Escort MAX 360 MKII Review: Expect Improved Range and Performance with Advanced False Signal Filtering

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The Lowdown

At $549.95, the Escort MAX 360 MKII is not cheap; but you are paying for advanced technology that gives drivers a chance to check and adjust their speed. It does not make you invulnerable, but it does provide enough warning to avoid most ticketing situations.

Overall
5

Pros

  • Highly sensitive long-range detection
  • 360-degree protection
  • Advanced false alert filtering
  • Easy of use
  • Escort Live connectivity

Cons

  • It’s expensive, but it works well

The Escort MAX 360 MKII is a high-performance radar detector that is packed with advanced features and cutting-edge technology. I know what some of you are thinking, radar detector? Do people still use those? To be completely honest, I myself have not used one in more than twenty years. Are they worth using? In a nutshell, it depends.

Escort MAX 360 MKII Review: Expect Improved Range and Performance with Advanced False Signal Filtering

Why Would You Want a Radar Detector?

We live in a world where we are surrounded by radar. It is used not only by the police but also for the automatic doors at many strip malls and, most significantly, in modern cars for advanced features such as radar cruise control, auto-pilot, blind-spot monitoring systems, adaptive cruise control, and emergency collision avoidance systems.

This means that if your radar detector does not actively filter out these signals quickly, the frustration will outweigh the usefulness of the product. Not to worry, the Escort MAX 360 MKII excels at this in a number of ways.

Escort has been producing radar detectors for over forty years and is a leader in the industry. They make a wide range of detectors with differing capabilities and at different price points.

The Escort MAX 360 MKII is, as the name suggests, the second generation of one of their most advanced detectors. The $699.95 Max 360c MKII  is essentially the same detector with the addition of automatic updates via Wi-Fi.

Two other more expensive units in the product line are the $849.95 MAXcam 360c, which also includes an integrated QHD dash cam, and the flagship $799.95 Escort Redline 360c stealth radar detector, which is invisible to radar detector detectors. Yes, that is a thing.

Radar detectors are legal for use in passenger cars in all parts of the United States, with the exception of Washington D.C., and the state of Virginia. They are illegal in commercial vehicles and on military bases.

Using the Escort MAX 360 MKII

I have recently taken a few long rides with the Escort MAX 360 MKII driving from New Jersey to West Virginia and from New Jersey to Vermont. According to the Escort website, “the MAX 360c MKII offers 50% improved range, lightning-fast performance, and a dramatically quieter ride.” I have found all of these claims to be true.

The improved range is so extensive as to make you wonder whether the signal is real.

More than a few times, the detector would sound and show by way of the directional arrows on the unit’s front face that we were approaching a radar source, and after fifteen seconds or so at highway speed, we would encounter a state trooper’s vehicle.

Escort MAX 360 MKII Review: Expect Improved Range and Performance with Advanced False Signal Filtering

As far as the quieter ride claim is concerned, as I mentioned, I cannot compare this to other recent units, but it is my understanding that less sophisticated units that do not have advanced features, such as the Escort MAX 360 MKII’s all-new filtering software and more powerful processing, will bombard you with false signals to the point that you may learn to ignore them.

During our long drives, the MAX 360 MKII encountered radar signals from police vehicles and speed cameras. The 360-degree coverage is made possible by the unit’s upgraded M13 dual-antenna platform and Blackfin DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chip.

The directional arrows and signal strength indicators clearly identify the location of the source and update it in real-time.

On our rides, we encountered radar signals of each of the various bands that the Escort MAX 360 MKII detects. We found that police typically use Ka-band and, at times, K-band, although by far, the most K-band signals encountered were roadside solar speed cameras.

We did run into a few X-band-equipped vehicles as well, but significantly fewer than the other two. In a few instances, we encountered police equipped with lasers, but luckily, they were gauging the speed of cars in front of us, thereby providing enough time to check our own speed.

There were times that we saw police that the unit did not detect, but the technology detects the use of radar, not the police.

The setup couldn’t really be any simpler. The Escort MAX 360 MKII comes in a zippered travel case with a very handy magnetic mount and a coiled SmartCord, which features a mute button and a handy USB 2A outlet.

Escort MAX 360 MKII Review: Expect Improved Range and Performance with Advanced False Signal Filtering

You attach the detector to your windshield with the suction cup mount and plug it into an outlet, and that’s it.

Despite the suction cup’s solid design, we did have it fall off of the windshield a few times. The construction is solid, though, and the unit never suffered even the slightest marks. The design of the Escort MAX 360 MKII is very nice and looks sharp in any of the cars in which we tested it.

Escort MAX 360 MKII Review: Expect Improved Range and Performance with Advanced False Signal FilteringThe top of the unit features controls for power, sensitivity, brightness, and a button for marking locations, as well as a mute button.

When the Escort MAX 360 MKII encounters a signal, it sounds at full volume and then reduces the sound to a less intrusive level. There are times, however, when the signal continues long enough to make you appreciate the mute button.

The Drive Smarter Companion App and Optional Accessories

The MAX 360 MKII includes GPS, and with the Drive Smarter companion app, available for iOS and Android, it provides extended capability in the form of shared network alerts. Users can get advance warning of shared laser and radar alerts from other connected detectors on the network.

Judie extensively covered the app and its features in her Escort MAXcam 360c review.

Escort MAX 360 MKII Review: Expect Improved Range and Performance with Advanced False Signal Filtering

The app also enables users to adjust features, notification alerts, and device settings on supported detectors and optional dashcams. The app can also allow you to control these devices should you have multiple detectors and vehicles.

Optional accessories include additional service plans ($79.95 for two years), upgraded defender database subscriptions ($24.95 for one year and $49.95 for three years), the $149.95 M2 Smart Dash Cam as well as the $1000 ZW5 Laser Shifter.

This last device provides “the most advanced defense system against targeting laser guns, including new variable pulse rate guns,” according to the manufacturer.

Laser “shifters” or jammers, as they are more often called, are not legal in all states.

The Escort MAX 360 MKII, Smart cord, window mount, and travel bag

Escort MAX 360 MKII Tech Specifications

  • Operating Bands: X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz; K-band 24.150 GHz ± 100 MHz; Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz; Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth
  • Radar Receiver/Detector Type: Superheterodyne, Varactor-Tuned VCO; Scanning Frequency Discriminator; Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
  • Laser Detection: Quantum Limited Video Receiver
  • Sensitivity Control: Highway; Auto; Auto No X; Auto Lo K
  • Display Type: Graphic Multi-Color OLED; Bar Graph; ExpertMeter; SpecDisplay; 5 Levels of Brightness with Full Dark Mode
  • Power Requirements: 12VDC; Negative Ground; Escort SmartCord USB Included
  • Size: 1.38” high x 3.25” wide x 5.15” long

At $549.95, the Escort MAX 360 MKII is not cheap; but you are paying for advanced technology that gives drivers a chance to check and adjust their speed. It does not make you invulnerable, but it does provide enough warning to avoid most ticketing situations.

In the past, I have received speeding tickets on previous long drives that exceeded $400 when you add in the “convenience fees.” Considering this, the unit pays for itself quickly. I will definitely use the MAX 360 MKII on these drives from now on.

Escort offers free shipping and a trade-in program to soften the costs. They also offer a “Limited Ticket Guarantee,” in which if you receive a radar or laser speeding ticket within the first year, they will pay for it.

The Escort MAX 360 MKII sells for $549.95; it is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Highly sensitive long-range detection; 360-degree protection; Advanced false alert filtering; Easy of use; Escort Live connectivity

What Needs Improvement: It’s expensive, but it works well

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About the Author

Charles Kliment
A lifelong gearhead, as a teenager Charles was obsessed with high-end audio and musical instruments and through the years has focused on computers, mobile devices, 3d printing and drones. Both in his career and hobby, he employs a wide range of video, still and VR cameras. An avid gamer, dog lover and father of three adult sons, Charles is married to Jane Randel and lives in New Jersey.

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