Sensitivity, range, different display settings (one with a dot running left to right, then repeats. Looks really trick!) Loud enough to hear over music (most of the time!) show's which radar band is on you. Plug and play. Great radar detector!

I've owned two (exchanged 1st one) and they both go crazy once in a rare while and show detection without anything really gunning me. Easy to tell when its a "tweak" and when its the real thing, though.

This is an excellent radar detector. I feel naked when driving without it. Everything is plug and play, no setting it up is necessary. As far as i can tell, it never has missed a cop radaring me, and i haven't gotten a ticket since purchasing it. Its saved my ass countless times. Once in a while it'll "tweak" on me and go off for no reason, especially during summer with bright sunlight on it. Owned two 8500's and both did the same thing. otherwise though, couldn't ask for a better radar detector.

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none, don't want to try any others, either. This is an excellent radar detector for the money, or just overall!

ExpertMeter, SpecMeter, very loud, nice mounting unit.

None really. Super sensitive, so when its on 3 of the 6 bars, you figure the cops close. you still have a good mile before you pass him.

I just bought the product today. I bought it from a Best Buy about 80 miles away from my home, so I figured it would be a good test for the way home. As soon as I put it on the windshield, I felt protected. I powered her up, set the features I wanted (EZ Feature is pretty easy) and I was on my way home. As I was driving down the road, I got a K band alert. I purposely looked down at my odometer to measure how far away the cop was. It was a cop coming the opposite direction. 2.1 miles I drove before I passed him. Simply amazing if you ask me. I am completely confident in this product.

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Cobra 9200, Cobra 9850, Cobra 9860

Everything, its amazing! I love the programable features, you can really customize it to what you can handle and prefer.

300$... other than that, nothing.

I'm that friend that brandon (the following review) talks about. This radar is the most amazing thing radar in the world. It was just stolen from me, but I will soon have it back, and do I ever miss it!! It has detected a cop from about 2-3 miles away, over hills, around corners, and everything! As for false alarms, compared to the BEL 980 that i had (which was horrible for $180) this thing is great! Very little on the false alarms!

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BEL 980 (180$, you get what you pay for!!)

detecting far enough for you to react in more then enough time programmable incase the cops get smarter, you can design it to be invincible and detect anything the police force shoots at you (radar, etc.) barely if not any false alarms.

the weakness is you not buying it and paying for a ticket that shouldn't have happened

I have a friend that has this detector and it has saved him so many times. The amount of time it detects radar is phenominal. I have been with him several times and it has saved our asses. I do think if you have a lead foot like me then buying this is a good investment. Paying $300 for a detector is worth more then a $200 ticket and your insurance going up. It pretty much pays for itself, if you speed. If you dont speed, dont buy it. Dont take the risk either of not buying it, like I said it pays for itself the first time you hear it detect radar

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whistler

THE RANGE-THE SMART CORD-EXPERT METER THE ABILITY TO "PROGRAM" THE UNIT TO MY SPECS.

THE ONLY WEAKNESS THAT I THINK IS THAT ITS A LITTLE PRICY.HEY BUT YOU WANT THE BEST YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. I HAVE ALSO READ OTHER REVIEWS THAT THE PRODUCT IS HARD TO PROGRAM???WHAT?? THESE CONSUMERS PROBABLY STILL CANT WORK A VCR!!!!TWO BUTTONS AND THATS IT.I FIGURED IT OUT INSTANTLY.

I LOVE THIS ESCORT 8500.I HAVE ONLY USED IT ABOUT ONE OR TWO MONTHS,BUT SO FAR IT HAS SAVED ME WITH ALL BANDS,ESPECIALLY THE DEADLY Ka BAND. I HAVE PICKED UP K AT ABOUT TWO MILES AND KA FOR ABOUT THE SAME. IT SEEMS LIKE NOW THAT I SEE THE RADAR,IT SEEMS THAT ALMOST ALL POLICE CARS HAVE RADAR.I LIVE IN FLORIDA WHERE THE ROADS ARE MOSTLY STRAIGHT AND I SEE RADAR LONG BEFORE IT SEES ME.I HAVE ALSO PICKED "K" AND"KA" ON TURNS.WHAT OTHER PRODUCT CAN TELL YOU THAT!!

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ESCORT 4500

No strengths this detector is junk. VALENTINE ONE OR BEL VECTOR 985 ARE THE BEST DETECTORS

Lets just say that this product is not worth the money! I am in my 7th year as a Valentine One owner and I wanted to do some testing on my own. And lets just say that if I did not have my V1 in my windshield driving from Dallas to Houston I would have got nailed 4 times there and back. The range on the 8500 is nothing compared to the V1 I was getting K band signals from my V1 about 3 miles away and Ka band signals about 2 miles away. The 8500 hundred was 1/2 mile on the K band and 1/4 mile on the Ka band. And they say they have the best Ka detection. I did another test between my V1 and the Bel Vector 985 and I was very impressed the Bel Vector 985 had tremendous range compared to the 8500 I got 2 miles in K band warnings and about 1.5 in Ka warnings. If you dont have the kind of money to buy a V1 then trust me go with the Bel Vector 985 instead it is a lot better than the 8500.

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VALENTINE ONE AND BEL VECTOR 985

Sounds, Volume, Expert-Meter, SmartCord

Kinda falses a lot on auto-mode and even city mode even though the manual recommends auto-mode all the time. But I'm pretty sure every radar detector will false just as much.

This radar detector is pretty nice and descent. It just about falses at every supermarket automatic door I go to, but don't they all? On my way to school, I had a police car about 200 yards in front with a LASER gun. Sure enough, when he shot my car, the LASER warning went off and it gave me time to adjut my speed. Ka band range is just amazing...I got a Ka band and I didn't see the cop...Ka is almost usually the cop and so is laser.

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none, my first radar.

multiple bands at once, voltmeter, smartcord, direct smartcord, automute (most have this), re-flashable eprom chip

valentine one tells you which direction a signal is coming from, passport doesn't

best radar detector i've ever owned! valentine one monitors multiple bands at once, so does passport 8500...for less $! plus a voltmeter, plus available accessories. can't beat it for the $. other detectors out there are cheaper, but YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

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whistler, bel, etc...

Everything

none

@ 6 in the morning on the GSP northbound doing about 90 with a couple of cars. Bam!! Laser screaming. Braking hard and the couple of cars with me do the same. About 1/2 mile away the NJtrooper sits anxiously waiting for a speeder but it wasn't us. Laser really works.

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passport7500, uniden and cobra

EXCELLENT range on all bands. Great resistance to falsing from other detectors. Many useful features. Easy to use.

On the spendy side, but still cheaper than a ticket...

I have own several brands of mid and high end detectors and the Escort Passport 8500 is easily the best detector ever. It has excellent range - especially on Ka band radar that some detectors don't even detect at all. But it's most impressive strength is that it doesn't sound a bunch of false VG2, Ka or X -band alarms from other radar detectors. If it goes off, you know it's a cop. And it can pick them up 2 or 3 miles ahead of time. It's also very user friendly and has many user selectable features. If you buy a low or mid priced unit, you may be disappointed. But if you buy the Escort Passport 8500 you will not be. I give it my highest recommendation.

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Cobra ESD. Fuzzbuster. Uniden SWS. Bel Vector. PNI Sensoro. Rocky Mountain Radar.