What's The Best Radar Detector? The Best In Each of Four Price Categories Revealed

Of course, of course, safe and responsible driving should be an imperative every time you get behind the wheel. But sometimes it happens that one exceeds the posted speed limit even when driving safely and responsibly. For those times, a radar detector is an incredibly useful tool for avoiding tickets (and the bump in insurance rates they produce). For several a complete list of tips on steering clear of speed traps see the hub How To Avoid Getting A Speeding Ticket.

Most important qualities to look for when choosing a radar detector:

• Works for all three bands used by police radar guns: X, K and Ka. The X band is used by many other electronic devices -- it is common to get false warnings on the X band when driving through urban areas. The K and Ka bands are almost exclusively used by radar guns.
• Detects laser speed-reading guns and so-called “pop” radar guns that are able to instantly turn on and get a speed reading on your car.
• High sensitivity to police radar guns while also screening out false alarms.

Secondary qualities to look for:

• 360 degree detection, as opposed to only scanning for radar straight ahead
• Radar jamming capabilities, which disrupts a radar gun’s ability to get an accurate fix on your car.

Radar detector marketing tends place undo emphasis on a miscellaneous array of product features, ranging from the meaningless (like the color of the display) to the mildly helpful (like separate city and highway settings). Do not let those sway your decision. The five qualities listed above are -- by far! -- the most important when shopping for a radar detector. Besides the price, of course. Sadly, radar detectors are a product where you tend to get what you pay for. In general, the more a radar detector costs the better it detects radar. Below is our take on the best model in four different price categories.

Note: In the United States radar detectors are legal for passenger automobiles everywhere except for Virginia and the District of Columbia. Radar jammers are illegal in Oklahoma, though radar detectors without jamming features are allowed.

Valentine One

The Valentine One gets our top nod for one simple reason: under real-world conditions no other radar detector can detect radar and laser with as much accuracy and advance warning. We also like the display arrows that point towards the direction the warning is coming from.

There are two other units that are very close to the Valentine One in detection range: the Bel STi Driver and the Passport 9500i. These have two advantages over the Valentine: they are smaller and have no antennas to install -- just suction cup them to your windshield and go. Of the two we prefer the Passport 9500i for the ease-of-use and low number of false alarms. What's really cool about the 9500i is that it has GPS built in; the unit knows how fast you are traveling and will adjust its sensitivity accordingly. You also have the option of having the 9500i alert you when you exceed a certain speed.

Escort Passport 8500 X50

BEL Vector 940

Whistler XTR-140