RAC 03 Dashcam Review

What We Say

What is it?

The RAC describe it as 'a premium in-car camera that is packed with features to help you drive safely on our busy roads. This innovative camera fits over your rearview mirror - removing the need for a suction mount. It includes a video display that is built into the mirror which allows you to view recorded video'.

Unlike the other Dashcams, the RAC 03 comes with straps to enable it to be hooked over your existing rear-view mirror. There are a couple of spare straps included in the box as well, should there be any issues with the original pair. It includes a video display that is built into the mirror which allows you to view recorded video.

The RAC 03 Dashcam includes some innovative features, these include;

· Forward Collision Warnings - The camera monitors the distance of the vehicle in front, if you get to close an alert sounds to warn you.

· Lane Diversion Warning - Clever software monitors the white lines on the road, and if a slow drift over the line is detected a warning will sound.

· Speed camera alerts - Using GPS, the camera alerts you to an approaching safety camera and displays the distance, speed limit and your current speed.

· Over Speed Alarm - If the driver goes over a pre-set speed limit then an alarm will sound.

The dashcam can record in 3 different quality modes allowing you to tailor it to your SD card size and how long you wish to store recordings for, but quality can be set up to '2340 x 1296 Super HD'. For our testing we used the 'HD' setting as the dashcam came with an 8GB memory card. In the box you will also find a power cable, suction mount, additional straps and user manual.

The cable provided is handily a USB connection, meaning that if you had more than one device needing a cigarette lighter socket then you can easily buy and adapter to convert it to a dual USB.

How we tested it?

We tested the dashcam individually over a period of time so we got an idea of what it was really like to put up with on a daily basis. We followed the manufacturer's recommendations when setting up the dashcam. We tested it in both daytime and nighttime.

We Liked:

· I actually quite like the design - maybe a little on the large side but having the LCD screen in the mirror looks great.

· It has some great features like the speed camera alerts etc - there aren't many other dashcams out there with these kind of features.

We didn't Like:

· The car we tested it in has an auto-dimming rearview mirror, this is then redundant after putting on the dashcam.

· Unfortunately, because of the power port (located at the top), in the car we tested it in it made it very difficult to tip it up far enough to get the right position, we had to put something at the bottom just to prop it up slightly.

· Because of the natural angle of a rear view mirror means that the video is always off to the left meaning if something happened on the front right hand corner of your car, it may be missed

Video Example

Overall:

You can pick these up for around £150 and with the features that it boasts it certainly is a great contender in the dashcam market - however we feel that there are a few things that let it down, mainly being the recording angle and how awkward it can be to fit. Perhaps if there was some way to angle the camera this would be a great idea. But saying that, we are impressed with the recording quality and the features on it, especially the speed camera warnings, it can be very useful!

Thinking of getting one? At time of writing you can actually get £30 off your RAC car insurance if you fit this dashcam.

Specifications: