Quick Facts About 360-Degree Cameras
- 360-degree cameras provide added safety to drivers, especially when parking in tight spaces, eliminating blind spots, and avoiding pedestrians.
- Nearly every automaker offers at least one model with a 360-degree camera.
- Surround-view monitors let you view 360 degrees, making backing into and out of parking spaces easier. They’re also a valuable safety feature.
- Only a handful of new models with a 360-degree camera cost less than $40,000.
You’ve probably heard the 360-degree camera called by various names: “Bird’s-eye view” and “surround view” are arguably the two most popular alternatives. But a rose by any other name, right? The 360-degree camera is gaining popularity as a must-have tool in new vehicles’ safety-and-driver-aid arsenals. However, the main stumbling block is that it’s an expensive add-on for most vehicles, at least for mainstream carmakers, where you find it on the options list for higher trim levels or as a standard feature of the most expensive trims.
A good example is the entry-level 2025 Toyota Camry LE at $29,495. You must move up to the Camry XLE ($34,495) before its Panoramic View Monitor appears as an option. Then it’s part of the $4,760 Premium Plus Package (With Options), bringing the total to $39,255. There are exceptions to the $40,000 threshold, but they are few. The availability for lower-trim-level luxury models is better, but these models already cost $40,000 or more.
Despite the cost, we’ll make the case for a 360-degree camera on your next car.
- What Is a 360-Degree Camera?
- How Does a 360-Degree Camera Work in Cars?
- What Cars Have 360-Degree Cameras?
- Can I Install a 360-Degree Camera in My Vehicle?
- Is a 360-Degree Camera System Worth It?
What Is a 360-Degree Camera?
A 360-degree camera is a technology that is a composite of camera angles from several locations around the vehicle, joining to project an overhead perspective of your vehicle and the area surrounding it. The image projected on your vehicle’s display screen is much like one a drone or blimp would capture. It is an invaluable car feature when backing into or out of a confined space. For example, it makes backing into a narrow parking spot much easier and safer. Also, a split-view image and proximity alert for cars, people, pets, and objects are other features often partnered with a 360-degree camera.
Valuable Features of a 360-Degree Camera System
Although we don’t hear nearly as much about it as we used to, carmakers are still working toward self-driving cars. To achieve that goal, a car must know what surrounds it and its place within those surroundings. There is more than one method to accomplish this goal. However, the most common approach is through several cameras located around the exterior of a vehicle. The 360-degree camera is a happy by-product. Moreover, it is an advanced safety technology with several benefits, not the least of which is reversing into or out of tight parking situations. What are some of the features that make this technology so valuable?
- Top-down image: In other words, it’s a bird’s-eye view of your vehicle and several feet in every direction around it.
- Split-view screen: A rearview or backup camera only displays the area immediately behind your car when in reverse. The 360-degree camera includes your vehicle and the surrounding area in every direction. When backing up with a 360-degree camera, the split-screen displays the rearview and surround-view images. This dual image is particularly useful when parallel parking or pulling into a narrow parking space in a lot or parking garage. It’s invaluable when backing into such a space.
- Proximity alert: With a 360-degree camera, you can easily see an object behind you and correct your course. Why is this better with a 360-camera? Even if you already have some form of safety, you may not be able to see the location of that object.
- Off-road usefulness: Although 360-degree cameras are beneficial as a safety feature, they also come in handy at other times, like off-roading. Having a clear view of objects and obstacles around the vehicle when off-pavement is a considerable advantage when four-wheeling.
- Larger vehicles need it: Now, here’s a Captain Obvious rule: The larger the car, the more helpful you will find a 360-degree camera.
How Much Is a 360-Degree Camera in a Car?
Rarely is a 360-degree camera priced as a stand-alone option on a new car, truck, or SUV. If you find one, it is probably somewhere in the $900-$1,200 range. Typically, carmakers include it in the price of a model’s higher trim level or bundled into an option package that can cost thousands of dollars. In the aftermarket, a 360-degree camera kit can run between $200 and $900.
How Does a 360-Degree Camera Work in Cars?
Cobbling together that top view of your car and the surrounding area requires at least four cameras. However, there may well be more.
It begins with the rearview camera, a government-mandated feature on all new cars, light trucks, and SUVs. Usually, you’ll find side-view cameras mounted in the outboard side mirrors. Finally, a grille or front fascia camera captures the forward view.
The image you see on your display screen is the product of a software program engineered to stitch four or more views into a single coherent, seamless overhead image. An image-processing program receives all four images, weaving them together and synthesizing them to form the full 360-degree image. It then displays the entire image on your touchscreen or some other display, with a representation of your car in the center.
What Cars Have 360-Degree Cameras?
Nearly every automaker offers at least one model with a 360-degree camera. However, most mainstream carmakers don’t offer 360-degree camera technology on entry-level vehicles. Not surprisingly, this is because of the high cost of the cameras and the software required to produce the surround-view image. Finding this feature is easier as you reach the higher trim levels of most non-luxury brands. Luxury brands are more likely to offer 360-degree technology in lower-end models.
Luxury Brands
You don’t need to search very far to find entry-level luxury models offering a 360-degree camera system, but you might need to move up a trim level or select an option package. For instance, the GLA-Class is the Mercedes-Benz entry-level SUV. Its base 2025 GLA 250 ($44,150) doesn’t include it, but the Surround View System is a feature in its Pinnacle Trim ($5,150). Another example is the 2025 Lincoln Corsair, with a starting price of $40,780. Its Collection II option group ($3,490) includes Lincoln’s Co-Pilot360 2.1 Vision 360-degree camera.
The 2025 Genesis G70 is the brand’s entry-level sedan. You must move up to the 3.3T ($50,450) powertrains to qualify for the $4,400 Sport Prestige group, which includes a Surround-View Monitor.
Mainstream Brands
Some mainstream brands are more serious about 360-degree cameras than others. Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and others prove a vehicle doesn’t need to cost $45,000 or more to provide this important safety technology.
Nissan
Nissan has an exception to the $40,000 rule. Moreover, it is leading the charge in democratizing 360-degree cameras, with models priced around $35,000 offering the feature.
Nissan offers its Intelligent Around View Monitor on every one of its crossovers, beginning with the Nissan Kicks. It comes standard on the 2024 Kicks SR, priced at $25,290. The renewed 2025 models will arrive later this year, and we expect the SR trim to cost around $26,000.
The 2024 Altima SL has it for $34,210. Moreover, the 2023 Nissan Rogue SL ($37,090) also includes the 360-camera feature.
Toyota
Regarding Toyota offerings, it’s not available on Toyota Corolla or CH-R. However, it is available on 2024 Venza, 2024 RAV4, and other 2024 higher grades like the Highlander, Tacoma, Sienna, and Tundra. Among the more affordable Toyota models with its Panoramic View Monitor are the already mentioned Camry and the RAV4 Limited ($40,170) with the Advanced Tech Package ($1,840).
Other Popular Mainstream Models
You can also score a 2025 Hyundai Sonata Limited Hybrid ($38,350), a 2024 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus ($38,220), or a 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander SE ($32,940) to stay under $40,000 range.
However, the average price point for mainstream models that include 360-degree cameras is generally $37,000 to $40,000.
Automotive Brands That Offer 360-Degree Cameras
Here’s an example list of the brands currently offering a 360-degree camera safety device in at least one of their models.
- Acura
- Audi
- BMW
- Buick
- Cadillac
- Chevrolet
- Chrysler
- Fisker
- Ford
- Genesis
- GMC
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Infiniti
- Jaguar
- Jeep
- Kia
- Land Rover
- Lexus
- Lincoln
- Lucid
- Mazda
- Mercedes-Benz
- Mitsubishi
- Nissan
- Polestar
- Porsche
- Ram
- Subaru
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
Can I Install a 360-Degree Camera in My Vehicle?
In a word, yes.
Even when properly installed, the big “but” is that an aftermarket system probably won’t perform as well as a factory-installed one. Factory systems benefit from engineers tailoring the cameras and their locations to specific models. A one-size-fits-all aftermarket system can’t do that.
There are plenty of aftermarket 360-degree camera kits for sale. Typically, they include four cameras, required cables, and a control box. Some kits may also have a display screen or remote control.
Cost and Labor Issues for Camera Kits
Prices run the gamut from $200 to $900, and that’s just for the kit. Having a third party install your equipment could easily add another $300 to $500.
Of course, if you are handy, have the tools, and have plenty of working space, you can install the kit yourself. However, there’s much more to it than simply attaching the cameras to your car and interfacing them with the control unit.
Be aware a fair amount of noodling, measuring, and calibration is involved in correctly aiming and locating the cameras.
Is a 360-Degree Camera System Worth It?
We say yes, overhead-view cameras are worth it. However, the cost is (and will remain) a major hurdle. Affordable means different things to different people. We think anyone who shops for a vehicle in that $20,000-$30,000 range probably won’t be willing to pay several thousand more for a 360-degree camera. And it doesn’t matter how effective it is.
If you find yourself in that boat, you should probably check out one of the more affordable Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, Toyota, or Mitsubishi models.
Maybe the stress-free parking is worth springing for the extra $7,000-$10,000 it would ultimately cost to buy into a vehicle that provides a surround view. But probably not.
On the other hand, it’s worth considering if one of the more affordable models equipped with it appeals to you. This is especially true if you are already in that low $30,000 ballpark. Adding it for an extra $1,500-$2,000 may be well worth stretching your budget a bit.
The bottom line is a 360-degree camera is an excellent feature. After you’ve experienced it, you won’t want to park without it again. Only you can decide if it’s affordable.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since its initial publication.
