Do I really need a 3-channel or 360° dash cam, or is front-and-rear enough?

For most private owners, front-and-rear covers the highest-risk angles. The cabin or side channels become worth the cost if you drive rideshare (Uber/Lyft), park on the street where door dings and side-swipes are common, or operate a fleet vehicle where in-cabin recording is part of the policy. Across the reviewers we read, the consensus is that a third channel is genuinely useful but the fourth side channels show meaningful image-quality trade-offs.