Best Dashcams for Australian drivers
In this group test Nick Ross offers a Buyer’s Guide to simplify matters and reviews six models with different features and price points.
If you’ve spent any time on Australia’s roads, you won’t need convincing about the value of a dashcam. Whether it’s hoons, suicidal wildlife, general road debris, morons, insurance fraudsters, or decent people making honest (but very serious) mistakes, there are many threats that can cause damage to your vehicle or injuries to you and others. In many instances, you’ll end up talking to police and an insurance company and, without a dashcam, it will be your word versus someone else’s. This is not a position you want to be in when you’re suffering from shock and some shyster is spinning a yarn about how it’s all your fault.
But the world of dashcams can be confusing. There are many models at widely varying prices from many different manufacturers and the differences in features can be miniscule or vast. Consequently, this month we’ve looked at some of the newer, most-representative dashcams on the market to give you an idea of what’s most important. However, you may find that our Buyer’s Guide (over the page) is more instructive as you won’t want to be paying a great deal for features that you won’t use or, in some cases, that you can’t use because you don’t have the required equipment.
We’ve also included two of the top-rated Apple and Android App Store dashcam apps to see how they compare to the dedicated units. Not so long ago, smartphones
In many instances, you’ll end up talking to police and an insurance company and, without a dashcam, it will be your word versus someone else’s.
decimated the thriving SatNav market by performing the same functions, even better and for free. Is the same about to happen with Dashcams? Modern phones are essentially much-more powerful versions of the same thing, after all.
We’ve included a variety of models that cost between $800 and $150 so there’s something to suit most budgets. All of our models have a high enough definition to capture number plates of other drivers (to varying degrees) and all function in low light. They also all feature GPS location recording which simultaneously records speed. There’s little point in buying a low-resolution unit unless you really do only want to establish which pixelated mess pulled out in front of the other, first.
We also recognise that many dashcam owners will be very proud of their cars and won’t want some cheap device spoiling their interior lines. Consequently, we’ve included two, high-end ‘Barrel’ models which eschew a cheap plastic chassis (and screen) for sharper, svelte looks. However, you’ll still need to think about wire management as main units come with a lot of cabling for power connection to your car’s cigarette lighter and, in many cases connection to a rear camera. It’s enough to make us wonder, when many cars are already equipped with multiple cameras and sensors, why aren’t dashcams already built-in to them in the first place!