The Escort Passport 8500 Radar Detector - Best Protection or Just Hype?

In the ever competitive cat and mouse chase world of police radar and drivers who want 'protection' from their lead-foot driving tendencies, radar detection companies are always trying to keep in step with the radar gun producing folks who are doing everything in their power to give the law enforcement agencies the upper hand.

But as technology has improved, and microprocessors have become more powerful while their size have diminished, we, the general consumer, now have access to some of the most sophisticated radar detection systems available.

For years, Escort has been a name synonymous with exceptional radar protection. Their line of Passport detectors have been touted among the best in the industry. The culmination of those years of experience coupled with the more aggressive approach law enforcement radar traps has resulted in Escort's latest, and by far best effort, the Passport 8500.

There has always been a somewhat consistent approach to radar detectors. Scan the bandwidth for either the common X-band, K-band, KA-band or Laser band (we'll call it a band, even though it isn't) and advise the driver when a signal is detected. But a new method of radar traps law enforcement agencies have been employing is the blanketing of areas with X-band transmissions to set off detectors, while troopers lay in wait with a Ka-band gun. Since most detectors only warn of one signal at a time - usually the strongest, they couldn't inform the driver of a second (or more) signal laying in wait up ahead.

You've seen those radar signs that advise you of your speed? Well, they're often a decoy, and actually get people with radar detectors to speed up and ignore the detection signal, not realizing that just up ahead, a real trap is set.

The Passport 8500, like some other high-end detectors, defeats this type of trap by advising you of up to 8 different radar signals simultaneously. Now you won't get caught off guard from a false signal that's covering up a real signal further down the road.

Additionally, the Passport 8500 offers advanced "reprogrammable" digital signal processing and 'EZ-Programming' which allows you to not only customize your detector to your preferences, but can be adjusted to combat further radar threats that have yet to be designed. Bottom line: It can be upgraded - something only the Passport 8500 offers. It remains to be seen how useful this option will be.

The Passport 8500 is also coupled with a very intelligent auto sensitivity mode that automatically reduces false alarms. No detector on the market reduces false alarms better than the 8500. This has been verified by multiple sources.

The intricate LED metering system is a treat to behold. Offering you bar graphs, numerical readouts or combinations of both, you can customize the display to your own liking, and always be well aware of any threats up ahead.

The audio alerts can be set to a screechingly high volume - loud enough to offset any loud song (by Rush) that you might be playing at the time. The auto-mute features, which automatically reduces the volume of an alert after a few seconds, is also a nice added feature (one that's been employed for years by Escort).

The casing is an attractive brushed metal that's rather durable, ergonomically designed, and light weight overall.

Included with the Passport 8500 is what Escorts dubs the 'Smartcord'. As Escort claims, "This unique and innovative power cord has a built-in alert lamp, pilot light and convenient mute button. Now everything you need is located at your fingertips..." And their claims are justified. For those with long, angled windshields, reaching the detector for adjustments can pose a problem when driving. But the Smartcord certainly aids in that situation but putting you in reach without having to poke at the detector.

But for all its bells and whistles, and significantly high price ($300), the Passport 8500 has to perform and not just be a gadget freak's dream. Now if you're reading this, then you've probably already heard about the conflicting results from two separate tests comparing the Passport 8500 and the Valentine One. One test claims that the Passport 8500 is the "World's Best Radar Detector" while ranking the V-1 third. While another test calls the V-1 the best protection money can buy, placing the Passport 8500 down the list.

Who is right? Who is wrong? Well, with any test, the results depend on the conditions. Not having access to a V-1, I can only give you my results based on a comparison between the Passport 8500 and my older Passport 4500. The results were outstanding. Having used my older 4500 for years now, I became perfectly accustomed to its detection abilities - which have always been exceptional. But when driving with both side by side (they didn't interfere with one another), the 8500 ignored more false X-band signals that the 4500, and it detected Ka emissions far faster than the 4500 (on the order of 10 seconds at 55 mph).

One thing you have to consider when reading a review about radar test comparisons is the speed in which the tests are taken. If the car is traveling at 25 mph, then it's absurd to indicate that one detector discovered a signal 10 seconds before another. But at 75 mph, that same test might reflect a 1 second difference - simply because of the speed and distance traversed. A 1-3 second difference is minimal in my book.

Is the Passport 8500 is the best radar protection in the world? For many reasons, the answer is yes. But until a true, controlled test can be done to properly compare this, and other high-end detectors out there, the official answer to that question is "maybe".

Regardless, the Passport 8500 offers incredible protection, incredible features and gadget-like glory for those so inclined to add a dash of 'cool' to their dash. All for a hefty price of $300. Considering how much speeding tickets run, it's money very well spent.

Below are the specifications behind this detector. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Detector Specifications

Operating Bands
* X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz
* K-band 24.150 GHz ± 100 MHz
* Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz
* Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth

Radar Receiver / Detector Type
* Superheterodyne, GaAs FET VCO
* Scanning Frequency Discriminator
* Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Laser Detection
* Quantum Limited Video Receiver
* Multiple High-Performance Laser Sensors

Display Type
* AlGaAs 280 LED Matrix/Text
* Bar Graph, ExpertMeter, or SpecDisplay
* 3-Level Dimming, plus Dark Mode

Power Requirement
* 12VDC, Negative Ground
* SmartCord MuteDisplayTM Included

Programmable Features
* Power-On Indication
* Power-On Sequence
* Signal Strength Meter
* AutoMute
* Audio Tones
* City Mode Sensitivity
* Display Brightness
* Dark Mode
* Radar / Laser Bands

Sensitivity Control
* AutoSensitivity, Highway, and City

Mute and AutoMute

Auto Calibration Circuitry

SmartShield VG2 Immunity

Compact Size
* 1.25" H x 2.85" W x 5.32" L