Note: Discontinued. See reviews of the latest models.
Not everyone wants to advertise the presence of a radar detector. Aside from being irresistible to thieves, a detector dangling from the windshield invites disapproval from gents wearing guns and badges. In recent years there's another incentive to consider an alternative: some cars won't allow a radar detector to operate correctly. Several manufacturers' windshield solar tint contains a metal film that's invisible to the eye but which renders a detector nearly useless.
Others, like Jaguar, Range Rover and Land Rover, for instance, offer heated windshields with a fine wire mesh laminated into the glass. In a recent test we unwisely used a new Land Rover and found that none of the detectors could see radar from more than a few feet away. Only when we scrutinized the windshield did we note the nearly invisible heating element wire mesh.
The traditional solution has been the custom-installed remote radar detector whose components are built-in to the vehicle and not behind the windshield. Trouble is, these remotes are pricey.
But the 8500ci is only $549.95. It lacks GPS and can't offer the benefits afforded by that technology—protection from red light and speed cameras plus freedom from annoying false alarms.
The Escort 8500ci radar antenna mounts in the grille area, linked to an interface box under the dash. A thumb-size control/display can be placed anywhere it's convenient to see and operate.
The Escort Passport 8500ci has a compact control/display module for power, volume, manual audio muting and five-step display brightness with auto-dimming. It also allows access to a menu of user preferences including a trio of sensitivity (radar-warning range) options.
Meter options include Bar Graph (these increase progressively to depict signal strength); Spec Mode or Expert Meter. The latter will track up to nine simultaneous radar sources, displaying the band ID and relative signal strength for each. For the knowledgeable, Spec Mode is invaluable, allowing non-police radar signals to be identified and ignored.
Unlike the Qi45, the Escort 8500ci Plus comes with GPS. In this application it won't help the perpetually-lost driver—but it'll protect against the red light and speed cameras found in 24 states.
The Escort 8500ci's performance mirrors that of the Escort Passport 8500 X50 and BEL Pro 500, two dash-mount models that perennially rank as class leaders in their market segments. That's hardly a surprise: all three share a platform and perform similarly.
In a recent comparison test of the Escort Passport 8500ci and the K40 Calibre, the Escort showed a convincing superiority over the pricier K40. With its comparatively modest price, stellar performance and stealthy, built-in design, the Escort 8500ci earns a best-buy recommendation.
