I love my Escort 8500... it payed for itself in the first month...by keeping me out of a good deal of tickets...

I'd feel safe with either the 8500 or V1... but in all the tests I've seen the 8500 has better Ka sensitivity which is what I see most of the time... but the directionial indicator on the V1 is def a good idea...

In the year+ I've had the 8500 I've been hit with laser exactly twice... both times it was from a HP car at an accident scene with every single type of radar going...

but yeah there is no defense against laser...once you get alerted it's too late...