What is it?
Viofo may not be the first name that springs to mind when you think of buying a dash cam but the brand from China is fast building a reputation for high quality dash cams. It now has a presence here with Viofo UK, complete with a UK warehouse and UK-based customer care team. A quick look at Viofo TrustPilot ratings shows it certainly has plenty of happy customers.
The Viofo range of dash cams starts at £100 but the the Viofo A139 Pro dash cam we're testing is the top of the range model which is reflected in its £340 price tag.
For that you do get a very high spec dash cam. It has three channels and includes a rear camera plus an interior camera, a handy feature for the likes of Uber drivers. Being the Pro version of the Viofo A139 it also records in 4K (at 30fps) rather than 2K.
As you can see below, you get all the necessary cables included, plus a polarising lense filter. One thing you don't get however is an SD card. You can buy one from Viofo with the dash cam or get one from Amazon of course. We'd suggest a 128MB card from a reutable make like Samsung or SanDisk.
Unusually there's no display screen on the dash cam itself, instead you set it up via the Viofo app but the A139 Pro does have a built in voice confirmation to let you know it has started recording.
What's it like?
There are lots of various cables and cameras when you open up the Viofo A139 Pro box, but what jumps out is the quality of everything. Even the 12v adaptor has a reassuringly solid feel to it. It's clear from the outset this is a quality bit of kit, which goes somewhat to justifying its price tag.
The Viofo A139 dash cam itself is sturdy and solid. And while there's no screen, it has buttons for switching it on and off, muting the sound and of course most importantly, saving a video clip.
Fitting the Viofo is pretty straightforward. However, another thing it doesn't have is a suction mount, instead you get 3M mounting pads. The plus side is that once fitted, it's very sturdy, the downside is that you can't move it.
So you really need to check that you're happy with its positioning before you commit to sticking it in place. Personally, we prefer a suction mount, the kind that Nextbase dash cams have, but that's mainly down to the fact we move our dash cams between different cars.
We tested the Viofo A139 dash cam in our Honda CR-V and fitted the front camera below the interior mirror and the rear camera at the top of the tailgate glass. The lenses on all the cameras rotates so it's easy to get the best angle for video. One neat feature for the front camera however is that it slides off the windscreen mount, so you can at least remove it for changing the SD card or similar.
There is of course the issue of wires. Having a rear camera requires a long cable to connect it to the main dash cam, which is why we recommend getting the A139 Pro professionally hardwired in. There are alternatives, like the rear facing camera Nextbase offers as an extra on dash cams like the Nextbase 322 GW, but these don't capture as much as a dedicated rear camera.
To set up the Viofo, you'll also need the Viofo app on your phone. While we'd still prefer an actual screen on the dash cam, the good news is that the app is pretty easy to use. You connect it via WiFi, which was a bit of a faff at first, but once done it then connects to your phone everytime you get in the car. Simply check the angles of the cameras are okay and you're good to go.
Like most good dash cams, once it's fitted, you can simply forget about the Viofo A139 Pro, although there is a slightly annoying american voice which reminds you that it's recording everytime it starts. Thankfully you can turn this off...
So what's the footage like? Excellent is the simple answer. This is where the price of the Viofo A139 Pro really shines through. Yes it is expensive, but the quality of the footage is second to none. Our footage below was recorded on a reasonably clear day, something we attempt to do in order compare all our dash cams, but we also tested in bright sun and at night.
In all conditions we were very impressed with the quality of the footage from both the front and rear camera. Remember, the clips below are via YouTube and will have been compressed, but viewing the raw footage on a large screen, it's as good as anything we've tested.
Of course most modern dash cams perform well on a sunny and clear day, but the footage at night also impressed us. Headlights don't blind the camera and it still picks out details such as number plates extremely well.
Getting this footage is very simple too - thanks to the Viofo app you can download and share clips. You can of course use the traditional method of removing the SD card from the dash cam and plugging it into your laptop - a micro SD card adaptor is provider in the box.
Should I buy one?
If you want a dash cam that provides superb footage and don't mind paying a premium, then the Viofo A139 is for you. While we didn't test the interior camera - and doubt most people will need this - the footage captured by the front and rear dash cams is some of the best we've seen.
While there are cheaper dash cams that will do a job, if you want stand out quality recordings, you'd be hard pressed to beat the Viofo A139 Pro. It's no good if you want a dash cam that can be swapped between cars, for that we'd suggest a Nextbase. But for those looking for a more permanent - and hard wired - dash cam, this is highly recommended.
While the lack of a screen may put some off, and for us the jury is still out, the Viofo app is easy enough to use and we had no problems viewing the dash cam live, nor watching captured footage. Yes it's expensive, but we think the quality of the footage does enough to justify the price tag. You can buy the A139 Pro direct from Viofo.
