Vantrue N2X Review: Front and Cabin, With No Rear Camera

The Vantrue N2X records the road ahead and the inside of your car. It does not record the road behind, and we know of no way to add it later. That is the single most important thing to understand before you buy one.

If you carry passengers for a living, that trade is probably the right one. If you do not, a front and rear camera protects you against a more common claim. Here is the honest version of both.

What does the Vantrue N2X record?

Two channels. The front lens is F/1.8 across 158 degrees on a Sony STARVIS 2 sensor, which Vantrue states is an IMX675. The cabin lens is F/1.8 across 165 degrees with four infrared LEDs, set to automatic by default so they come on as the light drops.

The top mode is 1944p front with 1080p cabin. There is a 2 inch screen, a supercapacitor rather than a battery, dual-band Wi-Fi, voice control and GPS built into the mount rather than the camera. HDR works on both channels and can be set separately for each, with a timer so you can schedule it.

One setting to change on day one. The factory default is 1440p front, not the 1944p maximum. Worth knowing if you are comparing it on paper.

Pro Tip: Set the front channel to 1944p and check the infrared LEDs are on automatic the day you fit it, before the camera disappears into the background. Most people open that menu once and never again.

What each resolution mode gives up

Two things are worth pulling out of the mode list.

There is a 60fps mode, but it is front only and it costs resolution. You can run 1440p at 60 frames per second with the cabin at 1080p30, or 1440p60 on its own. There is no 1944p at 60fps, and the cabin never runs at 60fps. Double the frame rate halves the motion blur per frame, which helps on a fast crossing vehicle. It is a genuine choice rather than a gimmick.

The cabin channel never exceeds 1080p. In any mode, on any setting. If your reason for buying is identifying a passenger, that is your ceiling.

What about a rear camera?

We are giving this its own section because people assume otherwise. The manual lists no rear channel and describes no rear input, the camera body has no rear port, and Vantrue support confirmed to us that it does not take one. On that evidence, treat it as a two-channel camera and plan around it.

What that costs you in practice. If someone runs into the back of you, you have no footage of the impact. Rear-end shunts are among the most common collisions on Australian roads. Being the car in front is exactly the situation where you are not at fault and also not filming. Your front channel shows empty road. Your cabin channel shows you sitting still. Neither shows the other driver's approach speed, following distance, or the moment of contact.

Same goes for a hit-and-run from behind in a car park, or someone reversing into you while you are parked. Parking mode on this camera covers front and cabin only.

One more thing worth being clear about. The cabin lens points inward at the occupants, not out at the sides of the car. Its job is faces and behaviour inside the vehicle. It is not a T-bone camera.

So who is it actually for?

People whose main risk is what happens inside the vehicle rather than behind it. That is a narrower group than the marketing suggests, but it is a real one.

Rideshare and taxi drivers. Passenger disputes, false allegations, fare arguments, damage and soiling claims, and abusive passengers. The 165 degree cabin lens and the infrared LEDs are the actual product here. They are the only reason to choose this over a straightforward front and rear camera.

Delivery and courier drivers, who have the same exposure without passengers, and who need to prove where they were.

Anyone moving between vehicles. Hire cars, work vans, a shared family car. The camera detaches magnetically and, with the optional suction mount, moves in seconds. Both the Australian review of this camera and an independent forum reviewer landed on this as its strongest use case.

Parents of new drivers, for the obvious reason.

If cabin coverage is a nice-to-have rather than the point, buy a front and rear camera instead. If you want both cabin and rear, you want a three-channel camera, not this one.

What should you know before buying?

No suction mount in the box. The retail box ships with the adhesive GPS mount only. This is the most consistent criticism of the camera across every source we checked. It matters, because moving between cars is exactly what this camera is good at. Buy the suction GPS mount for the N2X, N4S, N5S and N4 Pro S if you plan to move it around.

Do not buy it for the LTE. The N2X does support Vantrue's LT01 module for remote monitoring, and it needs an ongoing data plan on top. But the worst owner complaint on record is about exactly this. A buyer reported there are no real instructions for configuring the cellular module, and that it worked briefly and then stopped. The feature exists. We would not sell the camera on it.

Card size. The manual says 32GB to 512GB, U3 Class 10. Higher figures appear elsewhere in Vantrue's published material for this camera. Where the published numbers differ we go with the manual and the conservative one, so treat 512GB as the ceiling. Our Vantrue microSD card guide sizes it.

Owner feedback sits at 4.3 out of 5 from around 1,289 ratings on Amazon in the United States, retrieved 13 August 2026. One honest caveat. Amazon merges reviews across listings, and we found a review of a different Vantrue model sitting in that pool. Treat the count as approximate.

Am I allowed to record my passengers?

Video of the road is fine everywhere in Australia. Audio is where the law gets specific, and it is set by each state and territory rather than nationally.

Broadly, some states treat a recording made by someone party to the conversation differently from one made secretly. Several draw a further line at publishing or sharing it. South Australia and Western Australia are stricter than most. Recording a conversation between passengers that you are not part of does not get the benefit of those exceptions anywhere.

We are deliberately not giving you a state-by-state ruling here. This is general information, not legal advice, and getting it wrong matters. Check the current surveillance devices legislation for your own state before you rely on cabin audio.

Practically, the N2X lets you turn audio recording off entirely, and it has a privacy mode. Many rideshare drivers run audio off and display a small notice that the vehicle is recorded. The optional remote gives you a one-touch microphone mute, which is genuinely useful when a private call comes in. Checked 13 August 2026.

Will it cope with an Australian summer?

The N2X uses a supercapacitor rather than a lithium battery, which is the right design for a car that bakes. The manual rates it from minus 20 to 60 degrees Celsius.

Vantrue is direct about the limit, and we respect that. The manual recommends collision detection mode in hot weather, and advises turning the camera off when the cabin reaches 60 degrees. A parked Australian car in summer passes that comfortably, so plan your parking mode expectations accordingly.

On mounts, we will give you both sides. The Australian reviewer of this camera praised the Vantrue suction mount for staying put in heat, contrasting it with rivals that let go.

What accessories should you add?

The suction mount, if the camera is going to move between cars. See above.

A CPL filter. A CPL is a polarising lens that cuts reflections off your dashboard, the same way polarised sunnies cut glare off water. The N2X is on Vantrue's compatibility list for the 40mm CPL filter. One does not come in the box.

A hardwire kit, for parking mode. Constant power is required. Our VP05 hardwire kit shows live voltage, and the VP04 OBD cable avoids the fuse box on vehicles that keep that port live.

The BT02 remote, if you carry passengers. One button to mute the microphone or lock a clip, without taking a hand off the wheel. Vantrue's own remote listing names the N2X as compatible.

Vantrue N2X questions we get asked

Can you add a rear camera to the Vantrue N2X?

No. The manual lists no rear channel and the camera body has no rear port. We asked Vantrue support and they confirmed it does not take one. If you want front, cabin and rear you need a three-channel camera such as the N4 Pro or the N4S.

How does it differ from the older cameras in the same family?

They share a family name and differ in specification rather than in a tidy order, so read the specs rather than the naming. The N2X carries STARVIS 2, HDR, 5GHz Wi-Fi, voice control and LTE support. The N2S records 4K on the front channel. The N2 Pro records 1080p on both channels and has a rotatable cabin lens. Their mounts are not interchangeable, so check before you buy a spare.

How good is the cabin camera at night?

It has four infrared LEDs set to automatic, so it sees inside a dark car without a visible light in anyone's eyes. Footage comes out in black and white while they are running. The cabin channel records at 1080p and cannot go higher. We have not tested how reliably it identifies a face at night.

Does the N2X do 60fps?

Yes, but only on the front channel and only at 1440p. You can run 1440p60 alone or with the cabin at 1080p30. There is no 60fps at the camera's maximum 1944p resolution, and the cabin channel is always 30fps.

The verdict

The Vantrue N2X is a good camera aimed at a specific job. If you carry passengers, the cabin channel with infrared is worth more to you than a rear channel. And the STARVIS 2 front camera means you are not giving up much looking forward.

Buy it with your eyes open on the one big thing. There is no rear camera, and nothing in the manual or on the camera body suggests one can be added. That leaves you without footage of the single most common collision an Australian driver has made against them. That is an acceptable trade for a rideshare driver and a poor one for most private buyers.

Add the suction mount if it is moving between cars, add a CPL, and do not buy it for the LTE.

You can line the whole range up in our guide to choosing a Vantrue dash cam, which covers every model we stock, or browse the Vantrue range.

Not sure whether cabin coverage or rear coverage matters more for how you drive? Give Michael or Harrison a yell. Tell us what you use the car for and we will give you a straight answer, including when a different camera suits you better. No worries either way.

Commercial disclosure: The Dash Cam Guys sells the Vantrue N2X and this is a buying guide to our own range, so treat it as retailer advice rather than an independent survey of the market. No brand paid for, sponsored or supplied anything for this guide. We buy the cameras we review out of our own stock, the same stock we sell. Specifications come from the official Vantrue N2X user manual version 9.5, checked 13 August 2026. That the camera has no rear channel is taken from the manual, from the absence of a rear port on the camera body, and from Vantrue support, who confirmed it to us directly. The front sensor part number is not stated in the manual and comes from Vantrue's own product listing, so it is a manufacturer claim; the cabin sensor part number is not published anywhere and we have not stated one. Owner ratings are from Amazon in the United States and are anecdotal reports rather than a failure rate. The Australian review we refer to disclosed that Vantrue supplied the unit along with accessories not included in the retail box. We have not published our own controlled test measurements for this model, and we have not tested plate readability, night cabin identification or heat behaviour under controlled conditions. The section on recording passengers is general information, not legal advice. This is retailer review and buying advice, not an independent laboratory test. Facts checked 13 August 2026. If a specification, a feature or a price on this page is wrong or has gone out of date, tell us and we will correct it.