much more often, and owners especially praise the Garmin nuvi 255W (Discontinued) as their reliable, easy-to-use favorite.

PCMag.com and CNET both fully test the TomTom One 140S, and PCMag.com also includes a video review and compares it with a competing Garmin unit. ConsumerReports.org conducts extensive comparison tests, ranking the One 140S against dozens of other units, but only subscribers can read the reports. Users who post reviews at Amazon.com have unearthed a few problems with the TomTom One 140S that don't show up in expert tests.