Overall and Final Verdict
With all of our testing out of the way, we can finally step back and get a better overall look at how the Vantrue Nexus 5 performed. The biggest factor in a dashcam is going to be how well its video performance is and the Nexus 5 performed extremely well in that aspect, especially with its front-facing camera which uses a Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 5M Ultra-low light sensor. On top of that camera, you get an impressive three additional views to help cover every possible angle. The three additional cameras all performed well as well, with the main issues I ran into there being glare, especially on our rear camera, and having the camera looking through our back window really showed just how bad our rear tint has gotten already. The two different inside cameras give you a view out of your side windows, but they also will be great for any gig workers who are doing rid sharing or deliveries looking to protect themselves.
The installation was relatively easy but I do also have some experience with cars. If you don’t want wires run all over the place but also aren’t comfortable hiding the wires you may still want to consider a professional installation which Vantrue does help with if you live in New York, but everyone else is on their own there. They have two different options for hard wiring including a plug-and-play ODB II port plugin option that worked well. Once hardwired, the camera will be able to keep an eye on your car when it is parked while also protecting your battery with a voltage limit to turn things off before it leaves you stuck with a dead battery if you are parked for too long.
The front camera is significantly larger than the rear camera. The rear was compact enough that it wasn’t a concern but for the front camera, you are going to want to get it in the exact right spot for your setup so it isn’t in the way of your view as well. That is one of the areas that I think could be improved on, given the voice controls and having every menu option not only available in the app but easier to use in the app I would be fine seeing the display screen go away if it would mean a little more compact design for the front camera. They gave the front camera an easy-to-use magnetic mount that removes it if you are concerned about it attracting attention or if you want to bring it inside to download something. But the rear camera connection seems to be an afterthought here with that still being connected directly to the camera when the camera power plugs into the mount. That rear camera cable was also thicker and harder to work with which became an issue in the rear because it didn’t have any angle to the connection to help tuck it up and out of view leaving a cable sticking way out and drooping. My only other issue was with how you parse all of the footage that four different cameras provide. This footage adds up quickly and because it is split up into 1-minute increments can be a lot of scrolling just to get through one day. I would love to see all of the camera footage for that time being tied together to make it easier to look through and maybe add in searching or even better, a timeline that you can look through.
Overall, even though there is room for improvement. If your goal is to get the best possible footage and to have coverage of both ends of your car inside and out the Vantrue Nexus 5 is still a great option. You have a built-in GPS that not only can track your speed if you want it, but it will show where you are going on a map when looking at footage. The parking mode is huge, you are a lot more likely to get small damage to your car when you aren’t around at all and this is a way to at least keep an eye out for that or anything else suspicious. They also have used a supercapacitor rather than a battery which isn’t something I could test but helps when it comes to extreme heat and cold which where I live I will see both depending on the seasons.
For pricing, the Nexus 5 isn’t cheap with its MSRP being $399. But Vantrue often has deals including an $80 coupon that they had recently and today as I publish this it is even cheaper for Prime Day at $279.99. That Prime Day deal is a really good price.
Live Pricing: HERE
