I'm sure there's no bias and the review is 100% fair and balanced

 

v1 here... I definitely need to pop upgrade. Scares the heck out of me when I go by those speed display signs and my v1 isn't going off.

Also, had my v1 for three years went and it survived 2 summers in a black interior Jetta (TN) and 1 summer in my s2k (PA).

 

Methinks there are a couple of Beltronics shills posting here. I've never seen an independent test (ruin by a site that doesn't sell detectors) that put a Bel in the same class as the V1 and whatever the best Escort happens to be at the moment.

I'm going to trust Car and Driver, whose tests are always won by Valentines, and my own experience, which is that the V1 I've owned for a decade still finds cops far enough away to save me, finds them earlier than all other detectors when I'm traveling near other speeders, gives few enough false K signals that I keep trusting it, has usable direction indicators that really help, can be reprogrammed to suit my needs (which include turning off X band altogether, because it isn't used around here), and has no other relevant disadvantages. Rumor has it the 9500 is pretty much as sensitive, and it's a lot prettier, but I like my arrows.

And as for anyone claiming they don't take heat -- I guess my seven years in Texas doesn't qualify, and maybe I misunderstand Valentine's apparently-great willingness to fix any problems, so I'm sure you know what you're talking about.

Btw, for the best mounting spot, remove your driver-side sunvisor (which rarely does any good), cut away a piece of the molding, and direct-wire behind the moldings. High mounts are best for range, it's highly visible to the driver but barely visible through the windshield, and the mute button is within easy range.