www.nextbase.com

£149.99

These days, when I venture on a long journey, the peace of mind of having any sort of navigational device and the means of contacting someone should I run into trouble is so reassuring. This dash cam delivers that same reassurance, and more. At first glance it had the look and feel of my first compact camera, only flip it over and it has a 3” LED touchscreen, turn it on, and it shoots an arguably better image, even at night, and that’s just for starters!

Having the Nextbase 522GW in my vehicle felt like having a little safety guardian on board. The recording quality, with 1440p resolution, at 30FPS, is notably clear, and the 140° wide angle takes in all of the road ahead. The footage syncs via WiFi/Bluetooth to your smartphone, so although it comes with a microSD slot, there’s really little need for it. In terms of video storage, this shouldn’t be an issue either, as it comes with free Cloud storage to boot.

As for the cam itself, it comes with a ‘Click & Go PRO’ mount, with either adhesive or suction fittings – I found the suction cup  the better option as I could detach and reposition the mount itself, and of course that makes for easy transfer from one vehicle to the next. The power cable feeds into the mount, meaning the camera unit is completely wireless, which I loved. The cam is held securely in the mount with strong magnets, and detaches easily enough. If you feel the need, additional cameras can be bought – the rear-view and cabin-view cams connect directly to the main cam, there is also a rear window add-on available. You’ll probably want to leave the dash cam in your car, though, as it also features ‘Intelligent Parking’, which records any prangs when left unattended, although coupling the dash cam up with a rear view might better guarantee that you identify the culprit!

The screen has a polarising filter, and I had no issues with glare (a common problem/irritation with dash cams), and the menu is very simple to navigate. Speaking of navigation, the 10x GPS provided very accurate location, which in turn ensures speeds are detected accurately, which is great for safeguarding you if your own driving happens to come under scrutiny.

I’m very pleased to report I didn’t test the SOS emergency response system, which stores cam footage, and alerts the emergency services to your location, and even relays medical history on impact - IF your phone remains still after the collision/you don’t override the automated response.

With built-in Alexa, you can get directions, find parking, check weather reports and of course stream music just by voice command. Anything that keeps more hands on the wheel, and more eyes on the road gets a big plus from me.

A great quality dash cam with driver safety in mind.

Pros

Very clear resolution

Enhanced night vision

Anti-glare

Hands free

Emergency SOS response

Cons

None

5 out of 5 stars