I love this little gadget! I gave it to my boyfriend for Christmas and he loves it too. It was worth the money- it is SO easy to use, and it's already saved our butts countless times.

I've had this item for 6 months, and it detects cop cars like an eagle grabbing a chicken. Every Smokey within a half mile shows up flawllessly -
hiding in culverts, cruising along, coming up behind you. And I don't get very many false hits in the city. I actually like false hits, because they make me drive slower.
I like this item so much I feel compelled to burst into song:
My Passport is my watchful eagle,
sitting on my dashboard all alone,
it screeches at every legal beagle
hiding under any stone.
Im not caught by Smokey,
Im happy as a clam,
not going to the pokey,
not going to the slam
I wave at every law
a cheerful citizen am I
slow when I see his square jaw,
then step on it - goodbye!

I shoulda bought one years ago!

I am 100% satisfied with my Escort Passport 8500 Radar and Laser Detector. It has already paid for itself. The unit is very user friendly and fits comfortably on my dashboard. I now feel more at ease when driving on road trips.

Before I actually begin, one thing should be perfectly clear - you're looking at this radar because you understand accuracy is not only important, it is critical when looking for a radar detector. If you look at my other reviews, you'll notice that I've given 5 stars to those products as well - you'll also notice I haven't done many reviews in the past, that's because I only really write reviews for items that I think deserve it. As for the rest, well, I don't keep the product if it doesn't meet the 5 star requirement! So trust me when I say this radar is the best you can buy under $500.

Accuracy:
I've always been a little skeptical about using radar detectors, everyone knows they won't prevent tickets every single time. But, if it can save you a couple tickets it's already paid for itself. I live in Chicago, and frequently drive to neighboring states for work and to visit family. Because of this, I knew that I would have to buy a solid detector that was effective if I was constantly on the road. I made the right choice. Driving on the expressways in the midwest is simple for me now knowing I am using the 8500 x50. It has alerted me much in advance if a cop was gunning and I've always had time to slow down and pass the cop at the posted speed limit. The three main alerts, K, KA, and X are pretty much always on target - and with minimal false readings, it stays quiet when it needs to.

Ease of Use:
One of the best aspects of this radar is how easy it is to use. Right out of the package, it's ready to go. However, if you're a little more technical and always need things a certain way, you can configure it with a number of different settings to fit your style. One of the downfalls is that I wish the x50 would have a better volume control - I feel that it doesn't go loud enough, especially when I'm listening to music in my car. To make up for it, I've moved the x50 from the center of the winshield to more to the left, so it is in my field of vision while I drive to allow me to see the display at all times out of the corner of my eye. In addition, the Escort SmartCord works well with it's auto mute button on the adaptor itself.

Value:
Hands down, the x50 takes the gold as the number one radar on the market. You're probably thinking to yourself, $340 for a radar detector is a lot of money. And you know.. you're absolutely right. But.. if you save yourself two speeding tickets, the x50 has paid for itself (not to mention the pain of having to go to court and traffic school). If this radar was over $400, it would still be worth it considering what you may be saving yourself from. I got the x50 with the blue display because it was from the Sharper Image, and that's all they had. If you want to save yourself $40 by going with the red display, I say do it and save some cash.

The Bottom Line:
If you want to make a solid investment, get the 8500 x50 and don't waste your money with a $100 or $200 radar that isn't accurate - doing that will cost you the price of your ticket plus a radar detector that would be better off being used for a paper weight. Although Bel and the Valentine One are solid detectors, they don't match up to the stats that the x50 has - see it for yourself at www.radartest.com.

I was going 75 in a 40, up a hilly highway last night, to get by a logging truck before a long stretch with no passing zones. There was some downhill traffic, but no cop-like vehicles I could see. But Mr. Escort blinked his lights (the one on the power supply as well as the blue LEDs) and sounded his chirp (which is loud enough for me!) and I buried the brake pedal to get my bimmer down to the legal speed. Then the signal went dead. None of the downhill vehicles was the fuzz, so my first thought was "dangit, that false alarm is going to get me stuck behind this truck for five miles!" but then I saw Mr. Smokey in the trees just off the road, using pop-radar in his unmarked car. He had just clocked the downhill cars, that's where I got my signal.

"BUzzzzzz!" Mr Escort said again when the copper clocked me, and I'll bet HE thought "a BMW going 40? He knew I was here." But once the cop was out of view,I zoomed by the truck , and thanked the Escort Co. for the 50th time this year. I have not gotten a SINGLE ticket since I installed mine, and many, if not most, would have been unavoidable without it.

If you drive a lot, and you don't like being passed by grandmas, BUY THIS DETECTOR. Don't quibble about the price, it will save you three times the $ in the first year. I never owned any other, so I can't say if it's better than a V1 or a Cobra, but I do know I am VERY glad I bought mine.

First of all I got this product for [...]$ and then a few days later Amazon lowered it to [...], I was quick to ship mine back and order it for cheaper...thanks amazon for that :D
The good:
1) Very accurate. Everytime it goes off I have enough time to slow down. I borrowed V-1 from my friend and installed it together. Believe it or not V-1 does not go off sometimes (K and Ka bands)
2) Intellient muting: The unit mutes automatically after a few beeps and however loud I keep my music I can still hear this beeping!
3) 360 degree range: I have seen cops arrive on all directions after this thing goes off. It has a 360 degree range.
4) Consumes lesser battery power than V-1 does.

Recommendations:
1) Install it as high as you can in your car.
2) Keep all the window glasses of your car clean.
3) Turn the volume to High. (The default is standard)
Myth and reality:
Do not expect it to go off on slopes, if you are on a rising slope I suggest you slow down because it will be too late when you get hit.
I really wish they they had the arrow feature of V-1 built into it, but for half the price of V-1 I don't mind :)

Cons:
Do NOT blame this device if you get ticketed because you were speeding up a slope or on curvy roads, or you got pulled over by cops who didn't have their radars turned on. This device will help only monitor your speed and warn you of potential threats, it doesn't make you invincible!
POP is not turned on by default and is listed as a con by amazon, but it's just a two step process to enable it.

Overall it's a great toy to have. I got the blue display because it matches well with my blue dashboard display of my Civic 06.

I've owned the original 8500 for a few years now. It has consistently proved its value on many highway drives. The current X50 update is simply an improvement on what was already a great radar detector, with a blue LED option. Save yourself the extra money and get a red display, it is the same in every other way to the blue display unit.

Basic, automatic mode is great. Turn it on, scroll to Auto and leave it. This will allow the unit to work in City and Highway mode automatically. It works. Simple.

I've moved to the advanced display so I can track multiple signals. The LED display is clear and gives lots of information at a glace. The next level provides signal frequency, but that's too much and unnecessary for me. Between the audio alerts and the letter and bar display, I've got a good idea what I'm receiving, and, from where. Without an arrow.

Generally, heat is the worst thing for ALL radar detectors. That means not leaving the any unit out in the sun when parked. It is also a good idea to avoid spikes of electricity by not having it plugged in when starting the motor, and using the power/volume wheel to turn it on and off. Remember, excessive heat is BAD for your radar detector.

I had used the RMR - C450 radar detector and jammer for about a year. That product was way over hyped and had very poor detection range. On the advise of a good friend I sold the RMR and bought the 8500 X50. I never realized how bad that RMR was until I started using this unit. I have picked up police radar close to two miles from me AND have picked up radar over a small hill well before I topped it. Another great thing is that the false alarms are few and far inbetween. The only issues I have with this unit are that POP detection is not turned on by default, the programming innerface is not real easy, and that POP false alarms do happen (maybe this is why it's turned off by default).