With a background in electrical and computer engineering, Bravy has been posting in-depth tests of radar detectors and other automotive accessories on YouTube since He adds, "I love driving.
I love feeling secure while I'm driving -- just knowing what's going on around me -- and I love tech stuff. Before we dive in, we suggest you do a little research about radar detectors and their technology.
Even the simplest products in the category require an education in some basic vocabulary. To reach the full potential of your new detector, you'll have to know your K band from your Ka band and whether you're driving through a state where you should enable X band. Further, you should think about what sort of features you're looking for, from highway mode to to a red light camera alert to directional alerts. Here are our top picks for the best radar detectors for different scenarios based on hands-on testing, expert input and user reviews.
Further on, we'll answer some frequently asked questions and tell you what to watch out for when choosing a detector, including the sad truth about laser detection.
At first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Valentine One Generation 2 was a gadget from a bygone era. With its matte black, slab-sided industrial design, conspicuous lack of buttons and, yes, even a segmented LED readout instead of a full-color OLED display, it looks like it could have been hanging from your sun visor since the early '90s.
But that's sort of the point. This Gen2 device has been a long time coming, the first all-new upgrade to the legendary Valentine One product line in nearly 30 years. If you know the classic Valentine One, made famous by its game-changing directional radar detection, then you know exactly what you're looking at when you see the Generation 2. Valentine actually calls its device a "radar locator" because when it picks up a signal from X, K, Ka or laser, one of three prominent directional arrows lights up to indicate whether the signal is coming from ahead, beside or behind.
Until you start using it, this bit of data may seem trivial, but you quickly realize how helpful it is to know where to look for possible signs of trouble. If the front arrow lights up, police could be around the bend. But, should the side arrows glow red, your "bogey" as Valentine refers to radar hits is more likely a false alarm from another car or an automatic door -- police measure your speed from the front or behind, not the side.
There's a wrinkle: Now that the company's patent on arrows has expired, this is no longer an exclusive feature, and a slew of other mid- to high-end detectors can come with directional indicators. What makes the Valentine One Generation 2 a true stand-out is adding competitive long-range detection, top-notch false positive filtering, Bluetooth and an open API to its already impressive skillset.
Focusing on its built-in smarts, if you're used to more chatty, inexpensive radar detectors, you may be compelled to ask, as we did, whether the V1G2 is even working. Where other units beep and boop indiscriminately with little indication of where potential threats are coming from, Valentine's hardware stays pleasantly silent but vigilant, only speaking up when a bogey is a legitimate concern.
Still, most notable among its few shortcomings is a lack of GPS integration. Where other detectors use location tracking to lock out non-law enforcement sources of radar pollution, Valentine relies on its advanced algorithms to do the filtering on the fly. They say the minor advantages GPS provides isn't worth the extra cost to consumers, and in any case Bluetooth app integration brings location data and more to the party if you have your smartphone nearby.
Pair the V1G2 with one of the various apps available on Android or iOS, and the unit's capability and features extend well beyond anything baked into the hardware.
This makes for what we think is a winning combination for most drivers. Let's go back to that old-school segmented LED we mentioned earlier. As we've said, radar detectors are about data. The company kept the LED because it's much easier to read in sunlight than fancier, multicolor read-outs, and that's emblematic. The Valentine One Gen2 is all about providing the most relevant information in the clearest, simplest terms -- no frills, just well-honed skills.
The Uniden R7 may just make you do a double-take. Its black, angular design answers the question of what the Valentine One would look like if it had sprung for an OLED screen. In truth, it's a dead heat between these two detectors, and depending on your needs, the R7 may just be the one to get. In terms of range, the V1G2 and the R7 are neck-and-neck. In independent tests performed by Vortex Radar , the alert distance varied by only to feet between the two detectors with Uniden's offering occasionally winning out, depending on the band and configuration.
Both outclassed the majority of contenders by a wide margin. Like our favorite pick on this list, the R7 offers directional arrows to indicate where radar hits are coming from.
In this case the arrows are rendered on a small color display, which is slightly hooded from direct sunlight. Voice alerts are also on offer here, as are configurable alert tones for the different bands.
But, the killer app here may be built-in GPS, a feature missing from the otherwise full-featured V1G2. The addition of location awareness allows you to manually or automatically store up to 2, lockouts where false alerts repeatedly ping your detector in regular driving. In one of its few omissions, Uniden has opted not to include a wireless standard for connecting your phone, which means fewer options for data aggregation with other radar users.
For this you'll need to turn to a third-party app such as Waze, which is free but no less excellent. There's not much that disappoints about the Uniden R7, and at a street price that frequently beats the Valentine One, it's hard to go wrong. If "budget" isn't in your vocabulary, you simply can't go wrong with the Escort Redline c.
This beast of a radar detector has no interest in aping the black box aesthetic of its top-of-the-line competition. Instead, it's stylish with interesting contours and it's a hefty bit of machinery to boot. It mounts to the windshield using a magnet attachment point that's as powerful and secure as it is easy to decouple when you want to store the device away from prying eyes. Getting the basics out of the way, the Redline c detects all the common radar bands and adds MultaRadar to that as well as laser.
Like the Valentine One and the Uniden R7, Escort's detector is directional and features four LED arrows around the front perimeter of the device that indicate whether signals are coming from the front, sides or rear.
Inside that perimeter is a customizable multicolor OLED screen. This includes a simple Novice mode, which dispenses with signal strength indicators and band information and replaces it with color-coded bars, which say things like "Slow Down" and "Caution. But does it also have GPS? And Bluetooth? It's also RDD immune and can expand its capability further by controlling Escort's laser jammers, sold separately.
Its false alert filtering is among the best in the business, and its range meets or exceeds both the V1 and R7. GPS affords the c all the usual goodies: low-speed muting, red light camera alerts as well as automatic lockouts. Additionally, in Auto Mode it uses GPS to monitor your speed and ramps its filters up to eliminate unnecessary noise when you're in town or in a parking lot.
As with the V1, you may question whether this Escort is even working at times because it's so good at only bothering you when the threat is genuine.
On top of all that, the Redline c allows you to take the experience to the next level with its Escort Live app, which connects via Bluetooth. While the app is proprietary, unlike Valentine's open API implementation, it does allow you to tap into the hivemind of Escort and Cobra radar users. You can be alerted of speed traps and other threats in real-time while they are still outside of detection range.
And when you're connected to the app the current speed limit is displayed on the Redline's screen next to your actual speed, allowing for customizable overspeed alerts.
In our testing, the app integration was perhaps the only major weakness of the Escort Redline c. It would occasionally disconnect from Bluetooth, requiring a reboot of the app. Also, the speed limit information was frequently inaccurate with Waze doing a much better job of displaying the correct limits.
Nevertheless, if you've got the money for it, this radar detector is the full package and absolutely the one I'd choose. If you have less to spend but still want best-in-class performance, the Uniden R3 is Roadshow's detector of choice. Sharing many of the same internals as the runner-up pick, the R3 was Uniden's top performer before the R7 showed up, and it remains an impressive package.
The biggest differences from this unit's big brother are a lack of directional guidance and a less-robust, if still impressive, detection range. As to the latter, the R3 still beats some competitors sold for nearly twice the price including big hitters from Radenso and Escort. The absence of directional arrows is not surprising in this price class, and certainly not a dealbreaker.
GPS is also built into this unit and enables speed camera alerts, low-speed muting as well as the capability to set up to manual lockouts by double-pressing the Mute button. Speaking of controls, this detector is on a short list of window-mounted devices that assign front-facing real estate to frequently used buttons instead of banishing them to the "fumble zone" at the top of the unit, out of sight.
That's a personal pet peeve, but still, kudos to Uniden for positioning the Mute and Mark buttons where they can be easily accessed. And now for something completely… familiar. At the risk of being repetitive, the best budget radar detector available today is yet another offering from the folks at Uniden. The DFR7 initially went on sale in , and despite repeated price drops, it continues to receive firmware updates from Uniden and remains a strong performer, even when pitted against some of the best detectors on the market.
GPS is built into this unit and provides the benefits of low-speed muting to reduce false alerts as well as manual marking of up to lockouts and speed camera alerts. Information is displayed on a monochrome OLED display and voice alerts are available as well. By all accounts, false alert filtering in the Uniden DFR7 is excellent, and will keep the detector from alarming every time a blind spot monitoring system is in the vicinity.
Radar detection range is impressive as well and performs especially well on the For drivers on a razor-thin budget, we present the Whistler ZR Plus, a radar detector which may provide some helpful situational awareness, as long as you're mindful of its limitations. Radar and laser detection are both on the menu, and the unit displays alerts on a green OLED readout. Voice alerts are optional in both English and Spanish.
Filter modes are manually selectable via the City button, which cycles between Highway, City, City 1 and City 2. GPS is absent here, which means custom location alerts and low-speed muting are unavailable. Detection range isn't impressive, and it was chatty in our testing, with several false alerts from surrounding vehicles and traffic sensors sneaking past the filters.
It definitely alerted me to legitimate threats, and if you can get past the Boy Who Cried Wolf syndrome, it may be worth your money. Still, our recommendation, based on experience and expert advice, is to save up your dollars for a detector with a few more features.
If you're new to the world of radar detectors and don't want to invest a lot of money or time in learning new terms and technology, we think Cobra's RAD i may be the place to start. However, it does have one feature which puts it over the top: Bluetooth app integration.
At the risk of oversimplification, the i can be thought of as "Waze Plus. Once you start running your new Cobra radar detector, you're immediately granted access to the free iRadar app, available on iOS and Android.
The software is essentially the same as the separate Escort Live app accessible by owners of pricier, more precision hardware, as both brands are manufactured by Cedar Electronics.
You can even sign into both apps with the same account credentials, as we did in our testing. Since , these two apps have shared their alert databases. This means, as a Cobra user, you're getting the benefit of data in the cloud from drivers with more-powerful Escort detectors. The iRadar app itself is colorful and intuitive to use. To determine the best radar detector for your needs, we researched products that are the most accessible to a wide range of U.
We also studied a broad range of end-user ratings and evaluations by multiple testers. Forbes Wheels chose five high-performing radar detectors based on the product ratings and reviews disclosed by multiple testers. For this list we focused on overall performance, accuracy, undetectability, and extra features such as false alert filtering and voice alerts, while still including the best options for varying budgets.
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Toyota Camry vs Honda Accord. Toyota Avalon vs Toyota Camry. Toyota Tundra vs Ford F Ford F vs Chevrolet Silverado Back To Forbes. Wheels Accessories. Best Radar Detectors for Tara Hurlin. Updated: Jun 28, Forbes Wheels independently tests and reviews cars and automotive accessories. We may earn an affiliate commission from links on our site.
The analysis and opinions are our own. Read More. Read Less. Best Overall. Escort MAX C. Why We Picked It. I have multiple installed on my car for comparison and testing purposes. The Escort Max Ci offers the outstanding long range detection , excellent blind spot filtering, and since Escort has made several different generations of remote detectors now, their latest Max Ci is very refined. It features automatic GPS lockouts so the detector can learn and filter out false alerts for you, it can pair with your phone for sharing realtime cloud-based alerts with other drivers or displaying the current speed limit on screen, and you can add a rear antenna to gain directional arrows so it makes for an excellent premium remote mount radar detector.
The Max Ci features a separate controller and display so you can place them where convenient, but it also means you have two separate boxes to mount in your cabin instead of just one like with other detectors. With most remote radar detectors you have the option of either purchasing online or directly from your local installer, but with the Max Ci series detectors, officially you can only purchase them through a local installer, which is what Escort intends.
You can sometimes find the detector brand new on eBay , but if you buy it new on eBay, your warranty will be through your seller, not through Escort, and Escort is actively trying to stop people from selling the detectors online.
You can find a local installer here. Find a local Escort installer near you. I prefer running the ALP standalone because you do get a few extra features , but most people prefer running them together to get one single controller for radar and laser, providing a very clean install in the cabin.
You can get it with two antennas for arrows for less than the cost of a front-only Max Ci, plus you can integrate it directly with the ALP which is the best laser jammer to go for. Coupon only valid in Canada. Personally I find this to be the least refined of the top 3 systems.
I think its interface sucks, especially if you want good false alert filtering around town. So which one is best? Boy I wish there was a simple answer to that because it really depends. They each have their pros and cons, as you can see, so let me give you my top picks from this list to simplify things a bit. Plus you get arrows, MRCD support, and more. Click here to purchase the R7.
Click here to purchase the V1 Gen2. Click here to purchase the DS1. The popular Uniden R3 is also a top notch choice. Click here to purchase the R3. This is the standard go-to recommendation for your all-around affordable detector with good performance and good false filtering for both city and highway without dropping too much cash.
Click here to purchase the DFR9. Click here to locate an Escort dealer. You get great performance, decent filtering, and manual GPS lockouts when you add your phone. You also have support for multiple antennas to add arrows just like the other options. Hardwire cables: Radar detectors come with a cigarette lighter power cable. You can optionally upgrade to a hardwire cable for a permanent and clean installation with no unsightly cables hanging down your dash and taking up your cig.
Click here to see your hardwire cable options and click here to read the installation guide. Blendmount: Radar detectors come with a suction cup mount to attach to your windshield. Click here to learn more about the Blendmount. Waze: Waze is a free navigation app for your phone like Google Maps that allows drivers to report traffic, accidents, and where police officers are positioned in realtime. When you see an officer on the side of the road looking to give tickets, you can mark him in the app and alert other drivers.
Fortunately the choice for jammers is much easier and the best on the market in this case is the AntiLaser Priority. It will do a great job of picking up police radar, it can help you filter out those pesky false alerts, and it can easily pay for itself many times over by helping you avoid speeding tickets from police shooting radar.
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