Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 review

A tiny dash cam that’s ideal for fans of simplicity

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The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 mounted inside a windshield
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(Image: © Garmin)

TechRadar Verdict

The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 is a tiny dash cam that puts a focus on simplicity. Instead of overwhelming you with features you'll never use, the Mini 2 captures high-quality HD footage and has a useful set of voice control commands. Video quality is good, the smartphone app works well, and the camera is easy to swap out if you own multiple vehicles.

Pros

  • +

    Compact design

  • +

    Simple setup

  • +

    Good video quality

  • +

    Intuitive voice commands

Cons

  • -

    No microSD card included

  • -

    Hardwiring kit sold separately

  • -

    No display

  • -

    Lacks GPS

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Editor's Note

• Original review date: June 2022
• Yet to be replaced
• Launch price: $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$229
• Official price now: $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$229

Update: February 2024. Released in September 2021, the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 remains our favorite dash cam for buyers on a budget. Of all the options on our list of the best dash cams, we think it offers the most bang for buck overall. You’ll need to look elsewhere for 4K footage and driver assistance features, but if you want a small, straightforward dash cam that’s easy to set up, the Mini 2 is an excellent choice. In our experience, the Mini 2 is a likely target for discounts in seasonal sales. During last November’s Cyber Monday event, for example, its price was reduced to $99.99 by retailers in the US and £99.99 in the UK, representing a meaningful saving. If you’re willing to wait until the next online sales event, such as Amazon’s July Prime Day, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to save money on the Mini 2. Alternatively, if you want an affordable dash cam setup with cameras facing front and rear, we suggest taking a look at the Miofive Dual Dash Cam.

Tim Coleman
Timothy Coleman

If you want the smallest and more discreet dash cam on the market, then the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 is for you. Barely the size of a key fob, the Mini 2 forgoes features like a touchscreen display in favor of being so small it hides neatly behind your car’s rear-view mirror.

Despite its compact size, the Dash Cam Mini 2 records in Full HD at 30 frames per second through a 140-degree lens. This puts it a little behind other, larger members of the Garmin Dash Cam family, which shoot at 1440p through wider, 180-degree lenses. But we feel 1080p is still good enough for a dash cam, especially one that is this compact and competitively priced.

Sticking with design for now, the Dash Cam Mini 2 is remarkably compact. The front houses nothing more than the lens and a ball-and-socket joint which connects to a short arm. This then has an adhesive pad for sticking to the windscreen.

A hand holding the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 dash cam

(Image credit: Future)

We’re big fans of the magnetic mounts of other Garmin dash cams, but the compact plastic arm here still takes up very little windscreen space and works well. Given how small the Mini 2 is, we suspect most buyers will leave it permanently in place, and only remove it (by popping the ball-and-socket joint apart) when they want to move the camera to another car or access the microSD card.

Speaking of storage, Garmin doesn’t include a memory card in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. This has to be at least 8GB and the camera supports cards up to 512GB, with Garmin recommending a Class-10 card or faster.

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The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 next to its box on a table
(Image credit: Future)

There are just two buttons on the Dash Cam Mini 2. One on the side switches audio recording on and off, while a button on the back saves the most recent section of footage. This button’s location makes it easy to quickly press if you spot an incident ahead. Footage is automatically saved when a collision is detected, but the button is useful for manually saving video of anything else you spot while driving.

The camera comes with a choice of USB cables, one short and one long, plus an adapter for powering the dash cam from a 12V lighter socket. Also included are a pair of adhesive windscreen mounts, making it easy to switch the camera between two vehicles.

The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 next to its box on a table

(Image credit: Future)

Garmin’s smartphone app is called Drive – it's free to download for iOS and Android, and is used to set the camera up. We had no issues connecting our phone to the dash cam – an area where other dash cams can slip up – and used the app to see a live view of the camera, adjust settings, update the firmware, and view recorded footage.

Once set up, there’s no need to use the app again, if you don’t want to. The dash cam quietly gets on with its job, and footage can easily be transferred to your computer or tablet from the microSD card. 

If connected to your phone over Wi-Fi, footage will be automatically uploaded to Garmin’s Vault online storage system. Recordings are stored for 24 hours for free. Or, for $4.99 / £4.99 a month, this time limit can be increased to seven days.

A hand holding a phone running the Garmin dash cam app

(Image credit: Garmin)

Video quality is very good, considering its size and price tag. It shoots 1080p Full HD with HDR and is captured at 30 frames per second through a 140-degree lens. Details like road signs and vehicle registration plates are clear, and footage remains sharp throughout varying lighting and weather conditions.

We’d have liked the lens to be a little wider, as 140 degrees is really the minimum we’d want from a dash cam. A wider lens would include a view to the sides of the car as well as straight ahead, but this is a relatively small complaint.

A further point against the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 is its lack of GPS. Instead, locational data can only be captured if the Mini 2 is synced with a Garmin dash cam that has GPS, via the Drive app. This feature, called Dash Cam Auto Sync, lets you have up to four Garmin dash cams recording at once. While four might be overkill for most motorists, the system makes it easy to pair front and rear cameras together.

A parking mode is available, but requires Garmin’s Constant Power Cable, sold separately, which hard-wires the Mini 2 to your car.

The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 mounted inside a windscreen

(Image credit: Future)

Audio recording is possible, and can be switched on or off with a button on the back of the dash cam. In our experience, this isn’t of much use when recording dash cam footage, and is something your passengers would likely prefer to be disabled.

As well as pressing the button, audio recording can be controlled by speaking to the dash cam. Garmin’s voice control system works pretty well, with the ‘hey Garmin’ command reliably getting its attention. You can then ask the camera to save footage, take a photo, or turn audio recording on/off.

Unlike other models in the Garmin Dash Cam series, there are no driver assistance features with the Mini 2. We don’t mind this, though, as we often find such features more annoying than they are useful.

Overall, the Dash Cam Mini 2 is hard to fault. Instead of overwhelming the user with a bunch of features they’ll seldom use, it is a tiny, simple product that just gets on with the job of being a quality dash cam, with zero distractions.

Should you buy the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2?

The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 mounted inside a windshield

(Image credit: Garmin)

Buy it if...

You demand simplicity
The Mini 2 doesn’t try to pack in too many features. Instead, it’s a dash cam that is quick and easy to set up, then works faithfully in the background, ready to capture footage should you ever need it.

You want high-quality footage
For its size, this dash cam records great video. It’s Full HD with HDR at 30 frames per second, and while the 140-degree lens could benefit from being slightly wider, this is a small complaint.

You want a discreet dash cam
The compact size of the Mini 2 means it all but disappears behind your rear view mirror. It doesn’t distract the driver or block their view at all, while the simple mounting system makes it quick and easy to switch the camera between vehicles.

Don't buy it if...

You want a dash cam packed full of features
If you want extras like Alexa, what3words, emergency SOS and driver assistance features like speed camera alerts, then you’ll need to up your budget and look elsewhere. There are dash cams to cater for the driver who wants everything, but this is one that puts simplicity first.

You want a rear-view camera (out of the box)
This is a single-camera package, so if you want rear-view recording you’ll have to buy a second model from the Garmin Dash Cam range, then sync it with the Mini 2 via the Drive smartphone app.

You need 4K video
Few dash cams currently record at 4K resolution, so if that’s something you need then, you’ll need to look elsewhere. This dash cam, as with most others, is limited to 1080p Full HD.

Alistair Charlton
Alistair Charlton

Alistair Charlton is based in London and has worked as a freelance technology and automotive journalist for over a decade. A lifelong tech enthusiast, Alistair has written extensively about dash cams and robotic vacuum cleaners for TechRadar, among other products. As well as TechRadar, he also writes for Wired, T3, Forbes, The Independent, Digital Camera World and Grand Designs Magazine, among others.