Tested: Five $100 - $199 Detectors

After a longish wait, some good news. Several new detectors have finally arrived. Five of the newcomers carry suggested retail prices in the $149 to $199 range, a segment that's seeing a marked increase in competition lately.

Curious to find out if these entries are just pretty faces or whether they have better performance to boot, we purchased samples anonymously at different retailers and ran them through our full battery of tests.

We evaluated each unit in the most important categories: performance, ergonomics, features and alert systems. Aside from X and K band radar, they were tested against all four frontline Ka-band moving radar models. Some of these are far tougher to detect than others. The Ka-band radar range against all four was averaged. Then we assigned an overall score, one to five stars. For our preview test, here's what we found, listed alphabetically.

($199.95)

The Vector 895 ranks at the bottom of the lineup topped by the Vector 995, winner of our last under-$300 model test. (For the full test report see Utility Boxes: Best Detector Under $299.

The BEL Vector 895 shares the Vector-series housing but has its own distinctive gray/black color scheme. Its high-intensity red text display remains clearly visible even under intense sunlight and the audio alerts are crisp and distinct.

Features include heightened X-band filtering or X-band shutoff to limit urban false alarms, plus voice alerts and two types of visual display. There's a fast power-up option that skips the usual audio/visual self-test routine and puts the unit to work immediately.

The BEL Vector 895's radar sensitivity was the class of the field. It spotted all three of the most common types of Ka-band radar (the favorite frequency today) from over 27,000 feet away. Its X- and K-band range was even better. What most impressed us was its consistency.

Check out the test result graphs and you'll note that its detection range against every type of radar we threw at it was both outstanding--and almost exactly the same. This is no mean engineering feat and speaks volumes for the excellence of its design.

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The BEL Vector 895 delivered 46 percent better Ka-band range than the Cobra 9675, 32 percent more range than the Cobra 9775 and a whopping 243 percent better Ka-band range than the Whistler 1778.

It also spotted Ka-band POP radar 80 percent of the time from 4,500 feet away, the minimum useful distance (it doesn't detect the rarely seen K-band POP radar). The Whistler 1778 and 1776 averaged 35%, the Cobra 9675 and Cobra 9775 averaged only a 25 percent success rate.

Bottom line: Best overall radar detection performance I've seen in an under-$200 detector.

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($149.95)

The Cobra XRS 9675 earns credit for handsome styling. And for the directionally challenged it has a compass with eight cardinal points. But the yellow text display is difficult or impossible to read in bright sunlight. And the bright upper housing and chromed buttons generate noticeable windshield glare.

The Cobra XRS 9675, like the BEL Vector 895 and the Whistler 1778 and 1776 models, has several useful menu options. These range from selectable band defeat, alternate City modes and Smart Mute, which keeps the audible alerts silent at low road speeds.

Like the others, we tested it against four different frequencies of Ka band radar including the MPH BEE III in POP mode and the Multanova/Redflex photo radar (speed camera) and found it to have some major gaps in its performance envelope. It had great trouble detecting some Ka-band police radars but did quite well on others.

K-band performance was excellent but X-band performance was lousy. And it failed to spot a high-speed police vehicle equipped with Cobra's own Safety Alert transmitter until it had closed to within 192 feet, making this feature worthless.

Bottom line: stylish, adequate features, poor text display and some big holes in its performance package.

Rating:

($179.95)

Take the XRS 9675, change the upper-case color to gray, add voice alerts and it becomes the XRS 9775 model. They're the same detector. Oddly, compared to the XRS 9675, the XRS 9775 had 60 percent more range against one popular type of Ka-band police radar. But it had the same dismal Ka POP-mode score and, like its sibling, not infrequently shouted "VG-2 Alert!" or "Spectre Alert!" when there wasn't one of those RDDs within a thousand miles. (It was detecting nearby radar detectors.)

Bottom line: great looking detector, good feature set, inconsistent Ka-band detection range, good on K band, lousy on X band.

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Whistler DE 1778
($199.95)

Changes seen in the new Whistler 1778 and 1776 models (and several others, including a $199 Model 1788 battery-powered unit) mark a shift in product philosophy for this company.

The 1778 and 1776 benefit from an improved text display that's bright blue in color and far easier to read than the pale red display of yore. It fares much better in sunlight but you'll still need to keep it within easy line of sight for best readability. The 1778's display automatically dims at night, a feature we've not seen before on dash-mount models priced below $400.

Of the two Whistlers, the 1776 has the better visual alert system. While the 1778 has a bar graph flanked by a number to display signal strength, the 1776 has a bar graph flanked on each side by a very intense, flashing blue LED. It's highly effective.

Both Whistlers offer an extensive array of genuinely useful features. Standard are selectable band defeat, alternate City modes that lower or shut off X band, voice alerts, both K- and Ka-band POP-mode radar detection and three different sets of audio tones. There's also an auto-shutoff feature to keep from draining the car battery during extended absences. And an optional Intelli-Cord supplies status and alert LEDs, plus it allows power on/off and other features to be operated from the power plug, letting you mount the detector beyond arm's reach if necessary.

Whistler 1776

We especially liked the dark-hued upper case which dramatically cuts down on windshield glare. Now only the chrome buttons reflect on the glass, rather than the entire upper housing of some previous models.

Programming is far from intuitive (in comparison the BEL Vector 895 is a paragon of simplicity) and we'd suggest taking the owner manual along on every trip.

X-band detection range was excellent, within about 500 feet of the class-leading BEL Vector 895 and over three times that of both Cobras. And K-band sensitivity proved to be just as good.

The Whistler 1778 and 1776 dropped far back on Ka band, delivering an average of 11,353 feet of range versus an average of 19,881 feet for the Cobras and 27,616 feet for the front-running BEL Vector 895. Both units were critically nearsighted in spotting the deadliest Ka-band radar on the road today.

Bottom line: big improvements in cosmetics, text display and features; great on X and K band, average Ka-band performance.

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