Cobra Road Scout Review: RadarBusters Reviews the First-of-its-Kind Integrated Detector & Dash Cam
Cobra Road Scout Mini Review
Cobra comes out with a completely new product category
The new Cobra Road Scout represents a big strategic change in Cobra’s product line-up, the Cobra Road Scout and the Cobra DualPro 360 is a testament to this.
Cobra has done something that no other radar detector manufacturer has offered in a production model. Cobra has leveraged its extensive experience in the manufacturing of both radar detectors and dash cams and combined the two into one integrated and portable unit.
The new Cobra Road Scout looks nothing like any radar detector that has come before it. At a first glance, the Road Scout almost looks like a small set on binoculars. Upon closer examination, you see a radar detector that has a radical new design appearance. Some are going to like its appearance (namely the younger millennials) and other users that have used radar detectors over the years may need more time to warm up to the new design.
When powered up and on the windshield, there is no doubt, the Cobra Road Scout looks “cool.” Its curvaceous design is pleasing to the eye and nicely ties into the instrument cluster of your vehicle.
The contemporary design is not only aesthetically appealing, but also functional. The right dial can be easily rotated to change the volume are to assist in the programming of the detector and/or dash cam. It has a colored circular ring around the dial that matches the particular color scheme you choose of which there are four color, Red, Blue, Green, Copper (burnt orange). The front facing buttons are backlit in the same color.
The only button located on the top of the detector is a small power button located on the upper left side of the detector.
There are two different personalities of the detector and two completely different configuration menus one for the detector and one for the dash cam. Accordingly, you’ll need to download two apps, one called the Cobra Drive HD (for the dash cam) and the other called the Cobra iRadar (for the detector).
The detector comes with a heavy duty 16GB SD memory card which yields about 3-4 hours of loop recording time of 1080p/30fps. Which should be sufficient for most users.
Video quality is very good. Signage was clear and easily readable in most cases, except when there is a strong reflection from sunlight, in which the range of being able to make out road signage is reduced.
The dash cam utilizes an Ambarella chipset. This is a very popular chipset that has appeared in DJI drones and GoPro action cams, so the image quality is on par with such units.
We found the contrast slightly higher than what we would think is optimal (perhaps that could be corrected in post processing) but color saturation looked good.
The Cobra Drive HD app allows you to download the video files right to your smart phone and provide a pretty sophisticated video editor that can overly text or other still pictures that can be resized. Once files are edited if you so choose to do so, they can easily be shared to other users by way of social media outlets, such as facebook, or be texted or emailed right from your smartphone.
The quick release magnetic mount and single cigarette lighter power cord (with USB connector) makes it very easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. The detector incorporates a G-sensor that when triggered (like from a rear-end accident) will automatically store the video so it is not overwritten. This can be used for video evidence should you need it. Hopefully you won’t need that feature.
Overall, we are very pleased with Cobra’s first offering and we find this detector a very compelling purchase and one that should appeal to a large set of drivers looking to get the best of both worlds.
If you wish to review a bunch of videos on the various aspects of the detectors visit the front page of radarbusters.com. There you will find them. There are very informative and should give you a good understanding of what the Road Scout is all about.
If you decided to purchase the Road Scout, RadarBusters offers it for sale.
