Expert Review:
The Passport 8500 has always been one of the top-performing radar detectors on the market (with a good value message to boot), but Escort has not been sitting around idly. The nature of this industry is such that manufacturers are constantly forced to upgrade and innovate, or simply wither away and disappear into obscurity. The upgrades done to the 8500 series in the X50 Black both subtle and obvious. The previously silver-colored outer casing has been swapped for a matte black one, which is better for cutting down on reflections and distracting glare. Escort has made some changes to the internal components as well, and are now claiming to have unlocked '40% more performance' compared to the standard X50 (silver) model. Even if this claim is overly optimistic, there's no question that the new Passport 8500 X50 Black is still one of the best performers in its price range. Escort offers the Passport 8500 X50 Black in two models - one with a blue display, and one with a red display. There is no difference between the two except for the color of the display, so choose the red display model if you want to save a few bucks.
