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Radenso XP Review

This detector is fairly priced and perfect for around town, complete with adjustable features that help it stay quiet in the presence of false threats
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Radenso XP Review (The screen of the Radenso XP is simple, clear and easy to read.)
The screen of the Radenso XP is simple, clear and easy to read.
Credit: Hayley Thomas
Price:  $350 List
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Manufacturer:   Radenso
By Hayley Thomas ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Oct 18, 2022
75
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#7 of 9
  • Features - 30% 8.0
  • Accuracy - 25% 8.0
  • Range - 25% 6.0
  • Ease of Use - 20% 8.0

Our Verdict

This mid-range radar detector offers one of the quietest rides on the market. With features like Mute, Smart Dark, and Low-Speed Muting, the Radenso XP won't bother you with loud alerts while driving through high false threat areas like busy cities. It is easy to use and highly adjustable, offering features that mostly cater to mitigating false alerts while still keeping you informed. It also provides some of the best BSM filtering we've seen on the market. The range is less optimal on long flat highways, but for the daily driver in an urban setting, there is no better option at this mid-price point. See it ranked against other top products in our radar detector review.
REASONS TO BUY
High value
Great for city driving
Can mute feature for those distracted by noise
Great customer service
REASONS TO AVOID
Range is subpar
Not meant for long road highway driving
Lockouts need work

Compare to Similar Products

 
radenso xp
This Product
Radenso XP
Awards Best Buy Award
City Driving on a Budget
Editors' Choice Award
Best Automated Radar Detector
Best Buy Award
Long Range for Less
  
Price $350 List
$189.95 at Amazon
$800 List
$799.95 at Amazon
$300 List
$269.87 at Amazon
$150 List
$141.27 at Amazon
$100 List
$99.95 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
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Bottom Line For a great price, this feature-rich device stays mostly quiet around false alerts and is great for the urban settingA highly automated radar detector with a very impressive range and fewer false alerts than mostA fairly priced radar detector that is highly customizable and comes equipped with a very long rangeA budget-friendly radar detector with Bluetooth connectivity, an app full of information, but no location lockouts, and ample false alertsA budget-friendly radar detector with simple features and little customization
Rating Categories Radenso XP Escort Redline 360c Uniden R3 Cobra RAD 480i Cobra RAD 380
Features (30%)
8.0
9.0
7.0
6.0
4.0
Accuracy (25%)
8.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
Range (25%)
6.0
10.0
8.0
5.0
5.0
Ease of Use (20%)
8.0
9.0
9.0
7.0
7.0
Specs Radenso XP Escort Redline 360c Uniden R3 Cobra RAD 480i Cobra RAD 380
Radar Bands Detected X, K, Ka, Laser X, K, Ka, MRCT, MRCD, Laser X, K, Ka, MRCT, MRCD, Laser X, K, Ka, Laser X, K, Ka, Laser
Available Modes AutoCity, Highway, City Advanced, Novice Highway, City, Advanced Highway, City Highway, City
Wifi Enabled? No Yes No No No
Bluetooth Connectivity? No Yes No Yes No
GPS Enabled? Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Location Lockout Manual Automatic Manual Manual None
Display Amber OLED Multicolored OLED Multicolored OLED Not stated Not stated
Power Chord Type 12v 12v 12v 12v 12v

Our Analysis and Test Results

Whether you're a parent with a heavy foot trying to get their kids to school on time, or you work on Wallstreet, the Radenso XP will get you where you need to go without getting a ticket. Its unique filtering features and low range work perfectly in an urban setting, and the BSM filtering is insanely accurate. Read on to see how it held up to our rigorous testing.

Performance Comparison


radenso xp - with plenty of useful features, the radenso xp is a fairly priced...
With plenty of useful features, the Radenso XP is a fairly priced option, especially for urban drivers.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

Features


A simple radar detector can be nice, but the more features it offers, the more versatile it can be. The Radenso XP focuses its features mostly on filtering and has customizable alerts, ensuring a quiet drive through the city, which can be a higher false alert area.


The Auto-City mode is excellent for those who do not want to adjust their settings, but the Radenso XP is also highly adjustable. Manual GPS lockout and low-speed muting help to keep your device quiet in the presence of false threats like grocery store doors. Manual GPS lockouts mute known stationary false alerts like shopping malls once you mark them with your detector. Low-speed muting is manual but is overridden by certain high-priority bands like Ka and laser. During our testing, we had our LSM set to 25 miles per hour. When the detector senses a low-threat band, like a K-band, the device lights up but stays quiet. This way, you get all the necessary information without the annoying audible alert.

The XP also offers a Mute feature, activated by a button on the top of the device. This silences the audible alert for K-bands while allowing higher threat bands, like Ka, to alert the driver audibly. All these muting features may seem excessive, but driving through a busy city can be very distracting when your radar detector goes off every time you pass a shopping center.

Another cool feature that the XP offers is the Smart Dark Feature, which makes the screen go dark except for a small red power indicator light. It only alerts with flashes of information for lower-priority bands while still beeping for high-priority bands. This is similar to the Mute feature, however the contrast between the completely dark screen, especially at night, helps grab your attention even when there is no sound. Previous iterations of the Smart Dark Feature did not have the indicator light, leaving you wondering whether or not their detector is even on when it's particularly quiet.

The save user point feature helps remind you of places you often see speed traps, red light cameras, or other areas you may want to ensure you're paying special attention to your speed.

radenso xp - the xp user point feature is simple and effective.
The XP user point feature is simple and effective.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

The XP is extremely customizable. It even allows you to turn the initial start-up sounds off so that you don't have to hear your detector say 'GPS connected' every time you start a new trip. This is separate from the ability to adjust the voice announcements, which can be disabled as well. If you want your detector to notify you of the type of band visually and audibly, you can enable voice announcements. If voice announcements are turned off, the device will still alert you audibly via beeping; it will simply refrain from reciting the band type and strength, which will instead appear on the screen.

The XP does not offer automatic GPS lockouts, like some of the pricier options in our test suite. It also doesn't have a light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of your screen. That being said, many detectors are fooled by cloudy weather and present a screen that is too dim for daytime. So manually adjusting the brightness is a small price to pay. While there are still features the XP could benefit from having, it has become obvious over the years that Radenso is listening to customer complaints and suggestions and making great improvements to their detectors.

radenso xp - unfortunately the radenso xp doesn't offer automatic lockouts and...
Unfortunately the Radenso XP doesn't offer automatic lockouts and the manual ones need a little work.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

Accuracy


Accuracy in an urban setting can be a tall order, and even on the highway, there is no perfect radar detector. Each manufacturer does what they can to ensure a quiet ride through automatic or customizable filtering, and the XP offers some of the best.


A high level of filtering is what sets the XP apart from other options in its price range. While other detectors in our test suite perform as well as the XP does regarding accuracy, the mute, low-speed muting, and Smart Dark features all make for a very quiet drive.

radenso xp - the xp features are mainly used to quiet the device without missing...
The XP features are mainly used to quiet the device without missing a beat.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

One place where the XP truly outperforms most other detectors is Blind Spot Monitor filtering or BSM. Police radar emits a continuous wave, while BSMs do not. Manufacturers don't typically explain how their BSM filtering works, but the XP is amazing. Collision avoidance systems like Blind Spot Monitoring help assist the driver by offering video while parking or alerts while driving when an obstacle is dangerously close to your car. These collision avoidance systems are found in most modern cars and tend to trigger many false alerts for radar detectors, which is why the XP is noted as such an accurate device.

One place where the XP could use some attention is in its manual lockout feature. It occasionally loses a previously locked-out location, which results in false alerts. There is a simple fix, you just have to lock out the location again, but you may find yourself experiencing a little deja vu re-locking the same location.

radenso xp - the radenso xp shows you the every threat without burdening you with...
The Radenso XP shows you the every threat without burdening you with loud alerts.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

Range


While Radenso's claims that the XP has a high radar detection range, our experience with it does not align with their rhetoric. The range is not bad by any means, but if you are looking for a device to take with you on your next cross-country road trip where you'll be frequenting long, flat strips of highway across Kansas, you may want to look elsewhere.


The lower range of this device is perfect for the city or more urban areas. You won't need to be notified of a police radar miles in advance because the police won't be able to see you yet, nor will their radar be able to reach you through obstacles like buildings and winding city streets. In short, the XP range is nothing to write home about, but if you are using it for its intended purposes, i.e., around town, this shouldn't affect its overall performance.

radenso xp - the radenso xp is great for the city, but its range is not long...
The Radenso XP is great for the city, but its range is not long enough for long highway strips.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

Ease of Use


Nothing about the XP is glaringly better or worse than other devices in this metric. The muting feature is nice because you do not need to listen to a bunch of false alerts while driving past strip malls and grocery stores. Once you have taken the time to figure out which settings you like best, you can set it and forget it. The display is clear and offers visual and audible alerts with the necessary information: signal strength, signal type, and the direction of the threat.


You must press and hold the volume buttons to change the volume. If you press without holding, the XP will issue a location alert which cannot be removed until the next time you drive past that same spot. Since you'll typically want to adjust the volume more than lockout or mark locations, it would be nice if these two controls were switched.

radenso xp - we accidentally saved a lot of user points during our testing while...
We accidentally saved a lot of user points during our testing while trying to adjust the volume.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

The mount also leaves a little to be desired. It is a simple double suction cup mount, which is very incognito compared to some of the bigger, bulkier setups, but in the presence of moisture, it occasionally falls off the windshield.

radenso xp - the xp mount is a little unstable, and it causes the detector to...
The XP mount is a little unstable, and it causes the detector to bounce on uneven terrain.
Credit: Hayley Thomas

Should You Buy the Radenso XP?


This is not the least expensive option on the market, but its value is out of this world if you're looking for a daily urban driver. If you are less concerned with range and more concerned that you might throw your device out the window after it false alerts at a grocery store for the tenth time, the XP is a great pick. It is easy to use, feature-rich, and known for being one of the quietest radar detectors on the market, all for a very fair price.

What Other Radar Detectors Should You Consider?


If, after reading this article, you are feeling unsure about the lack of range that the XP offers, you may want to take a look at the Escort Redline 360c. This is the best of the bunch, picking up police radars from miles away, making it a great cross-country road trip buddy. Unfortunately, the 360c is a seriously expensive device, so if you're looking for something more on par with the XP price point, the Uniden R3 is the next best thing.

Hayley Thomas