Cobra 4615 ADR VS Pandora Mini BT

With the Cobra 4615 ADR & the Pandora Mini BT both being Thatcham approved it makes sense to give a full spec list and a run down on each. The Cobra 4615 ADR has been around for around 10 years now and being made in Italy you can rest assured of a very well made alarm system, Cobra time and time again have always used the best components available to make an alarm that will last for years. However in recent years the alarm software has been very hit and miss with Cobra / Vodadfone Automotive alarms and with the worst technical support it doesn't really offer much help for engineers fitting the Cobra 4615 ADR alarm.

The Cobra 4615 ADR system uses ADR tags which work on the older 433Mhz wavelength, which isn't as secure as the new 868Mhz wavelength the newer systems are using such as Pandora and Meta. Both these systems use an ADR tag to let the alarm know it's the owner unlocking the vehicle rather than a thief for example. However the Pandora Mini BT encription is alot stronger over the Cobra ADR 4615 due to the Pandora system being alot newer. The Mini BT has been around for 5 years now and so far it has been a very well made and reliable system.

Pandora estimate it will be 15 years before the thieves catch up and are able to clone the Pandora encryption. This gives total piece of mind when getting a Pandora system installed. Cobra / Vodafone Automotive have never commented on if the signal can or can't be cloned from there ADR tags. When it comes to alarm size Pandora will win no matter what. The Pandora alarm ECU is around the same size as the ADR tag which is tiny. The Alarms ECU can be perfectly loomed into the vehicles original wiring harness giving a very sleek installation. The Cobra alarm ECU is very large meaning it can be found behind the vehicles dash alot easier. But to be fair this Cobra 4615 ADR alarm system was designed well over 10 years ago and technology have moved on a great amount since then.

When it comes to features the Pandora Mini BT wins by a mile! The Pandora has onboard shock sensors, tilt sensors and motion all built within the alarms ECU. To add these sensors to the Cobra / Vodafone 4615 ADR system, it would push the price up a huge amount and won't allow a sleek install due to all the extra wiring and sensors being mounted elsewhere. The Pandora Mini BT also uses a mobile smartphone Bluetooth app which can make small setting changes to the sensors and you can view alarm history by simply loading the app.

In my honest point of view the Cobra / Vodafone 4615 ADR used to be the alarm of choice for someone looking to secure there vehicle years ago. But with there hit and miss alarm software it has put the Cobra alarm system behind in recent years. Car theft methods and technology has moved on massively and as such the Thatcham approved Pandora Mini BT is the number 1 alarm system to protect your vehicle. Remember the Pandora Mini BT comes with a full 3 year warranty for piece of mind.