There are many different flavours of drivers out there, clogging the asphalt arteries of Britain in a bid to get from A to B.
There's the Sunday Drive, content to pootle along at 20mph under the speed limit while obliviously blocking all others behind them, to the stereotypical BMW driver who thinks he’s in a remake of Mad Max and that indicators are something that happens to other people.
This rich variety of motorists, combined with the fact that roads are so utterly overrun with heavy, metal boxes hurtling down them, an in-car accessory that wasn’t really a ‘thing’ only a few years ago has become an absolute essential when it comes to verifying your version of events if there is a collision.
I write, of course, of the dash cam.
Mini-marvels of car-camera technology that mount with a clear view of the tarmac, most begin to film the minute you start your engine and then record for the duration of the trip, saving footage to an internal memory or, more usually, an SD card. Some are built with rechargeable batteries, many more plug into your vehicle via USB or using what we used to call the ‘cigarette lighter’, and some also have GPS to add even greater detail to incident info.
Now, naturally, like most men my age, I am the best driver in existence. Yet even I see the benefit of an always-on, roving recorder documenting other drivers around me, just in case. And if the best driver in existence thinks he needs one, you should too.
There are dashcams available as individual front-facing units or in pairs to cover both front and back - and with ever-increasing numbers of clowns in cars around every corner, get yourself a dash cam to keep yourself covered.
Best dashcams at a glance
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VIOFO A139
Best for: 4K full cover
I’ve had to endure my fair share of near-scrapes with poor drivers over the years, and on many of those occasions I’d wished I had a dash cam on hand to record, but alas it’s only been of late that the tech has become both so widely available and, indeed, so affordable.
Now because collisions can come at you from behind as well as in front, I favour a dual cam set-up, although these are the – obviously – more expensive options. But if you’re capable of affording cameras to cover your six as well as the open expanse before you, then you may as well go all in and invest in a dashcam system that shoots in high resolution and is also the world’s first dashcam to employ Sony’s Security Camera Image Sensor Technology (STARVIS) 2 technology.
What’s STARVIS 2 technology? Glad you asked, imagine an image sensor so acutely tuned to the world around it that it can gather light even in the darkest environment and, from it, render stunningly sharp images with realistic colour, above and beyond those of all rivals. That’s what STARVIS 2 is.
And that’s what precisely we have here in the diminutive dimensions of the VIOFO A139, twin cameras, the forward one delivering 4K video and the aft offering 2K, and both capable of wide-angle recording.
Easy to install and powered by USB or car charger, the A139 has a GPS logger to keep a geographical check on things, a 300° rotatable lens, auto event detection, a circular polarising lens to reduce flare and reflection, support acceleration monitoring and motion detection, plus features Wi-Fi to make streaming footage from its microSD card quick and easy.
Put simply then, so smart and packed with advanced imaging tech the VIOFO A139 is that even if you were accidentally rammed off the road in the dead of a moonless night by Batman with his Batmobile in ‘stealth’ mode, the A139 would still pick up every detail and, believe me, Bruce Wayne can afford to pay up.
Buy now £259.99, Amazon
MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual
Best for: All-round on-road motor monitoring
Another dual cam system from another name you won’t have heard of, the MIOFIVE is a very compact, very well-built little model that also creates 4K front and 2K rear recordings, while also packing motion detection and G-sensor to keep your car safe while on the move and also while parked.
Probably the best co-pilot you could ask for, even though you may rely on satnav to show you the way ahead, the MIOFIVE also offers Go Assist alerts (an AI algorithm) which gives you warnings of upcoming road conditions, sudden corners and when cars are braking or accelerating in front, so nothing takes you by surprise. Will it change the music and unwrap sweets for you? No, it will not, but in all other aspects the perfect co-pilot.
Featuring a 2.2-inch colour display and a supercapacitor instead of a battery to offer an even longer operational life, the MIOFIVE takes a 140° view of the road before and behind you to keep you completely covered, and built-in 5G Wi-Fi and app control makes transfer and review a doddle. And, coming to that, those high-def images are sharp, bright and brilliantly detailed – even those recorded in the dark. So, if you should suffer a mishap at the hands of a more careless motorist, there’ll be no question who was responsible for the MIOFIVE in your car’s corner.
A very smart system that’s easy to install and takes up next to no space, so don’t hit the highways without one.
Buy now £229.99, Amazon
VIOFO A119 MINI 2 Dash Cam
Best for: Small scale, big picture
My second selection from VIOFO, the A119 MINI 2 is a 2K quality recording minute marvel that not only uses the same ultra-brilliant Sony STARVIS 2 sensor as its A139 brother, meaning all footage is razor sharp and crystal clear, but also ‘Super Night Vision 2.0’, GPS logger, parking mode, and even intelligent voice control.
Okay, when they say “intelligent voice control”, we’re not talking about achieving the likes of KITT from Knight Rider, or even approaching the likes of the new Amazon Echo Auto, but basic commands to start and stop, take stills, or turn on the built-in Wi-Fi are all executed promptly and without having to repeat myself too many times, meaning you can keep your hands on the wheel where they belong.
Now about that ‘super’ labelled night vision, well... wow. Thanks to the larger light-receiving capacity of that aforementioned Sony sensor, the 2K level video that it shoots when the sun is long gone is incredibly clear and detailed, picking out and highlighting the minutiae of any motors caught in its lens.
Featuring a 1.5-inch HD LCD display and a 140° viewing angle, you can easily glance to check the A119 MINI 2 is keeping its eye on the road and you haven’t accidentally disconnected it from the USB or car charger that powers it.
Recording onto a removable microSD card (not included), you can transfer footage that way or by simply streaming it over the dual-band Wi-Fi, either way, said footage is beautifully crisp and about as engaging as a trip around the M25 will ever get.
Buy now £139.99, Amazon
Nextbase 622GW
Best for: Single cam sublimity
Now, there’s a very good chance you’ve clocked the price of the Nextbase and instantly realised that you can get the VIOFO A139 or MIOFIVE dual camera systems for less money than this single dashcam device and, yes, you’d be bang on. But then, you’ve not heard what it does yet.
Right, with a full 4K resolution and a 140° viewing angle, the 622GW gives you that UHD footage at 30fps, or 1440p HD at 60fps and 1080p HD at 120fps, but whichever way you want it, all recordings are guaranteed to deliver absolutely stunning detail thanks to such resolution and the added inclusion of image stabilisation.
A sizeable three-inch LED HD IPS touchscreen puts control at your fingertips, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi make it easy to connect to the accompanying app and stream from the Nextbase’s microSD card (not included), and enhanced night vision turns dark into day.
“So what?” You might snarl in petty disdain. “The other ones do much the same!” Ah, well, hold your horsepower, because this is where the Nextbase earns the extra cash – it also comes with Alexa built-in, so you can just tell it to play your music, make calls, check the news and weather, control smart home devices, get directions and, well, all the other marvellous stuff Alexa can do for you.
And that’s not all! The GPS gives precise geographical location… even when it’s offline, so that, in the event of an accident, the ‘what3words’ system can share your location so that emergency services can find you with pinpoint ease. Nifty, eh?
So, with 4K footage sorted, Alexa included, and an unrivalled safety system all on board, I think it’s fair to say the Nextbase 622GW justifies the chunk of change required to get its advanced abilities watching out for you.
Buy now £259.00, Amazon
Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2
Best for: A tiny HD hero
A little something from a name you will know now, the Mini 2 from Garmin is, first of all, absolutely miniscule, so if you’re the kind of driver who doesn’t like having any part of the windscreen obscured, this is the obvious option for you.
Sticking straight onto the window via suction cup, the Mini 2 is supercapacitor powered (constant power cable available separately) and takes video at 1080P and 30fps at a viewing angle of 140°.
Garmin app operated, there’s obviously no display on the device itself as, at that size, it would be pretty pointless, the Mini 2 records onto a microSD card (not included) and does not feature GPS, which is why you’re getting a Garmin at £120.
Delivering detailed high-res images, however, if it’s just simplicity and the safety of your insurance you seek, get your hands on the Garmin.
Buy now £106.00, Amazon
Nexar Pro GPS Dual
Best for: A bargain cam bundle
Your eyes do not deceive you – a dual cam system for under £150. Not just that, it’s not bad either! What you get in the shape of the Nexar Pro is two 1080P full HD cameras to cover what’s in front of you and what’s happening inside the cabin (yes, both are front-mounted), with GPS, automatic recording in the case of an impact when parked up, real-time break-in alerts, and a very efficient app to operate it all.
Recording footage to a 32GB microSD card (included and upgradeable) and uploading directly onto the cloud using your smartphone app, the app also lets you set up Emergency Alerts to relatives, gather accident info together to make insurance claims, and even help you find your car when you’ve forgotten where you parked.
With cameras attached via suction cup mounts for ease of use, the Nexar Pro GPS Dual does the job and does it well with 1080P images that are clear and detailed, night vision works well to give bright footage and the extra features serve to make this very reasonably priced dashcam system something of an absolute steal.
Buy now £184.95, Amazon
Road Angel Halo Pro
Best for: Reasonably priced front and rear coverage
Many years ago, possibly more than I care to remember, I was sent a Road Angel Plus speed camera detector to review for a magazine I was then editor of. Back then, with its heroic and manly cry of “ROAD ANGEL!” every time you fired it up, alongside its ability to almost not completely judge how fast you were driving and where speed cameras were kind of likely to be, it was cutting-edge kit.
Fast forward countless years to today, and I now have in my possession a review model of Road Angel’s very latest slice of in-car tech, the Halo Pro, an award-winning sub-£200 front and rear dual cam, and much has been learnt about precision since the beloved Plus.
Wonderfully compact, there’s no chance of the Halo Pro blocking visibility and it’s so easy to install and operate that even an idiot like me can do it - so you should be out of the box and up and running in next to no time.
Featuring a 140° rotating wide angle 2K camera to the front and 1080p bringing up the rear, the combination of an optic lens and CMOS Sensor makes for brilliantly clear and crisp footage, while the built-in GPS and G-Sensor pinpoint your position perfectly and registers impact, so the evidence of any on-road altercation it provides can never be in question.
With a hard-wiring kit also available, the Halo Pro then also offers Parking Mode protection, so even with the car stationary and the engine off, that aforementioned G-Sensor will detect any movement and automatically kick off the recording.
A very slick bit of kit that has you completely covered, for the price, Road Angel’s latest is impossible to beat. Does it still shout “ROAD ANGEL!” in an excitable male voice on start-up? It does not. Instead, a rather sultry female voice almost whispers “Halo active” – progress is a marvellous thing.
Available at Road Angel
Buy now £159.99, Amazon
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Best dashcam FAQs
Is it worth having a dash cam?
Whether you live in a rural area or in the urban jungle, it's always worth having an extra set of eyes. Should you have a road accident or unwittingly witness a crime, the footage a dash cam gathers can be invaluable. The recorded content can also help settle insurance claims quickly and could even lower or maintain insurance premiums in some cases.
Does having a dash cam reduce your car insurance?
Having a dash cam can, in some cases, lower the cost of your car insurance. Providers may recognise that dash cam owners are less dangerous drivers. Not all insurers do this though - best to read the Ts&Cs carefully before choosing who to insure with.
Can you use dash cam footage in the event of an incident?
Yes, you can use the dash cam recordings as evidence for insurance claims and even court cases. It helps if your dash cam has a wide recording angle and can capture details such as number plates.
Do dash cams work when your car is switched off?
If you want to keep a watchful eye over your car when it is stationary, choose a dash cam with parking mode. This will keep the tech running when you're parked and can help if your car is broken into or stolen. Ensure you can hardwire the dash cam for a constant power source.
