The best alarm with auto start - StarLine, Scher-Khan or Pandora?

The alarm can respond to different triggers, but first of all it is a direct effect on the car. For example, the main function of all models without exception is the response to vibration. If the car starts to shake, the sensors are triggered. In addition, the vibration sensor can be one- or two-level. A single-level sensor reacts exclusively to strong shocks, while a two-level sensor also reacts to small vibrations, such as those that occur when twisting wheels or lifting with a jack.

Models from Pandora and Starline also have tilt and motion sensors. These are auxiliary modules that are found only in these alarms, the rest do not have them. Therefore, we give them the first place. All other participants in the comparison share the second position, since they have standard sensors that respond to vibration.

Alarms come with one-way and feedback. In the first case, when triggered, the siren turns on, which notifies the owner. If your car is under the windows of the apartment, this may be quite enough. The siren will surely scare away the intruders, but at the same time it will wake up all the neighbors, who will probably not be happy about this.

Models with feedback may not notify the entire district about their operation. They will simply transfer information to the owner on the key fob and even show exactly what effect it has on the car. Our comparison included only one model with one-way communication, this is the Sheriff alarm. She doesn’t even have a keychain equipped with a monitor, so she only knows how to turn on the siren. If you park the car far from home, it is better to refuse it immediately. We give her only the third place.

The second position belongs to Sherkhan. This model can give a light or sound signal to the key fob, as well as activate the siren, if necessary. In this case, you yourself choose which triggers to activate at the moment. For example, you can disable or reconfigure the vibration response.

And the first position is shared by three participants at once: Starline, Tomahawk and Pandora. They have a very thin settings menu in which you can set all the necessary parameters. With them, you will completely eliminate false positives, and information about the impact can be obtained in a variety of ways.In the case of Pandora and Starline, this can even be notifications on a mobile phone, both through SMS and through a special application.

The alarm transmits information to the key fob through a secure radio signal that has a certain range. The length of the signal depends on the power of the transmitter and the type of coding. But we’ll talk about this a little lower, but for now let’s look at dry numbers. So, there are two types of range: the first is the range in alert mode. This is the distance at which the alarm will send a notification about the impact on the car, and the key fob will receive it. The second is the control range. Since the models we are considering have auto start, this value shows at what distance you can start or stop the engine from the key fob. For our nominees, these values ​​look like this:

According to these figures, we have two winners, but this is not entirely true. In fact, the first place is occupied by only one participant - this is the Pandora alarm. The fact is that it can transmit information not only to a key fob, but also to a smartphone, and this warning system has no range. It is limited only by cell towers.The Starline model has the same module, but there the range with the key fob is slightly lower, so only the second place. The third position is shared by Sherkhan and Tomahawk, which have the same values ​​due to the type of encoding. Well, in the last position is the Sheriff model, which has the smallest range, and if you read the reviews, it becomes clear that with the maximum sensing distance, sometimes they don’t happen at all.

The GSM module allows you to control the car remotely from any mobile device. It can be SMS or the functions of a special application. By default, this option is not available for any of our nominees, but it is optional for the Pandora and Starline alarms. That is, you need to purchase this module in addition, and with it you will be able to carry out autorun and security functions not from a key fob, but from a smartphone. This is an important aspect, as it removes range restrictions and expands the capabilities of the security module. Accordingly, we give first place to these two nominees.

Also, these models have an optional GPS that allows you to track the location of the car in real time. Other nominees do not have such options, but the Tomahawk model still single-handedly takes second place. She does not have optional GPS and GSM, but there is a CAN module.

But the Sherkhan and Sheriff alarms are the most modest in this regard. They do not have additional tracking modules and do not even know how to connect to the electronic bus. With them, you will not be able to track your car and what is happening to it at the moment.

Any alarm is equipped with several sensors. Everyone has their own zone in which they work. If the impact on the car occurs outside the sensor zone, the alarm will not be triggered. Accordingly, the best signaling is the one with the maximum number of these zones. In our case, two nominees become winners at once: Starline and Pandora. They have 9 security zones. This is not the maximum, there are models with 16 sensors, but they were not included in our comparison.

However, you can also choose Sherkhan or Tomahawk. They have 7 zones, that is, two less than the winners. In principle, this is also quite enough. And the Sheriff alarm has only one zone less. But if you read the reviews, and they are enough to use all parts of the car, but be that as it may, this is only the third position.

The immobilizer is also called a secret. This is such a button that completely blocks the ability to start the engine and other functions of the car. You simply activate the option, and now, even by disabling your alarm, the attacker will not be able to start the engine until he finds the immobilizer, and this is not easy to do, since it can be located in any part of the car and even disguised as another button.

Also, the immobilizer can be controlled remotely. Such a function is available for the Sherkhan and Tomahawk models. We give them first place in the nomination. Pandora and Starline don't have this option, but they just don't need it. Here, the immobilizer is replaced by tracking modules and connection to the car's electronic bus. Sheriff does not have it either, so they only have second place. If you read the reviews and opinions of experts, then the immobilizer is much more important than other options and bells and whistles. It best protects the car from theft, as it significantly increases the time for intruders to turn off the alarm.

All information about what is happening with the car goes to the key fob. Some models included in our comparison can also use a smartphone, but the main control module is still a key fob, so we will consider it. The more informative the display, the better you will understand what is happening with the machine. It will also allow you to better configure the alarm against false positives.

The most informative key rings are for the Sherkhan and Tomahawk models. Manufacturers Pandora and Starline clearly sacrificed this for the sake of smartphone control. There is a lot of information on the key rings of the winners. There are badges for all occasions, and you will always be aware of what kind of impact is happening now. Well, the third position, of course, belongs to the Sheriff. Of course, since his keychain has no display at all.This is an alarm that has auto start and 6 security zones, but it notifies about the impact on the car only by turning on the siren. Not the best version for car protection, but it has a right to exist.

To choose an alarm system that perfectly combines price and quality, it is not enough to read reviews and expert opinions. It is also necessary to look at the number of main and auxiliary functions. Since our comparison concerns models with autorun, they can be divided into two parts: those responsible for security and management. To better understand what options the nominees have, consider them in the table:

The winner is the Tomahawk alarm. She has the most options, both basic and auxiliary. This is one of the latest versions of the manufacturer, so it has all the latest developments. True, there are no GSM and GPS modules, which is rather strange for a modern device. Pandora and Starline take second place in the category. They have the same set of functions, and in terms of content, they practically do not differ from each other. And the most modest are Sheriff and Sherkhan. They have a standard set of options for budget signaling.

The winner in this nomination is the model Sheriff. This is not surprising, since it is the most modest in content and functionality. The price of the device is only 2.5 thousand rubles. We send Tomahawk and Sherkhan to the second position, both cost about 9 thousand and you don’t need to buy anything for them. And the most expensive are models from Starline and Pandora, with the first one costing 13 thousand, and the second - almost 19. And this despite the fact that there are no GSM and GPS modules in the basic configuration. They will have to be purchased separately. In addition, additional costs will be required for installation. There are a lot of details and security zones, so the services of the masters will be more expensive.

The winner is the Pandora alarm. She took 5 nominations at once and scored the most points in total. This is also confirmed by numerous reviews on the network, the opinion of experts and various ratings where this model has got. Pandora is the best auto start alarm that you should choose if you are not particularly limited in finances. Its main drawback is a rather high price, and if you want to drive a car through a smartphone, you will also have to fork out for additional modules that are not in the basic configuration.

Second place is shared by Starline and Tomahawk. True, despite the same total score and the number of victories in the nominations, there is a difference between them, and a significant one. For example, Starline can be controlled via a smartphone, while Tomahawk does not have such an option. In addition, Starline is more expensive, and much more.

Sherkhan lost in the total score, although he has the most informative display. And on the last line we have the Sheriff alarm.This is the most modest model that got into our comparison solely due to the fact that it has a remote engine start and it often gets into various ratings. But it is the best in terms of price. The model is several times cheaper than its competitors, so if you park the car close to home and you do not need to carefully monitor it, then you should choose it.