I have had an Escort 8500 for 8 years and love it!
I am planning on buying another one. I think the gps stuff is way over-hyped. If you drive the same roads everyday, you know where the detector will go off and on what band.
The 8500 has great range and it is only $299. Super cheap insurance in my book.
Like I said mine has paid for itself several times over at least!

Cheers,
KrzyFast