When CNET editor Antuan Goodwin reviewed the Escort Passport Max radar detector in 2013, he was impressed by its detection capability but griped about the additional cost for Escort's SmartCord, needed to use the Escort Live Radar smartphone app. Escort solves that problem with the Passport Max 2, integrating Bluetooth connectivity into this next-generation radar detector.
I put this new version of Escort's signature radar detector through its paces, checking out its app features and testing its detection capabilities.
Unchanged in size, the Passport Max 2 is on the large side, considering how small most consumer electronics have become. The unit measures 1.3 by 3.2 by 5.3 inches, much thicker than the average smartphone, and at 9.6 ounces it also has a bit of heft to it. Size aside, the packaging, black with silver accents, looks business-like.
The front end houses the all-important detector, able to read X, K and Ka band radar, while a small nodule on top of the unit detects laser signals. At the back end, a narrow OLED display shows you radar hits with signal strength, the current speed limit and your own speed, these latter two bits of information courtesy of the device's built-in GPS.
An array of buttons across the top lets you change the Passport Max 2's volume, set the detection mode and mark locations. The 12-volt power cord, which includes buttons for some basic functions, plugs into the side, then drapes down the middle of the dashboard to a power point.
Escort includes a suction-cup mount that fits both on the windshield or smooth dashboard surfaces.That mount's hinge only moves vertically, with limited range.
As a useful part of the Escort radar detector system, the associated app includes crowdsourced data and gives a more visual representation of data from the Passport Max 2. The app includes map locations for radar hits and red-light cameras, and also lets you report speedtrap locations. Even more convenient, the Passport Max 2 automatically reports its radar hits through the app to the crowdsourced database, letting other drivers know about speed traps.
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Long-range detection
I found it dead easy to install the Passport Max 2. Stick the suction-cup mount to the windshield, and insert the power cord and run it down to the car's power point. I installed the Escort Live app on my iPhone and, using an account provided by Escort logged in. When the Passport Max 2 fired up, I found it in my phone's Bluetooth settings and it paired right away.
On the road, the Passport Max 2 sounded off with a noisy alert for every radar hit it got, similar to radar detectors of old. At the same time, a meter on the device's display showed bars indicating the strength of the signal. When approaching a radar detector, the audible alert gained frequency, but also lowered its volume automatically so as not to be annoying.
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The Escort Passport Max 2 will accurately let you know when law enforcement has set up a speed trap with active radar, but its high visibility on your
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