Boasting a wealth of features, good mobile and desktop apps with full GPS compatibility, and a handy rear camera, the Vantrue E2 might not have an entry-level price. Still, it does offer the minimum you should expect from your first dashcam.

Key Features
  • Dual dash cam
  • GPS
  • 2.4GHz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi
  • Hands-free voice control
  • Buffer detection when parking
  • Supports up to 512GB microSD card
Specifications
  • Number of Cameras: Two
  • Front Camera Resolution: 2592 x 1944p (single camera mode)
  • Field of View: 160 degrees
  • Emergency Power: No (hardwire kit available)
  • Brand: Vantrue
Pros
  • 2K video resolution and time-lapse modes
  • Straightforward setup
  • GPS receiver built-in to the mount
  • Features a rear camera
  • Mobile and desktop apps all display GPS information
  • Voice commands and remote control are useful
Cons
  • No battery for parking mode
  • No adhesive cable hooks
  • Not 4K resolution
Buy This Product
Vantrue E2

If you’re looking for a new dashcam, you need something that, at the very least, records in a resolution beyond 1080p, includes a rear camera, and has a usable mobile app. Desirable features include hardwiring, GPS, easy installation, and fast data transfer—failing that, an easy way to eject the microSD card.

The Vantrue E2 dashcam boasts almost all of these features and should be high on your list of potentials.

Why Choose the Vantrue E2 Dashcam?

This entire review is dedicated to why you should (or shouldn’t) choose the Vantrue E2 dashcam to protect you while driving. However, the one thing you should weigh the review against is my experience with dashcams (I’ve reviewed several over the last five years) and the reputation of the manufacturer.

When I first encountered a Vantrue dashcam in 2017, I was astonished at how much better it was than anything else I’d reviewed. This was the Vantrue N2 Pro, a windshield-mounted camera with an interior-facing secondary cam. The dashcam was easy to install, had a decent app, was easy to install, and was simple to retrieve videos from.

I was so impressed with this dashcam that pretty much every similar device I’ve reviewed since was compared it. Often unfairly. So: how does the Vantrue E2 measure up in comparison?

What’s in the Box?

The kit features the main Vantrue E2 dashcam, the R03 rear camera, a GPS adhesive mount, a small plastic “crowbar” for cable management, a 6-meter (20-foot) cable for the rear camera, and a 3.5-meter (11.5-foot) USB Type-C cable for the front camera.

You’ll also find a 1-meter (3.3 Foot) USB Type-C data cable for transferring files, a wireless remote control, electrostatic mounting stickers, 3M adhesives for the rear camera, and warning stickers.

Also included in the box is a 303-page manual, in seven languages. Consequently, only 43 pages are dedicated to the English language guidance of this dashcam unit. This is by far and away the most comprehensive manual I have seen in seven years of using and reviewing dashcams.

While this dashcam features a parking mode, and Vantrue hardwiring kits are available, none was provided for this review. As such, the feature remains untested.

What’s Not in the Box?

The Vantrue E2 does not ship with adhesive cable clips (more on that later) or a microSD card.

Vantrue E2 Dashcam Device Specification

With a 160-degree wide viewing angle on both front and rear cameras, the Vantrue E2 relies on Sony CMOS image sensors and Novatek high-performance processor. The front camera has a 2.45-inch IPS display with built-in 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, a microphone and speaker, and support for up to 512GB U3-rated class 10 microSD card. It has a USB Type-C port for connection to a PC and the rear camera cable.

Vantrue E2 dashcam

Videos are saved in MP4 format and can be recorded in various resolutions and frame rates. For example, time-lapse is supported with the 10FPS option, which save on recording space immensely. At the other end of the scale, 1944p front and rear recording at 24FPS is the highest resolution, with various options down to 720p front and back at 30FPS. If you wish to use only the front camera, a higher 2592x1944p at 30FPS is available.

You'll need a 5V DC supply for the dashcam, which has a working temperature of -4 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 70 degrees Celsius). Note that this dashcam has no internal battery.

It’s an Award Winning Dashcam

It’s not often I get award-winning hardware to review.

The Vantrue Element 2 box is adorned with the iF Design Award 2022 logo, awarded for the entire Element range. The three cameras in the range share the same design philosophy, and in all honestly they do look good. Compared with other dashcams—including some from Vantrue—these cams resemble stylish 8K action cams rather than 2K dashcams.

In fact, the Vantrue E2 is such a nice-looking camera that I’m a little concerned it might be the target of a theft...

How Easy Is It to Set up the Vantrue E2 Dashcam?

While a straightforward installation, fitting the Vantrue E2 dashcam was not without complication. This was due to the style of my car, the length of the cables, and the absence of any adhesive hooks.

This is a bit of a bugbear of mine. Until a couple of years ago, every dashcam I had shipped with adhesive clips that could be attached to the windshield and keep the cables out of sight. It’s an essential consideration for safe driving.

Adhesive cable clips were such a fixture of dashcams that I even had a few left over the first time I encountered a kit without them. This is the third such kit, and I’ve had to resort to buying them on eBay. The clips are inexpensive, but their regular omission from dashcams is becoming a bad joke.

If you’re planning to buy this dashcam, I recommend you grab some adhesive cable clips online before installation.

Vantrue E2 dashcam

Incredibly, the 3.5-meter cable was not long enough to mount the front camera in the preferred position behind or alongside the mirror. As I drive a vehicle with a large windshield (a seven-seat MPV), you might consider that this should not come as a huge surprise.

However, I’ve been driving this type of car since 2012, and it’s the first time the cabling fell short. As a result, I mounted the Vantrue E2 dashcam in the corner of the passenger seat side of the window, above the glove box.

After a few days running the dashcam in single-camera mode, I installed the rear cam. The R03’s 6-meter cable was more than adequate, with some cabling requiring looping and securing within the trunk door panel.

The main power cable features an L-shaped USB connector to the Vantrue E2 mount, which looks pretty tidy. You simply slide the Vantrue E2 onto the mount, where it is magnetically secured. Meanwhile, the cable for the rear camera does not have the L-shaped connector and is less tidy.

Managing the Vantrue E2 Dashcam With the Mobile App

While the front dashcam is easy to use, with plenty of menu options and a clear display, the mobile app is a good alternative.

While you’re not downloading video from the camera (very fast over 5GHz Wi-Fi), and using the mobile app to review GPS data (a good feature that's also available in the desktop app), you can also use it to adjust the various setting for the dashcam.

This covers everything from camera resolution and frame rate to enabling or disabling audio commands, setting sensitivity for parking mode and emergency recordings, and disabling the display while driving.

You can also use the app to crop and share footage. This has few social networking uses (although I’m prepared to be surprised) and is more useful for packaging trimmed incident footage in an email to your vehicle insurer.

Retrieving Dashcam Footage From the Vantrue E2 Dashcam

You have various options for copying footage from the Vantrue E2 Dashcam. The first, as mentioned, is to download it to the mobile app. Alternatively, you can eject the microSD card and read the contents on a standard card reader. You can also detach the dashcam from the mount and connect it to a PC to read the microSD card—useful if you don’t have a card reader.

Vantrue E2 Windows app

If you’re going to take that last option, spend a few minutes downloading the official app for the Vantrue E2. This is designed to play the videos and relay the GPS data on a map (Google Maps and Baidu are supported).

Interestingly, GPS data on this dashcam is embedded in the video files. I’m sure this is not a new development, but it is the first time I’ve seen it with a working companion app.

The Vantrue app can be downloaded from the website and covers several (but not all) devices, so you must be careful which one you select. It’s available for Windows 10 and 11, and macOS. (I had some issues launching the app on Windows 10 after installation. This turned out to be due to some missing DLL files, which required a download from the Microsoft website to resolve.)

Vantrue E2 dashcam

It's easy to use—you load the video file into the app and double-click to play—and you’ll see all relevant GPS data. This includes speed and X/Y/Z axis data along with your map position and is more detailed than the information found in the mobile app. Each loaded clip displays the route taken on the map and your vehicle’s journey along it.

It’s such a simple approach to presenting GPS data.

Driving With the Vantrue E2 Dashcam Installed

One of the most important aspects of dashcams is how comfortable you are driving with one installed. I prefer to have the camera screen disabled or out of sight and have the dashcam mounted where I can’t see it.

In these respects, the Vantrue E2 has been ideal, but what is it like driving with the camera installed? Well, it’s nicely anonymous. A competitor dashcam I tried recently greeted every turn of the ignition with a spoken greeting, which was so annoying I considered throwing it out of the window. Happily, the Vantrue E2 doesn’t do this, and while its voice control option is reliable enough to be useful, it can’t handle a busy car with two or more passengers.

Vantrue E2 dashcam

Should I need to interact with the camera, there is the remote, which I have mounted behind the steering wheel. This can be used to disable audio recordings and take photos. You can also use it to mark an event, which is then saved to the emergency folder on the microSD card, preventing it from being overwritten if the card is full.

If you leave the display enabled, the Vantrue E2 will present large icons in the center of the screen to relay various information when necessary. For example, emergency recordings are highlighted with a large padlock icon; mic-enabled and disabled symbols appear when toggled. These large symbols ensure your interaction with the camera is kept to the bare minimum when driving.

Comparing the Vantrue E2 With the Vantrue N2 Pro

As noted, I’ve previously reviewed the N2 Pro from Vantrue, a decent dashcam that impressed me enough to give it a very high score. While I note that it is still available to buy from some outlets, it should be highlighted that its high score was based on other dashcams at that time.

Vantrue E2 dashcam footage

Although a good device, the N2 Pro is five years old. It is lightweight and flexible but lacks modern dashcam features. It should be a no-brainer if you were faced with a choice between the N2 Pro and the Vantrue E2. The Vantrue E2 is, in every way, the superior dashcam.

In fact, the lack of 4K video is the only thing preventing a higher score for this device.

New to Dashcams? Make the Vantrue E2 Your First

It doesn’t have 4K recording, it was trickier than expected to install, and the Vantrue E2 doesn’t ship with a microSD card or have a battery for parking mode.

Aside from those issues, this is a solid dashcam that looks great in your car. More importantly, it records in what I consider to be the minimum acceptable resolution for a dashcam (anything less loses important detail, like car license plates).

The remote control is handy, and while voice control could be more comprehensive, the mobile and desktop apps are good, and that is important when you've been in a road incident.

Boasting a wealth of features, good mobile and desktop apps with full GPS compatibility, and a handy rear camera, the Vantrue E2 might not have an entry-level price. Still, it does offer the minimum you should expect from your first dashcam.