Tested: GPS Radar Detectors

Last updated 10/20/2012

Note: Also see our latest test of GPS radar detectors.

The GPS-enabled radar detector market segment is too new to have acquired a body of field-test reports. That's no surprise as these models are extraordinarily difficult to test unless you 1) Are an expert on speed cameras and, 2) Have two $90,000 photo radar vans and a pair of $150,000 (installed price, each) red light or speed cameras at your disposal.

But with 20 years of hands-on speedcam background, we probably qualify as experienced hands at this subject. And we know where to acquire the equipment, never mind how. Once suitably armed, we spent seven months systematically testing each model of detector against every type of threat.

We later tested the accuracy and comprehensiveness of each manufacturer's camera data base, checking to see how long it took before new locations were noted and whether they were marked accurately. (We found some significant variations in the quality of the Escort and BEL Defender database versus the rival Cobra Aura speed- and red light camera database.)

Testing against conventional police radar was comparatively easy. We did this at our desert test sites northwest of Phoenix where we create real-world, worst-case radar ambushes in a mix of hills and curves on a desolate highway. At a second test site we checked maximum radar-detection range, making certain that each detector warned miles in advance of each radar gun.

Frequent readers will note that our choice of test locations this time excluded the 15-mile-long site that was the scene of the Escort RedLine's world record 14.25-mile radar warning range in another test. Earlier tests there of the BEL STi Magnum vs. the Valentine One; of the BEL GX65 and Escort 9500ix proved that any of them could spot radar from over nine miles away, more than enough range--at least in the perfectly flat desert.

The choice of that test site prompted some readers to ask, "Why don't you do a real world test, where they've got trees and buildings and traffic?" There's a very reasonable answer to this question, but that subject is best addressed elsewhere.

To learn which is the best GPS-enabled radar detector, check out the features table below, then scan the test results to compare the performance of each. (To go directly to the detailed review of a model, click on its name below.)

BEL Pro 500
Cobra XRS R9G
Cobra XRS 9950
Escort Passport 9500ix
Escort Passport 9500ci

Standard Features	Beltronics (BEL) Pro 500	Escort Passport 9500ci	Escort Passport 9500ix	Cobra XRS 9950 incl. GPS	Cobra XRS R9G
Mfr's Suggested Retail Price	$399	$1699	$499	$380	$369
Visual Band Identification
Audible Band ID
Radar Frequency Counter
Multiple Threat Counter
Digital Signal Strength Display
Voice Alerts
Menu-selection voice confirmation
GPS latitude/longitude display
Digital threat-location distance
Nuisance radar signal lockout
AutoLearn signal lockout
Speed-based radar sensitivity
Engine speed-based sensitivity
Remote Control/Display

The first test was at our Straightaway test site, a no-brainer. It's a series of 3-mile-long and almost perfectly flat straightaways linked by plunging downhill S-curves at low-water crossings where it intersects the same river several times over the course of 10 miles. (Bridges are uncommon on secondary roads in the Southwest. Most rivers remain dry 51 weeks out of the year, leading road builders to run the pavement right through the stream beds. Wood posts marked in inches are thoughtfully provided as depth gauges.)

The Curve Test Site is a particularly difficult challenge. Here the radar vehicle is parked in mid-curve, its radar aimed uphill and at a 45-degree angle away from oncoming traffic. The police vehicle isn't visible until the moment the radar operator has already locked-in the speed of an approaching car, at about 650 feet. With nothing to deflect the radar beam toward the detectors' antennae, only extreme sensitivity can deliver enough warning distance.

Australia-based Redflex Traffic Systems is the largest photo enforcement company doing business in the U.S. In years past its photo radar (speed) vans used a Swiss-made Ka-band radar that was very lower-powered and extremely difficult to detect.

Now they're using a German-made K-band radar that's slightly easier for radar detectors to spot. But not much. Of the dozens of models we've tested against the Redflex radar only a handful gave enough warning. That bunch included all five of the GPS-enabled detectors and other high-end models with superior K-band sensitivity.

American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is the other dominant U.S. photo enforcement vendor. ATS developed its own Ka-band radar and continues to use it. Like the Redflex system, the ATS radar is very low-powered, making it equally tough to detect.

Target-capture range, the distance at which your speed is locked-in (and your photo is taken) varies from 30 to about 110 feet, depending upon the road width, number of lanes and shoulder width. At speeds under 55 mph we feel 375 feet of detection range is the absolute minimum, allowing only five seconds in which to react. At 75 mph, make that 550 feet, and that'll help only the wide-awake driver.

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