Vantrue Nexus 5S Review: Clear coverage inside and out

This quad-camera setup captures impressively clear footage of users' vehicles both inside and out. Additionally, the setup remained stable at all times of day, providing video with consistently solid image quality, both during the day and at night, that was easily accessible through the app. However, removing the SD card was a bit quicker. Furthermore, the included hardwire setup not only added peace of mind for protecting the car, but has the bonus of monitoring the surrounding area. However, given the kinks found in the hardwire kit, users may want to closely inspect any hardware before doing a permanent install. Overall, the Vantrue N5S delivers on its image quality claims and provides a polished app experience that reinforces confidence in the camera's capabilities.

The Vantrue N5S is available on Amazon and on the Vantrue site. The review unit base, excluding the hardwire kit, SD card, and filter, retails for $419.99 but is currently on sale on both sites.

The Vantrue Nexus 5S is Vantrue's highest-tier dual-camera dashcam system that comes equipped with the latest in Vantrue's offerings. Featuring Sony’s Starvis night vision sensors, many accessory enhancements, and several specialized app features, the Nexus 5S aims to be a comprehensive dash cam solution for everyday drivers. 

For this review, Vantrue provided the Nexus 5S, hardwire kit, a CPL Lens, and a 128 GB Vantrue SD card. Everything came packaged in minimal packaging that contained all the necessary items for a full hardwire installation. Unfortunately, when unboxing the hardwire kit, it was discovered that the wires connecting to the fuse tap had cracked and exposed bare copper wires. While a minor defect, the wires needed to be repaired before installing them to avoid any issues. Additionally, the fuse taps provided worked perfectly for the install. Still, it would have been helpful to include two of each tap, as one is needed to provide battery power and another for ACC power. Ultimately, one of the unused fuse taps was cut and stripped to tap into the fuse, and then connected to the ACC wire. With everything connected and the camera tested for power, the cable was routed into position to power the primary camera.

The dual camera install is much more straightforward, and Vantrue provides a couple of transparent stickers to ensure a secure fit when attaching the cameras to the windshield. Before the camera was attached, however, the circular polarizing filter was screwed onto the primary camera. Positioning the cameras is also simple, with both cameras offering vertical rotation in addition to the camera's ball mount. Furthermore, connecting the cameras went quickly, and the 20 feet of cable was more than enough to connect the primary camera to the rear camera, and the cable tucked into the car's trim nicely. Lastly, the boot setup is also quick, and the camera connected to the Vantrue app over WiFi with no issues.

After installation, the camera itself was largely hands-off. Both the voice control and the App worked well to interface with the camera and adjust the camera's settings. However, in cases where the camera is hardwired, features such as WiFi and the display will turn off to conserve power/the car's battery and will require WiFi to be manually turned on to connect to a device.

Both day and night, the Vantrue consistently produced clear video, with colors enhanced by the CPL filter, and recorded without any hiccups. Using the default settings, the camera and its sensors were able to not only track the exact location of the test vehicle, going so far as to show a map when reviewing footage, but also accurately detected many instances of driving events, including hard braking and motion detection when parked. For the times it did misfire, it was largely due to explainable reasons, such as jiggling the camera. Those seeking more accurate results can tailor the automatic video and image sorting system triggers in the settings. The settings also contain many options, and users with the hardwire kit can take advantage of features such as motion detection and active monitoring. It should also be noted that the hardwire kit did not drain the test vehicle's battery and did not cause any disruptions when starting up.

Overall, the Vantrue Nexus 5S provides a premium dashcam experience with solid and reliable performance. Although features such as the LTE module and cloud storage are available for those who need them, the tested setup proved to provide excellent, comprehensive video coverage of the vehicle with minimal full after setting it up.