Escort MAX 360 Review

The Escort MAX 360 is one of the more feature-rich radar detectors in our review. If you are looking for an avanced device with a ton of features and a connection to the driving community around you, this is a solid choice.

Performance Comparison

Features

Features are what set radar detectors apart from each other, and the MAX 360 is stacked with them — the most useful of which is the community aspect. ESCORT Live and ESCORT Defender Database connect you and your device to over 100 million other users via Bluetooth connectivity and an app on your phone. This community gives you access to live alerts of speed traps, red-light cameras, and more.

This radar detector also comes equipped with auto-learning technology. Through GPS intelligence, Auto Sensitivity, and IVT Filtering, the MAX 360 can learn what to expect on your daily routes. This technology also includes automatic location lockouts. There are mixed reviews on this feature as it has some pros and cons. On the positive side, it keeps you from having to lockout every single benign stationary threat manually. On the negative side, it could lock out a location due to a non-threatening frequency and, in turn, silence a real threat.

Accuracy

All the features in the world don't do you any good if they are not providing accurate information. This metric considers the device's ability to accurately pick up threatening frequencies while filtering out the non-threatening ones. The MAX 360 has features to help with this. The auto-learning technology uses intelligent GPS-based technology to learn your routes and reject false alerts. This doesn't help someone who is always moving to different places, but works wonders for those who drive the same route to work every day.

The MAX 360 will most definitely pick up on any threatening radar frequencies in your area; however, its accuracy is not perfect. It does seem to false alert quite a bit on highways. This makes perfect sense as it automatically turns up the band sensitivity on highways. The GPS also jumps around a bit, and the speed limit is not always right. That said, there is no radar detector out there that does not give off false alerts some of the time, and overall the MAX 360 falls in line with most of our highest rated when it comes to accuracy.

Range

For a radar detector to offer assistance in avoiding a speeding ticket, it must warn the driver early enough for them to slow down. You don't need 20 miles of lead time to slow down, but a few miles when you are speeding down a highway is much appreciated. Many factors can affect a detector's range. Radar frequencies can be easily blocked by large obstacles like trees, bridges, city buildings, and even winding roads or hills.

The MAX 360 offers a dual antenna system, allowing for a 360-degree range. This means that the device can pick up on frequencies coming from in front of, behind, or to the side of your vehicle. The front-facing range works better than the rear-facing range, but they do both work. While the range of the MAX 360 is not as good as a few other models in our test suite, it doesn't fall far behind and will give you plenty of lead time to slow down.

Ease of Use

Driving requires focus, so a radar detector shouldn't act as a distraction. While testing for this metric, we paid special attention to how easy it is to set up the device, understand alerts, and adjust the settings. The MAX 360 does quite well in all three of these categories. The magnetic mount suctions to the windshield nicely and is easy to remove. After the mount is installed, the set-up requires two steps, downloading the ESCORT app and syncing your smartphone via Bluetooth.

Because the MAX 360 has so many features, it takes a little while to understand. That said, if you are not in a place to learn the ins and outs of your device, you can simply switch it to Novice Mode and greatly simplify your options. The visual alerts are very informative and easy to understand, and they come complete with light-up directional arrows to ensure you know where the threat is located. The screen also displays the strength of the signal, which can help you understand how far away you might be from it. Unfortunately, the audible alerts are nowhere near as easy to understand. They are not atrocious, but the noise of the cab can easily drown them out. Overall, the MAX 360 is a generally easy device to use once you take the time to understand all it has to offer.

Value

This device comes with some truly amazing features for the price. While expensive, it is on the low-end of higher-priced models. If your main concern is features and you don't mind spending a little extra cash, then the MAX 360 is a great option.

Conclusion

The Escort MAX 360 performed impressively across all four of our metrics. While a few models scored higher in regards to range and user-friendliness, it is by no means lacking, and the list of features is impressive. If you are looking for an advanced radar detector with top-of-the-line extras, this one won't let you down.