Home > Consumer Reviews > Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar and Laser Detector (Red Display)

This is my second Escort Passport 8500 X50. The first one is in another car. It saved me many times for getting caught though I'm not maniac driver. The detection range is very good, it gives you plenty time to adjust your speed before you see the police car. I love the blue color and it only costs $30 more than red. The only problem that I have experienced on my first one is sometimes I got laser false warning signals, especially on raining day with defog is on. I heard someone mentioned that turbo charged car can causes X50 Pop and Laser false warning signals, and my first X50 is in my turbo charged car. I'm not sure if Pop alerts were false but since it won't help much, I have it turned off. Overall, it's very good detector, you will get payback if you own one.

I had the previous version of the 8500 -- without the POP detection. My girfrielnd got a hefty ticket in a double fine zone so I gave her my old one and bought this new one. For a while, though, I compared them side by side just to see if there was any noticable difference in sensitivity.

I had to separate them by about a foot or so to keep them from either triggering each other or suppressing each other from detecting radar. I have a spot in my commute with a permanent speed trap and speed display near a school, with rolling hills, and where my detector would reliably go off at just about the same spot every time.

Anyway, for sensitivity, I can't spot a difference. This version and the old version are virtually identical in response. One thing about this new one with POP is that even though it still alarms in the same place, the signal strength indicator bounces up higher initially and the tone is also more rapid (just as if it was receiving a higher level signal). But it still goes off at about the same place. I suspect this simulates POP since when it first alarms, it is getting a weak signal. But there doesn't appear to be any added sensitivity - they just seem to make the alarm indicate high signal strength than it is really getting. It does get your attention more than just the intermittent beep, however.

Don't know if that is all the POP circuit does or not, but that's all it seems to do.

Other than that, it's virtually the same as the old unit. If you have the previous version, I don't see any reason to upgrade. In every other scenario I encountered when testing the two units side by side, they both basically alarmed at the same time and gave equal notice.

That said, it still gives me lots of notice -- unless laser is being used. For laser, when they tag you with that, any detector is probably just going to tell you you have already been busted if you are speeding. I have yet to have the laser warning on the Escort give me any notice that another driver was tagged. On the other hand, the guys using laser, at least where I live, tend to wait until they can see the whites of your eyes. I have already identified them and slowed down well before. No radar signal with a car on the side of the road and an officer standing beside it is a pretty good warning you are about to be checked with laser.

In A word the Passport 8500 is awesome. I picked it up for a road trip across the southern USA. I tested it out around Los Angeles and got a few false alarms but I also found a few motor cops hiding. We hit the road for 5 weeks and did not get a single ticket. The unit was easy to use and we quickly learned the signal types. We spotted police units approaching from behind; we were alerted to POP before it was too late. It even caught a frontal blast of Laser, I jammed on the brakes and saw the police car in the center divider, no ticket. The X band went off for every construction zone but that was to be expected. Overall it spotted all radar traps and saved us a lot of money. I would never drive across the country without this unit. Worth the price.

All I can say is after much research, I bought the 8500 X50 from Best Buy. Three weeks later I get a ticket and my unit never flinched. The cop even went back to flip it on for me and I got one dot. Needless to say after spending $369 then getting a $185 ticket, I got my money-back and have switched to the Valentine 1. The directional arrows are a great asset. Much better rear detection too! Spend the money, buy a Valentine 1 and be done with it!

I have 3 of these, was so impressed with performance of first bought 2 more 8 months later. Then the trouble started, Shortly after warranty runs out each detector started chirping away for no reason or saying service needed. Send the first one back, needed new antena, sent the second, same thing, now about to send third at $60 each repair. Voiced my complaint to rep, told me we must be misusing them. Leaving them on overnight...NO...
Extreme heat or cold...NO..I live in NJ we do not experience extreme weather. Using a splitter and plugging in another device thru lighter...NO
Rep was rather rude at ESCORT repair desk...Now reading all the reviews I can see there is a problem, most reviews were written early on...Problems start after 1st year. A $300 unit should not require a 4^0 repair every year....Think twice...I will pursue this with management at ESCORT