SVT, yea I had the 8500, the Bell, Cobra, Whistler, even the $1200.00 K40 custom unit. The 8500 is a good unit but the V1 is by far the best detector on the market. Check out the Valentine1 website and read the Car and Driver test results that are posted on their website. These tests are the only UNBIASED tests out there. If you want MISINFORMATION then check out www.radartest.com. This website is run by the detector companies to promote their product. Just common sense, the 8500 has 1 antennae so how does it provide rear coverage? Its certainly a good detector and ALWAYS comes in second but the V1 is the number 1 detector on the market. The 8500 is also $100.00 cheaper so in the best "bang for buck" catagory the 8500 is probably the winner. The V1 has the advantage of 2 antennae and the directional arrows that the 8500 doesn't feature.