RadarBuster's radar detector reviews & rankings of the best radar detectors on the market as of 2023
Radar detectors are designed to be mounted on your windshield or custom installed on your vehicle for discreet operation.
When selecting the best radar detector for you, your first choice is to determine if you want a radar detector to mount to your windshield or a radar detector that is built into your car.
Some of the advantages of choosing a windshield-mount radar detectors:
- The best radar detectors that are windshield-mount are easy to install and move from car to car
- A windshield-mounted radar detector is much more affordable than a custom installed detector
- Radar detection performance improves as the radar detector's antenna is mounted higher
The main reason you may choose investing into a concealed radar detector is that such it's is hidden from view, reducing the chance of theft or discovery by a traffic enforcement officer but they often come at higher costs relative to windshield-mounted radar detectors.
Yes, they are legal in the USA with the exception of Virginia, the District of Columbia, on all military bases, and nationally in all commercial vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds. Over the years, however, the cost of any fines for operating one are small (relative to a typical speeding ticket).
To enforce radar detector usage laws in Virginia and by commercial truck inspection officers, police use a device called the Spectre RDD radar detector detector (or RDD) that is able to sniff out many of the radar detectors made.
The best radar detectors are undetectable or nearly undetectable by Spectre RDDs, making driving with a radar detector a much less risky proposition that it's been of past years.
Because of this if you do drive in Virginia, Washington D.C., or are commercial vehicle operator you will want to be sure to select a radar detector that is stealth to the Spectre RDD.
Now if you live and/or drive where police laser enforcement is commonly used, you may also want to scroll down to the bottom of this page to our Laser Jamming Reviews section to check out those rankings and reviews.
In terms of police laser, we always recommend pairing your detector with Laser Veil to give you the best chance at beating a speeding ticket.
We also provide a complete list of all of the radar detectors that we offer.
Best Radar Detector Reviews of 2023 - Summary with Rankings
GPS Enabled Windshield Mounted Radar Detectors
Ranked #1 Best: Uniden R8 – Brand New!
Review Summary
The all new Uniden R8 is the new king of radar detectors and is the most sensitive windshield-mount radar detector currently available, bar none.
The Uniden R8 has dual LNA (low-noise amplifiers) which add about 4dB of sensitivity over the already extremely sensitive Uniden R7, yielding an impressive improvement of a whopping 60% in potential detection range.
The Uniden R8 provides full 360 degree protection with colored directional arrows and the largest OLED display available.
The Uniden R8's advanced ability to filter out most of the false alerts caused by the anti-collision sensors installed on new cars today while still be able to alert to hard to detect radars such as MultaRadar, Redflex, and now Gatso makes it the clear winner.
Pros:
- Most extreme long-distance radar detections ever
- Use of dual low noise amplifiers (LNA) for increased sensitivity
- Super fast instant-on Ka detection
- High performance digital signal processing (DSP) for extreme long range performance
- Anti-collision sensor rejection filtering
- MultaRadar, Redflex, and Gatso detection capable
- Identification of police laser guns
- GPS enabled
- Built-in bluetooth for future smartphone application integration
- Firmware and photo enforcement database are both user upgradable
Cons:
- Would like to see a magnesium case instead of plastic
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $699.95
Review Summary
The new Escort Redline 360c is Escort's most sensitive detector ever produced. It combines the performance of the once revered Escort Redline and the Escort Max 360c while offering significant increases in sensitivity across all radar bands.
This is Escort's first completely undetectable directional radar detector and the first ever to incorporate three antennas, two facing forward each tuned to specific radar frequencies and a rear facing one to provide directional information.
Like the original Redline and Redline EX radar detectors, all antennas incorporate an LNA to maximize sensitivity and add to its stealth capabilities.
Escort claims a 6dB increase which translates to a potential increase of about 200% over the Escort Max 360c. This puts it in the realm of the Uniden R8--the current long distance champ.
The advanced ability to filter out most of the false alerts caused by the anti-collision sensors installed on new cars today allows the Escort Redline 360c to alert to radar from extremely long distances while minimizing falsing from non police-radar sources, but in the case of the Escort Redline 360c, like some other Escort detectors, K-band performance can sometimes be erratic.
Recent firmware updates have solidified the performance of the Redline 360c and we are pleased to see that the improvements can rapidly, but even though the Redline 360c is billed as being able to detect MRCD/MRTC speed radars, we have not found this to be the case.
It is also a GPS enabled detector and is rated as being both a city and highway detector like most GPS based detectors.
The Redline 360c also has built-in bluetooth and WIFI for connecting either to a mobile phone or directly to the internet to get firmware updates or access in real-time Escort Live!, Escort's version of WAZE.
One downside to all of these capabilities and features is its price. At a whopping $749, the Escort Redline 360c is the penultimate most expensive radar detector on the market but the asking price doesn't appear to have affected its popularity among enthusiasts.
Pros:
- Extreme long-distance radar detections
- Super fast instant-on Ka detection
- Unique three antenna design with directional arrows
- Use of Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) circuitry throughout
- High performance digital signal processing (DSP) for extreme long range performance
- Anti-collision sensor rejection filtering
- GPS enabled
- Firmware and photo enforcement database are both user upgradeable
- Completely undetectable by SPECTRE RDDs
- Solidly built
- Quick release magnetic windshield mounting bracket
- Builtin WIFI & Bluetooth
- Subsequent firmware updates should improve performance further
Cons:
- Eye popping price
- Does not detect MultaRadar sources well
- Occasionally provides inconsistent performance
- OLED display can be hard to read in bright sunlight conditions
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $749.95
Ranked #3 Best: Uniden R4 – Brand New!
Review Summary
The Uniden R4 provides the greatest range of any single antenna radar detector by taking the already extreme performance of the Uniden R3 and adding two LNAs for a 3-4dB improvement in sensitivity.
The Uniden R4 is nearly undetectable by the Spectre RDD and provides excellent K-band rejection from today's collision avoidance systems.
Like the Uniden R8, the Uniden R4 can reliably alert to MRCD/MRCT and is quite good at alerting to Gatso, as well. Currently, no other manufacturer can do this..
At only $449, this detector offers an exceptional value, making it one of the very best values available today. Uniden comes with a 1 year manufacturers' warranty.
Pros:
- Currently the most sensitive single antenna detector currently available on the market
- Dual LNAs for even more extreme radar detection performance
- Advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for extreme range performance
- Exceptional at detecting instant-on police radar
- Excellent Traffic Safety Rejection (TSR) filtering
- Detection of MRCD/MRCT and Gatso RT3/RT4 speed radars
- K narrow and Ka narrow sweeps for improved performance with less falsing
- GPS enabled with auto-lockouts
- Full multi-color OLED display
- Small size
- Comes with two windshield-mounts, one conventional dual suction cup mount and one large "sticky-cup" mount
- Comes with USB smartcord with push-button muting
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradeable
- Better value than Escort's top-of-the-line detectors
- Nearly undetectable by SPECTRE RDD
Cons:
- None that we can think of
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Retail Price: $449.95
Ranked #4 Best: Uniden R7 – Best Seller!
Review Summary
The Uniden R7 has been arguably the most sensitive windshield-mount detector currently available.
It provides full 360 degree protection with colored directional arrows and the largest OLED display available.
The Uniden R7's advanced ability to filter out most of the false alerts caused by the anti-collision sensors installed on new cars today while still be able to alert to hard to detect radars such as MultaRadar and Redflex and its reduced pricing makes it an extremely good value for a dual-antenna directional detector.
It is also a GPS enabled detector and rated as such is suited to both city and highway driving like most GPS based detectors.
Last year we ranked it as our number two ranked detector, but even though more sensitive models are available from Uniden, the R7 should still be on your short list.
Pros:
- One of the most sensitive dual antenna detectors available on the market
- Dual antenna and directional arrows
- High performance digital signal processing (DSP) for extreme long range performance
- Best at detecting MultaRadar and Redflex radars
- Very good anti-collision sensor rejection filtering
- GPS enabled
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradable
- Nearly undetectable by SPECTRE RDDs
Cons:
- Build materials could be improved
- Some buttons hidden on left side
- Laser sensitivity not on par with its radar sensitivity
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
RadarBusters' Price: $499.95
Review Summary
The new Escort MAXcam 360c is Escort's first integrated dashcam and extreme performance radar detector, providing full 360 degree protection with colored directional arrows along with the advanced ability to filter out most of the false alerts caused by the anti-collision sensors installed on new cars today.
The MAXcam 360c is also a GPS enabled detector and rated as being both a city and highway detector like most GPS based detectors.
Pros:
- Dual antenna and directional arrows
- Extreme radar sensitivity
- Integrated high resolution dashcam
- All-digital signal processing (DSP) for extreme long range radar detection performance
- Exceptional at detecting instant-on police radar
- Among the best anti-collision sensor rejection filtering in the industry
- Escort Live! ready
- GPS enabled
- Builtin Bluetooth for wireless pairing to your smartphone
- WIFI capable to directly communicate with the Internet
- Bi-Lingual Voice Alerts - English & Spanish
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradable
Cons:
- Most expensive windshield-mount detector
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $749.95 (ON SALE)
Ranked #6 Best: Whistler Titan – Brand New!
Review Summary:
The new Whistler Titan is Whistler's highest performing radar detector ever offered. The Titan's detection performance is right up there with the very best radar detectors on our list and its filtering is superior to just about all of them.
The Whistler Titan is an absolute pleasure to drive with and should be at the top of your list if you insist on driving with a quiet detector.
When the Titan alerts to radar, you can be pretty sure its a genuine police radar detection.
Pros:
- The Whistler Titan is Whistler's highest performing detector released to date and competes with the best of them
- First Whistler to incorporate DSP (digital signal processing)
- First Whistler to incorporate PLL for frequency precision
- High degree of false resistance to BSM (collision avoidance systems)
- Firmware updatable via a USB cable
- Can detect MRCD/MRCT
- Extended range K-band to 23.9 GHz
- Excellent highway radar detector
- Limited 50th anniversary production run
- Exclusive 3-year warranty
Cons:
- Would prefer an updated casing and a multi-color display
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $349.95
Ranked #7 Best: Uniden R3 – Top Seller!
Review Summary
The Uniden R3 provides extreme range and includes GPS capability and a photo enforcement database.
The Uniden R3 is nearly undetectable by the Spectre RDD and provides excellent K-band rejection from today's collision avoidance systems.
At a newly reduced price, the Uniden R3 detector offers an exceptional value at a savings and remains one of the best values available today.
Uniden's detectors come with a 1 year manufacturers' warranty.
Pros:
- Remains one of the most sensitive single antenna detector available on the market
- Advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for extreme range performance
- Exceptional at detecting instant-on police radar
- Excellent Traffic Safety Rejection (TSR) filtering
- K narrow and Ka narrow sweeps for improved performance with less falsing
- GPS enabled
- Full Color OLED display
- Small size
- Comes with two windshield-mounts, one conventional dual suction cup mount and one large "sticky-cup" mount
- Comes with USB smartcord with push-button muting
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradeable
- Better value than Escort's top-of-the-line detectors
- Nearly undetectable by SPECTRE RDD
Cons:
- Does not come with USB to mini-D cable
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Retail Price: $299.95
Review Summary
The Escort Max 360c MII provides full 360 degree protection with colored directional arrows along with the advanced ability to filter out most of the false alerts caused by the anti-collision sensors installed on new cars today. The Mk II is an improved Max 360c with greater performance. The Escort Max 360 MkII provides the same level of performance as the Escort Max 360c MkII but comes without WIFI connectivity (which we regard as not an essential feature anyway).
It is also a GPS enabled detector and rated as being both a city and highway detector like most GPS based detectors.
Pros:
- Dual antenna and directional arrows
- Increased extreme radar sensitivity
- All-digital signal processing (DSP) for extreme long range radar detection performance
- Exceptional at detecting instant-on police radar
- Best anti-collision sensor rejection filtering in the industry
- Escort Live! ready
- GPS enabled
- Builtin Bluetooth for wireless pairing to your smartphone
- WIFI capable to directly communicate with the Internet (Max 360c MkII)
- Bi-Lingual Voice Alerts - English & Spanish
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradeable
Cons:
- Somewhat dated design relative to the newer models
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $699.95/$599.95
Review Summary
The new Escort Max 3 is Escort's third generation Max detector and in our opinion is the best iteration of the Max single antenna series both in terms of overall performance and in packaging.
We were never fans of the case designs of the previous Max and Max 2 detectors as they deviated from highly regarded designs of prior Escorts.
We are pleased that the new Max 3 now sports a proper housing which includes the magnetic quick-release windshield mount that is found on other top Escort detectors and unlike the previous Escorts, this magnetic mount is interchangeable with other Escort magnetic mount brackets.
Performance on Ka-band is exceptional and can hang with the best of them.
Like other digital Escorts, K-band performance can sometimes be inconsistent and lethargic.
We attribute this to the heavy-handed (and less sophisticated) signal processing to filter out K-band collision avoidance systems.
The software doesn't always guess right and sometimes genuine K-band detections can be adversely impacted.
Priced at $50 less than the older Escort iXc, the Max 3 the better value.
Pros:
- Currently the best iteration of the Max series
- Overall the highest performing single antenna detector from Escort
- Much improved packaging relative to the Max and Max2
- All-digital signal processing (DSP) for extreme long range radar detection performance
- Exceptional at detecting instant-on police radar
- Exceptional K-band anti-collision sensor rejection filtering (but comes at a price)
- GPS enabled
- Builtin Bluetooth for wireless pairing to your smartphone
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradeable
- Bi-Lingual Voice Alerts - English & Spanish
Cons:
- Firmware updates needed to improve consistency of some of its radar performance
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $399.99
Review Summary
Several years ago we regarded the Cobra DualPro 360 as the best detector on the market for the money.
The reason was simple. The Cobra DualPro 360 is based upon the same platform as Escort's Max 360c radar detector.
The Cobra DualPro 360 doesn't have as many features as the Escort Max 360c but those missing features have no impact on detection performance and for that the DualPro 360 is $200 less.
But with the significant drop in price of the Uniden R7 now at the same price, we now regard the Escort DP 360 as merely a good value, if somewhat dated.
It's performance hasn't changed, but it's no longer the great value champ it once was.
Pros:
- Dual antenna and directional arrows
- All-digital signal processing (DSP) for very long range radar detection
- Exceptional at detecting instant-on police radar
- Good anti-collision sensor rejection filtering in the industry
- GPS enabled
- Builtin bluetooth for wireless pairing to your smartphone
- Cobra iRadar ready
- Firmware and Photo Enforcement database are both user upgradable
- Bi-Lingual Voice Alerts - English & Spanish
Cons:
- Cobra brand not historically regarded as high-end
- Somewhat dated design
Best Suited for: Highway and City Use
Price: $449.99
Review Summary
The new Whistler CR97 is Whistler's highest performing radar ever offered and has performance significantly exceeding the outgoing Whistler CR93.
It's detection performance is on par with detectors costing twice as much. Beyond performance increases, the Whistler CR97 is the only detector available that can identify and alert to FMCW photo enforcement radar that is used for ticketing and is being used in greater frequency in the United States.
The Whistler CR97 is the best value in detectors today and is our top choice for those looking for a high performance and very affordable detector. A recent price drop to below $200 makes this the best performance GPS-enabled detector in the $200 and less category.
Pros:
- Best value GPS radar detector under $200
- Up to 6dB in increased sensitivity to Ka-band
- Up to 3dB in increased sensitivity to K-band
- Unique ability to identify and alert to FMCW photo enforcement
- Quick detections to instant-on police radar and police laser
- Adjustable responsiveness (performance versus filtering)
- Very good sensitivity to police laser
- Traffic Safety Rejection (TSR) filtering
- GPS photo enforcement database
- Bright OLED display
- Very user customizable
- Speed sensitive filtering and muting
Cons:
- Push button cord only available as option
Best Suited for: Highway & City Use
Retail Price: $199.95
Review Summary
The Adaptiv TPX Pro is rated as having 4 times the capture distance of a police radar gun and is specifically designed for motorcycle use however it can be accessorized as a windshield mounted detector. If you ride a motorcycle, the TPX Pro is our top pick for you.
Pros:
- Very good range
- Good false alert filtering
- Designed specifically for motorcycle use
- Integrates with Adaptiv's H.A.R.D. in-helmet alerting system
- GPS photo enforcement database
Cons:
- Push button cord only available as option
- Performance not as high as detectors built for in-car use
Best Suited for: Motorcycle Use
Price: $399.95
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 Unique to our review website, RadarBusters was founded by Radar Roy, a retired cop and certified traffic radar instructor with over 40 years of experience. Luxury Automotive was so impressed with Roy’s high standards and qualifications that they dubbed him the “General Schwarzkopf" of the countermeasure industry.
RadarBusters is one of the longest operating and most experienced countermeasure dedicated company in the industry. We are not a big box electronics store that offers everything under the sun. You will find no other company that offers the same level of pre- and post-sales expertise, than us.
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