Yahoo Finance 8 best dash cams that can help you stay safe on the roads
You only have to spend a few minutes looking at YouTube to know there are some dreadful drivers on our roads. Their antics can wipe out your hard-earned no claims bonus in a matter of seconds, so making sure you have a witness to any wrongdoing in the form of a decent dash cam has never been more important.
On average, crash-for-cash crimes are costing UK drivers an estimated £340m a year, bumping up premiums for everyone, reports The Insurance Fraud Bureau. But decent dash cam footage could protect you from having to fork out for a false claim, and some insurers may even offer money off your premium for using a camera.
Modern devices are packed with features such as G-force sensors to measure impacts, GPS to pinpoint your position and speed, and even collision avoidance software to warn you if you are approaching other vehicles too quickly.
Many also include built-in wifi and Bluetooth, which can make it easy to alter settings and download footage to your phone.
We put a range of the latest models through their paces, in daylight and at night, and found examples at a variety of price points to suit both the best drivers and those who just want protection on the odd trip into town.
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But whichever camera you choose, make sure you position it out of your eye line, and always keep your windscreen clean inside and out – we found having clear glass had a big impact on image quality right across the range of models.
The best dash cams for 2021 are:
Best overall – Nextbase 522GW: £149, Nextbase.com
Best for alerts – Mio MiVue 798: £170.20, Amazon.co.uk
Best dual-facing dash cam – Garmin tandem dash cam: £299.99, Garmin.com
Best with a magnetic mount – Nextbase 222: £129, Amazon.co.uk
Best bundle – Kenwood DRV-A501W bundle: £159.95, Kenwoodshop.co.uk
Best for speed alerts – Mio MiVue 812: £109, Currys.co.uk
Best with a capacitor – Yi nightscape dash cam: £69.99, Kamistore.eu
Best to fit and forget – Viofo A139: £219.95, Amazon.co.uk
Nextbase 522GW
Best: Overall
Resolution: 1440p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Packed with features and boasting 1440p HD recording, the 522GW is a worthy winner of our best buy. It even has Alexa built in, so you can call up your favourite tunes or ask it to save a recording of an incident. The footage is excellent, both day and night, and it’s easy to download segments to the Nextbase app via Bluetooth.
The 3in screen is touch sensitive, so you don’t have to fumble around trying to find buttons while on the road. There is also a built-in polarising filter on the lens which you can rotate to reduce glare, making a big improvement to the quality of the footage. One clever feature, which we hope you will never have to use, is the SOS emergency setting, which will give the emergency services your location and some medical details if you are ever in a crash and unresponsive.
Buy now £149.00, Nextbase.com
Mio mivue 798
Best: For alerts
Resolution: 1080p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? Yes
Bluetooth: No
Wifi: Yes
We love the safety camera alerts built into this one, including both an audible warning and screen countdown. Regular updates to the camera site database was also a notable feature. You can record in up to 1600p Quad HD but we recommend using the 1080p Full HD option at 30fps instead, as it won’t take up as much space on your SD card. It’s a compact design, but the smaller size makes the buttons at the sides of the casing rather, well, small – something to bear in mind if you have clumsy fingers.
Buy now £170.20, Amazon.co.uk
Garmin tandem dash cam
Best: Dual-facing dash cam
Resolution: 1440p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
Wifi: Yes
You had better be on your best behaviour when using this premium camera, because it’s watching you as well as what’s going on ahead of you. It has a lens pointing back into the car as well as the standard forward-facing one, recording at up to 1440p. That dual arrangement makes it ideal for parents who want to monitor a new driver, or for taxi drivers and driving instructors. It’s a tiny, matchbox-sized device so there’s no viewing screen, but it does still have GPS. Another nifty feature is the ability to give it voice commands so you never have to take your hands off the wheel to save a segment of footage.
Buy now £299.99, Garmin.com
Nextbase 222
Best: With a magnetic mount
Resolution: 1080p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? No
Bluetooth: No
Wifi: No
This little beauty offers everything most drivers will ever need in a dash cam. It’s got 1080p HD recording, a handy magnetic-powered mount so you can remove it from the car in a couple of seconds, and an intelligent parking mode that will keep an eye on your vehicle while you’re away from it. Sadly, there’s no Bluetooth, wifi or GPS, and the 2.5in viewing screen is not touch-sensitive – you use buttons to access features – but as a pure recording device it’s hard to beat at this price.
Buy now £129.00, Amazon.co.uk
Kenwood DRV-A501W bundle
Best: Bundle
Resolution 1440p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? Yes
Bluetooth: No
Wifi: Yes
You will really get value for money with this bundle – a quality camera that will record at up to 1440p with GPS, wifi and a magnetic mounting system, a rear camera module, micro SD card and hardwire kit are all included as standard and we love it.
The main unit is fairly big compared with rival products, with the control buttons arranged along the sides of the bright 3in screen, making it a good choice if you find some cameras fiddly. The main camera offers high dynamic resolution (HDR) recording, which enhances images by evening out contrasts between very bright and very dark lighting conditions. We liked the phone app, which allows you to download footage, change camera settings or even view live images while it’s recording – obviously, you should not be doing this while driving.
Buy now £159.95, Kenwoodshop.co.uk
Mio mivue 812
Best: For speed alerts
Resolution: 1080p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? Yes
Bluetooth: No
Wifi: No
The 812 boasts driver assistance features including front collision avoidance alerts and lane departure warnings to help keep you safe. It can also let you know if you are risking a fine while in an average speed camera zone, allowing you to keep your attention on the road rather than your speed. As with the other MiVue models in our line-up, the buttons at the sides are a little fiddly, but it’s an excellent camera that can record in 1440p at 30 frames per second or 1080p full HD at 60fps.
Buy now £109.00, Currys.co.uk
Yi nightscape dash cam
Best: With a capacitor
Resolution: 1080p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? No
Bluetooth: No
Wifi: Yes
The standout feature on this little device is its use of a capacitor rather than the usual lithium-ion battery. It means it is able to deal with extreme temperatures better – maybe when you drive off on holiday to somewhere sunny – and it should also last longer than a battery.
The camera uses a Sony Starvis sensor and can record in 1080p. We were initially a little underwhelmed by the footage, but after tinkering with the settings via the Yi app and changing the frame rate, we soon got better images. It won’t win any prizes for ultimate image quality, but it will be perfectly sufficient for most users. We loved the minimalist design and the fact you can plug it in to a standard USB port in your car if one is available, rather than having to use a lighter socket.
Buy now £69.99, Kamistore.eu
Viofo A139
Best: To fit and forget
Resolution: 1440p
Night vision? Yes
GPS included? Yes
Bluetooth: No
Wifi: Yes
Do you find dash-cam screens distracting? This model does away with one, meaning you can hide it behind the rear-view mirror or sun visor. You will need a smartphone to set it up and make sure the lenses are pointing in the right direction.
It’s actually a bundle of three cameras – the standard front-facing one, a rearview and an infrared module that looks into the cockpit. The extras mean there is quite a lot of wiring to hide away, so it’s good that it comes with a plastic spatula to push the cables behind roof panels. You can record in up to 4K HD thanks to the Sony image sensor and it will support up to a 256GB micro SD card. The footage was a little jerkier than some cameras we tested, but image quality is decent. It’s a good-value bundle that will appeal to anyone looking for a fit-and-forget system.
Buy now £219.95, Amazon.co.uk
The verdict: Dash Cams
The 522GW from Nextbase is a superb camera that’s loaded with features and provides excellent footage with fine detail. If you are looking for a real bargain and don’t mind either fitting the rear camera module and hard wiring kit yourself – or can call on an auto-electrician – then grab the Kenwood. The Mio MiVue 812 and 798 cameras, with their safety camera warnings, are also excellent products if you don’t mind their smaller buttons.
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