Works. Looks cool. Prevents tickets. What else do you need to know?

Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar and Laser Detector

I was going 75 in a 40, up a hilly highway last night, to get by a logging truck before a long stretch with no passing zones. There was some downhill traffic, but no cop-like vehicles I could see. But Mr. Escort blinked his lights (the one on the power supply as well as the blue LEDs) and sounded his chirp (which is loud enough for me!) and I buried the brake pedal to get my bimmer down to the legal speed. Then the signal went dead. None of the downhill vehicles was the fuzz, so my first thought was "dangit, that false alarm is going to get me stuck behind this truck for five miles!" but then I saw Mr. Smokey in the trees just off the road, using pop-radar in his unmarked car. He had just clocked the downhill cars, that's where I got my signal.

"BUzzzzzz!" Mr Escort said again when the copper clocked me, and I'll bet HE thought "a BMW going 40? He knew I was here." But once the cop was out of view,I zoomed by the truck , and thanked the Escort Co. for the 50th time this year. I have not gotten a SINGLE ticket since I installed mine, and many, if not most, would have been unavoidable without it.

If you drive a lot, and you don't like being passed by grandmas, BUY THIS DETECTOR. Don't quibble about the price, it will save you three times the $ in the first year. I never owned any other, so I can't say if it's better than a V1 or a Cobra, but I do know I am VERY glad I bought mine. Help other customers find the most helpful revi

Beltronics V995 Vector Radar and Laser Detector

I've been using radar detectors for 25+ years. First a cheap Cobra, then a nicer Whistler, another Whistler, and then finally I stepped up to the plate and bought a Beltronics Vector 980 which at the time (9 years ago) was one of the best on the market. During that 25 year period, I have only received ONE speeding ticket, and that was from a motorcycle cop hiding in the driveway of a private residence behind the homeowner's truck reaching around the canopy with his radar gun and doing the "instant on" thing (I guess they were getting desperate for some revenue......lol). Under those circumstances NO radar detector would have saved me as I was the only car on the road......Still, my driving record is totally clean (driver diversion class for that one ticket...), and, while I've spent maybe $700 on radar detectors over the past 25 years, I've saved THOUSANDS of dollars in tickets/fines/court costs and increased car insurance premiums. So, if you're wondering if a radar detector is worth the money, YES, they are!!!

Anyway, after 9 years of faithful service, my 980 is finally starting to die: lot's of false alarms, self-cal and low voltage warnings, etc. After speaking with Beltronics Tech Support (who are located in the U.S. and very helpful!) it became pretty obvious that it was time for a new detector as my 980 is acting like it's on the way out.

> Are you Looking for The Best Whistler XTR-140 Laser/Radar Detector

Whistler XTR-140 Laser/Radar Detector

Nice quality. No nonsense.

Picks up some stray X from industrial parks or commercial buildings occasionally in Highway mode if buildings are adjacent to interstate, BUT these signals easily discerned giving only one bar on strength meter, and a couple warning only chirps.
However, first night out, I had my unit reach three bars, light up the entire display like a Christmas tree, blip the periscopes constantly, basically seemed like the thing was going to implode ("scary"), and then I saw the cop! He was about 3/4 mile away, opposite side of interstate facing me with a victim pulled over, lights flashing.

Caught him a second time while exiting an off ramp in a hotel parking lot perpendicular to me prior to that with another victim! "Big, bad, Dodge Hemi" cruiser, all painted up with intimidating graphics. "Big bad", muscle car, chase car with undoubtedly the latest radar.

All I know is that this little $38 Whistler "smells" his butt a mile away like a geiger counter detecting radiation! He hangs in the same geographic area around my workplace constantly busting people (a real worka"ho"lic), but now I can "smell" him a mile away for $38!

Best bang for the buck., Beltronics V940 Vector Radar/laser Detector

Beltronics V940 Vector Radar/laser Detector

I had used Escort radar detectors exclusively for 15 years and thought they were the best detectors for the price. Earlier this year, however, I used an Escort 8500 X50 for a lengthy driving trip and found it just barely adequate.

I had a 5K mile driving trip to take a few weeks ago so I took a chance on this unit. I'm so glad I did. What a great product! The performance of this unit BLOWS the Escort 8500 X50 out of the water. I mean blows it right out of the water. I got warnings with this unit WAY before I needed them, whereas I got them just in time with the 8500. Perhaps more importantly, I got virtually no false warnings with this unit whereas I got them ALL THE TIME with the Escort unit. The Escort unit had me braking every 3 miles for what turned out to be nothing almost every time. Again when it counted--when it was real police--the Escort only warned me a split second or two before I would have been nabbed.

I am so seriously impressed with the advance warning range of this unit, the incredibly low false warning ratio, and the bargain price of the unit. It delivers WAY more than the Escort 8500 X50 for half the price! It is one of the most cleat cut comparisons I have ever experienced; no fine line here. I am surprised that Escort gets away with delivering such mediocre results for your detector buying dollar.

I found out about this unit by conducting extensive internet research and I'm happy to say the tests found on the internet were accurate. The only way to step up to a higher level of performance will be to buy the Valentine unit for 4-5 times the price of this unit. If you are like me then you can't afford the Valentine so you are looking for other options. I respectfully argue that this is the best value (performance for price ratio) in all non-Valentine units.

Incredible Product!! Escort Passport 9500ix Radar/Laser Detector

Escort Passport 9500ix Radar/Laser Detector (Black)

I recently purchased a Passport 9500ix and can honestly say it is by far the best detector I've ever owned. As a previous owner of several other brands including Cobra, Whistler and a V1, this one is light years ahead.

From the moment I mounted it in my car, (which was super easy with their mount) I knew this one was different. I proceeded to mount it on the glass and started driving it without even looking at the owner's manual. As I began to drive, I was alerted to several door openers that my other detectors didn't even see, which to me indicated that it was far more sensitive. On my way back home, along the same route, I was alerted once again to these same door openers. At this point I began to remember why I quit driving with a detector many years ago....false alarms! Now that I had a more sensitive detector, I was wondering if I could stand to hear all of this noise everyday.


The next day I went to work, (close to the same route as picking up my kids) and I was pleasantly surprised when I passed these same spots again. The 9500ix beeped once and displayed the word "stored". Not reading the owner's manual, I had no idea what this meant. When I arrived at work I grabbed the owner's manual and read it at lunch. To my surprise it meant that the 9500ix had locked out these locations, knowing they were false alarms. How cool is that? Now that they were locked out, I couldn't wait to drive by again and see what it would do. On my way home, sure enough no alerts. Only a small indicator in the upper right side of the display rotated, indicating it saw these false alarms but no audio alert was given.


The following day I was in route home from work enjoying my new detector when it began to register a Ka band radar alert. I'm not completely sure what the difference is between all of the radar bands, but I began to take notice and checked my speed. I drove almost a mile wondering if this was a false alarm. Sure enough, as I turned the corner, there was one of our local police officers sitting along the side of the road. I had sniffed out my first alert, and in plenty of time to check my speed.


As someone who has used several other brands and grew accustomed to false alarms, let me assure you this one is different. Better sensitivity without the constant beeping. I'm not sure why it took me so long to try a Passport, but I will say that I will not be driving without one ever again.