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Road Angel puts a generous touchscreen where your mirror already sits, with front-and-rear recording adding appeal, although the setup comes with compromises

I’ve tested plenty of dash cams over the years, and while they can be incredibly useful bits of kit, sometimes it's nice not to have another gadget dangling from your windscreen.

That is what immediately makes the Road Angel Halo Vision 3 interesting. Instead of sitting alongside your rear-view mirror, it essentially becomes the mirror.

The Vision 3 fits over your existing mirror and gives you a huge 10-inch touchscreen display, while incorporating a front-facing dash cam and connecting to a second camera at the rear.

It costs £199.99 and records in 4K at the front and 1080p at the back. There is also Wi-Fi connectivity, smartphone app support, parking protection and a 140-degree front viewing angle.

You could argue it's not a very discreet dash cam, but as it sits in place of the mirror, it's a relatively subtle way to record your forward view.

It won't suit everyone, and it might not suit every car, but I can see plenty of appeal.

What I liked about the Road Angle Halo Vision 3

The cleverest thing about the Halo Vision 3 is the basic concept. Instead of adding a separate dash cam and screen to the windscreen, Road Angel has incorporated everything into something that makes good use of space that is already occupied rather than finding somewhere else to stick yet another gadget.

The 10-inch display is a big part of the attraction. Most dash cam screens are tiny and largely there to help with initial positioning, but the Halo Vision 3 gives you a display large enough to actually make use of.

The rear camera is included in the package | Road Angel

You can review footage and alter settings directly from the touchscreen rather than reaching immediately for your phone.

Road Angel has also given the display an anti-glare finish, which makes a lot of sense on something positioned exactly where your rear-view mirror normally sits.

I also like that Road Angel hasn't concentrated solely on the gimmick of the big screen and forgotten the actual cameras.

The front camera records at 3840 x 2160 4K, while the rear records at 1080p, giving you decent coverage in both directions.

There's also image stabilisation and a 140-degree wide-angle lens, while Road Angel also advertises a night mode for lower-light driving.

Another feature I think is worth having is parking protection. Once fully installed, the Halo Vision 3 can enter a time-lapse parking mode after the vehicle has been inactive for 15 minutes.

If its G-sensor detects an event, it can switch back to normal recording. Some of that functionality requires the camera to be hardwired.

There is an accompanying Android and iOS app as well, giving you another way to access recorded footage rather than removing the memory card and taking it to a computer.

What I didn't like about the Road Angel Halo Vision 3

There is an obvious flip side to having that enormous display: it can be quite a substantial presence inside the car.

Some drivers will love having such a big display, but if your preference is for a tiny camera that disappears behind the mirror, this is almost the complete opposite.

Installation can be a rather time-consuming affair, and there's no SD card included | Road Angel

Installation is also more involved than it might initially appear. The main unit itself is straightforward enough in principle, but this is a front-and-rear camera system. That means routing a cable through the car to the rear camera if you want the finished installation to look neat.

And if you want to make full use of the parking mode, hardwiring enters the equation too.

Road Angel sells the Halo Vision 3 on its own for £199.99, while its bundle including a 64GB card and hardwiring kit costs more.

I would also have liked the rear camera to match the resolution of the front. A 1080p rear camera isn't unusual at this price, and it should be perfectly usable for recording what is happening behind you, but 4K at the front and Full HD at the back inevitably means there is a disparity between the two.

The app connection could be slicker as well. To use live preview, playback or downloads on your phone, you need to connect directly to the Halo's Wi-Fi network first. That extra step isn't disastrous, but in an age where we're used to devices simply appearing inside their apps, it adds a little faff.

It is also worth budgeting for a decent high-endurance microSD card if you don't already have one. Road Angel recommends a Class 10 or better card between 16GB and 128GB for continuous recording.

A Sony Starvis sensor makes for excellent low-light footage | Road Angel

Overall verdict: should you buy a Road Angel Halo Vision 3?

The Road Angel Halo Vision 3 takes a genuinely different approach to the usual dash cam formula. Instead of trying to make a camera smaller and easier to hide, it embraces the screen and turns the rear-view mirror into a sizeable display for the whole system.

It's not unique, but it won't suit everyone. If I wanted a dash cam I could install and then almost forget was there, I'd probably look for something smaller. The rear camera cabling and optional hardwiring also mean getting the best from the Halo Vision 3 takes a bit more effort than plugging a basic dash cam into a 12V socket.

But there is a lot here for £199.99. You get front and rear coverage, 4K recording at the front, parking protection, app connectivity and that huge touchscreen display.

For drivers who like the idea of a mirror-style dash cam, rather than simply tolerating one stuck to their windscreen, the Halo Vision 3 makes considerably more sense than it first appears.