6 Cars With Built-In Dashcams

It's mind-boggling to think about how far auto technology has come. Let's take safety features, for instance: There was a time when seatbelts, airbags, and other standard-issue equipment (by today's standards) weren't available. You might think these are just basic safety equipment in comparison to the myriad of advanced new ways that modern vehicles keep us safe.

Proximity warning systems, ABS, and lane-keeping assist are just some of the features we might take for granted today. The same is true of cameras that afford us better views of our vehicle's blind spots, as well as another coveted monitoring feature: The dashcam. Though dashcams can play a vital role in keeping a vehicle safe when it's unoccupied, as well as providing vital information in the unfortunate case of an incident, drivers often have to seek them out separately, and budget dashcams may require an upgrade. It's unusual to find a car with a dashcam built right in. 

Still, if your heart's set on a vehicle with a built-in dashcam, you have options. From the Tesla line to the Citroen C3, here are some cars that offer –- or have previously offered –- included dashcams. In some cases, the feature is more of a camera system that has similar functionality than strictly being dashcams themselves, and some of these are important case studies to be shared, too.

Tesla is a major player in the EV world and has never been shy about packing its models with sophisticated features. Production models didn't feature lithium-ion batteries until 2008's Tesla Roadster, and the likes of Sentry Mode ensure that the brand continues to offer advanced new options. One of these is particularly unique: a built-in Dashcam, which is available for vehicles across the Tesla range. 

Tesla vehicles come in Model 3, S, X, and Y flavors, plus the semi-truck and the formidable Cybertruck, each of which includes the Dashcam feature as a standard option. Tesla Owner's Manuals note that "Depending on market region, vehicle configuration, options purchased, and software version, your vehicle may not be equipped with Dashcam or the features may not operate exactly as described," but each one can be equipped with it. 

As any Tesla owner would expect, it's available as an app, accessed from the Controls menu via Safety. All the feature requires is a flash drive to save footage on. Drivers can select either Manual (save the previous ten minutes' footage at the touch of a button) or Auto, which Tesla notes "automatically saves a recording to the USB drive when Cybertruck detects a safety-critical event, such as a collision or airbag deployment."

Citroen's iconic and successful C3, which is the best-selling vehicle of the French brand's arsenal, is an interesting case study. Like some other vehicles on this list, it offers dashcams only on select top-level trims. The ConnectedCam, as Citroen dubbed this innovative feature, was first implemented in 2017, the first time any manufacturer had baked a dashcam right into its product. Its availability for the model was limited, though, as an extra feature that new C3 owners could choose to add to the Feel trim, only being standard issue equipment on the luxurious Flair. 

"Utilising the same forward-facing camera ahead of the interior mirror that the C3 uses for traffic sign recognition and lane departure warning," Car Magazine noted when road-testing the feature at the time, "the system can store HD stills and videos on a 128Gb internal memory." It featured smartphone app integration and all the image-sharing thrills that enable millions of us around the world to effortlessly share shots of our dinners. More importantly, it can be activated manually or automatically in the case of any issues on the road.

Like Tesla, BMW has long embraced the idea of an advanced gadget or innovative feature. It's unsurprising, then, that a wide range of BMW models feature a built-in dashcam. The German marque calls its take on the concept Drive Recorder, which was first featured on the famed 8 Series in 2019. Since then, it's been available for iDrive 7.0+ models featuring the Parking Assistant Plus and ConnectedDrive features. 

The functionality of each brand's built-in dashcam feature is as distinct as its manufacturer. In the case of the Drive Recorder, the system will react automatically to an event or can be activated by the driver, depending on how it's been set up. It has a limited capacity of forty seconds of footage storage after activation, half of which captures the lead-up to said activation. 

This may be too restrictive for some drivers, but it isn't a huge problem. After all, there's always the option to add an external dashcam to the equation, which may yield a more comprehensive suite of features. Ultimately, it's rarely a bad thing for a vehicle to offer more driver choice, which is precisely what features like the Drive Recorder do.   

Cadillac's sleek and stylish sedan, the CT6, is another model that may stretch the parameters somewhat. What it technically offers is Cadillac's Surround Vision System, which consists of a quartet of cameras – one in the front grille, one in the back, and the remaining two on either side which combine to provide the driver's eyes with a huge range of angles throughout the exterior of the vehicle. 

The essential aspect of a dashcam is the facility to record video, and the CT6's system can do this. In providing a wide view all around the sedan, drivers can use it exactly as they would a dashcam. When the system was included as a standard-issue feature for the 2018 Platinum and Premium Luxury trims, it was a real revolution: The first such camera system included with a vehicle at no additional cost. 

Drivers can switch between a view from the front grille camera or the one in the back, store up to five minutes of footage, and also have eyes on their parked vehicle in case of a collision or other issues. The side cameras of the '18 CT6 can also be set to activate automatically along with the alarm. 

Toyota offers a built-in dashcam for some models in its repertoire. The Camry, in particular, has proven an undeniable hit in the United States, so if you're considering buying a Toyota Camry, you'll be glad to know that it offers integrated dashcam technology. The Toyota Integrated Dashcam is available for several models, including the Prius, Venza, Highlander, and Tundra. The brand presents it as a sophisticated system, too, with features like g-force sensors to protect in the case of sudden impacts and assist in surveillance by recording any impact (including if the vehicle is parked). 

A 16 GB MicroSD card is incorporated to save the footage, which can be accessed externally via PC, Mac, or smartphone. The crucial thing to note about this system is that it is directly referred to as a dashcam rather than a camera/video system that can double as one, and it boasts quite an array of features to distinguish itself as such. These include GPS and several camera modes, including Follow Me Home Mode, which records for a brief period after the vehicle is switched off. 

The Mini Cooper probably isn't the first vehicle family that comes to mind when you think of advanced vehicles, but it's got an awful lot going for it. The Mini, more broadly, has been a style icon since its introduction back in 1959, The racier Mini Cooper (quite literally, considering its tuned rally focus) arrived two years later as the Mini Cooper 997, making the Mini a vehicle model that has surprised many with its racing prowess. It also boasts some advanced features that you might not expect of a seemingly humble Mini, with the '24 Mini Cooper being the first model to feature built-in dashcam functionality. 

In the case of this model, it comes in the shape of a Drive Recorder system, the equivalent of that included with some BMW models. As the name implies, this feature can capture video of the vehicle in motion and is also available for the '25 Mini Cooper (select models sporting the luxurious Iconic trim). The functionality is activated with a tap of the Drive Recorder app button, which then offers the driver the choice between manual activation and Accident mode, which is automatic. Both modes can also be used simultaneously. There is a maximum recording time of one minute, which may not suffice for everyone, so you may again want to consider buying an external dashcam.