(OPINION) Dash cams have, for the most part, been designed to record footage as we drive around, capturing anything important that might help with an insurance claim. With that said, accidents and incidents can happen when we’re not in the car, so shouldn’t dash cams also come to the rescue then? That’s what the Nextbase Piqo aims to do.
That’s not new, per se, as the Nextbase iQ has features that record clips when your car is crashed into or attacked while parked, and can send alerts when someone else is driving your car. However, that dash cam is expensive to buy and has monthly subscription fees.
The Nextbase Piqo changes that, offering ‘lite’ versions of these features without a subscription fee, with the caveat that they work offline only, and you only get recorded incidents and alerts when you’re next within app range of your camera.
Even so, from the initial look at the camera, it seems to offer considerably more than you’d expect from a cheaper model.
Smaller and more compact
The Nextbase Piqo is available in two versions: the 2K (1440p video, £119.99), and the 1K (1080p video, £99.99). Neither version has a rear camera or cabin camera, so you’ll need to look elsewhere if you need these features. Both versions look the same externally and, aside from the video resolution have the same features.
The Nextbase Piqo is noticeably small and easily fits in a hand. Perhaps the most significant difference between this model and the Nextbase iQ is that the mounting base is much smaller. With the iQ, we found it hard to place the camera in its ideal position behind the rearview mirror because the mounting base was so large.
Here, that’s a lot easier as the mount is smaller, so we had no problem placing the camera behind the mirror of our car. It’s slightly fiddly running the power cable around the window seal, although it’s fair to say that this is the same with the best dash cams we’ve reviewed.
Once installed, the camera can be unclipped from its mount so that you can take it inside if needed. There’s even a spare mount in the box, so the camera can even be moved between cars.
Before the Piqo is ready to be used, it does need a microSD card for recording clips, and there’s not one in the box, so factor in the price of this.
Built-in protection
Our full review, coming soon, will look at the image quality and the standard driving features of the dash cam, but what’s particularly interesting about this camera is its integrated protection features that make it stand out.
Smart Parking is included for free and is enabled while your car is parked. Should you get a knock, the camera springs into life and records what’s happening. When you return to your car, you get a notification and can review the footage.
For a hit-and-run or someone trying to break into your car, there’s a chance that you can capture something important. However, without the rear or cabin cameras, you may want to think about which way you park your car to maximise the chance of recording something useful.
Guardian Mode Lite is similar to the Guardian Mode on the Nextbase iQ. With this mode, you can set speed limit parameters and a geofence so that if someone else is driving your car (mechanic, valet parking or another family member), you can have the camera monitor their driving behaviour. Any time the parameters are exceeded, the Nextbase Piqo will record and protect the clips, giving you evidence of what they’ve done.
As with Smart Parking, alerts are only gathered when you return to your car, but it still feels like a powerful tool, as you’ll know what your car has been up to while you’ve been away from it.
Witness Mode Lite is a voice-activated feature that requires a Bluetooth connection to your phone. When activated, the camera records and notifies a nominated third-party contact. It feels like a great way to record an accident or road rage incident and let someone else know what’s going on.
Cloud storage and emergency features
All of these features are built in for free, but Nextbase does offer a Protect feature for £2.99 a month. These features require your phone to be connected to the camera to work, but include 180 days of cloud storage (up from 30 on the free plan) for automatically recorded clips, plus Emergency SOS, which alerts emergency services with your location and critical information should you be involved in a serious accident.
Initial thoughts
Dash cams are about protecting your car and gathering crucial evidence, and that’s just as important while your car is parked or in someone else’s hands as it is when you’re at the wheel. Adding parking and driving monitoring to a more entry-level product feels like the right thing, expanding what a dash cam is capable of.
There are limitations here: the lack of a cabin or rear-view camera, limits on what information can be captured, not to mention the lack of a permanent 4G connection which means you can’t get live alerts; something that makes the Nextbase iQ more powerful. However, as we said in our Nextbase iQ review, the high cost makes the dash cam best suited for those with expensive vehicles or who often park in slightly dodgier areas.
For the majority of users, simplicity and low cost seem like more important factors, and wider levels of protection beyond just recording while driving feel like a step in the right direction. Our full Nextbase Piqo review is coming soon, so we’ll see if the dash cam lives up to its promises then.
