Radar Detectors: Reviews

In the most recent tests, the Escort Passport 9500i detects radar and laser guns as well as or better than its primary competition, the Valentine One (*est. $400). The Valentine One is still able to detect radar from… slightly farther away than the 9500i can, but both will alert you in plenty of time to slow down. The Escort 9500i offers more features than the Valentine One, including GPS, which allows the unit to remember where it has encountered repeated false alarms (from garage-door openers, motion sensors, etc.). This ability, coupled with the Escort 9500i's excellent false-alert filtering, results in far fewer false alarms than many radar detectors. The Escort 9500i also lets drivers record the locations of speed traps and traffic enforcement cameras, and then issues reminders when you enter those zones.

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The Beltronics Pro RX65 doesn't detect laser guns as well as the Escort Passport 9500i, and reviews say it's more prone to false alarms. Furthermore, the Beltronics Pro RX65 can't detect radar from quite as far away as… more expensive radar detectors. However, reports say it does a good job detecting all bands of radar, and it will alert you in plenty of time to slow down. The Beltronics Pro RX65 also comes with some helpful extras, including programmable voice alerts and Ku-band capabilities for European use (Ku-band radar is not used in the U.S.). It also has a city mode, which works to reduce false alarms, and comes with a hard carrying case. Other features include a multiple-threat alarm, which can tell you if more than one type of radar gun is detected.

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While no review says the Whistler XTR-695 is as good as the top-performing Escort and Beltronics radar detectors, testers say it's a good budget radar and laser-gun detector that will give drivers just enough notice to… react to upcoming traps. It includes Radar Signal ID and Laser Signal ID, which display the radar frequency or laser pulse rate detected (so you'll know what your local police are using), and which managed to eliminate false laser alerts in one test. The Whistler XTR-695 also does a good job of hiding from radar-detector detectors, although it is not truly invisible like the $500 Beltronics STi Driver.

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Although the use of radar detectors is perfectly legal in passenger cars, a few states ban them completely, and federal law prohibits their use in trucks over 10,000 pounds. Police can use radar-detector detectors -- or… RDDs -- to discover which cars and trucks are using a radar detector. However, the Beltronics STi Driver is shown to be practically invisible to RDDs. The STi Driver is a solid performer in most other ways as well, picking up radar signals far enough away from the gun to give drivers lots of time to slow down. It's also a good performer when it comes to laser detection, though not quite as good as the cheaper Escort 9500i and Valentine One.

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