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Without trying to go too far off track - what I've got (as an example for the OP) is the RMN5127A mic. It's got the 4 way navigation key - but no display. Those run @ $100+ (new) as an add-on option to the XPR mobile. You would probably also need an optional Mic cord extension to remote mount the radio under a seat & not need to stretch the std. mic cord, or just have a convenient place to plug/unplug the mic cord if you want a "hideaway" option. What I've got looks like the attached photo: There's another member on here - Cory, who has the HHC mic option for the XPR5550e.

CCR's are the free samples of crack of the radio world. I bought a 70cm Baofeng Mini when they were on sale for about $10 shipped not realizing to get it programmed the way I wanted it would cost more for the programming cable than I paid for the radio. Then the programming software wouldn't run on my Mac and I had to program it from the Dell laptop I use at work. I have several of the local 70cm repeaters programmed into it but have never had the opertunity to try it close enough to hit any of them. It does receive if you are line of sight to the towers at least 5 miles away, I have done that with it; its almost worth the $10 for that alone.

This radio is Vaporware and not cheaper. The specs posted on Retevis' site contain many red flags (can you spot them all?) and contain conflicting and mutually exclusive information. The published specs resemble a hilarious copy and paste of specs from multiple sources. Epic FAIL. The minimum order quantity (MOQ) is 200 at $60 each ($12k total). I posted about this radio in the RadioReference.com forums. https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/retevis-900mhz-license-free-radio.413954/ I own a small fleet of Motorola DTR700 portables and a small fleet of DTR650 portables. I previously owned a small fleet of DLR1060 radios which I later sold to a friend of mine for his business. At first he wasn't sure what he was going to do with them except may use them for radio rentals. Now he and his employees use them all the time around the office and at job sites because they work so well. Don't underestimate a FHSS digital radio on 900MHz just because of the 1W transmitter power. My range record with a pair of 900MHz Motorola DTR650 FHSS digital portables transmitting at 890mW (+29.5dBm) stands at 12 miles from the Cocoa Beach Pier in Cocoa Beach FL to the top of the steps from the parking lot leading down to Hightower Beach in Satellite Beach FL. The top of the steps are about 30 ft or so above sea level. There is a bit of coastline in the way so it's not entirely line of site. Myself and a friend of mine who helped me test the DTRs also had 4W UHF Part 90 portables with us which we had on GMRS to compare to. (We are both GMRS licensed.) We were able to communicate on GMRS simplex but the received signal strength was noisy and scratchy and we each had to find a hot spot and stay there in order to communicate. The DTRs were crystal clear because of the digital modulation and overall was more reliable and finding a hot spot for them was less critical. Motorola DTRs on 900MHz are capable of outperforming VHF and UHF conventional portables on simplex. Where the DTRs beat VHF and UHF conventional portables is when operating inside buildings due to buildings being much more open at 900MHz compared to 150MHz and 450MHz. Where the 900MHz DTRs blow all others away on simplex is when operating aboard cruise ships. People who have used DTRs aboard cruise ships report having full ship coverage on all decks compared to a pair of 4W UHF portables on GMRS simplex which had trouble penetrating more than about 2 decks. When operating aboard a cruise ship, you are essentially operating inside a compartmentalized metal box. The shorter wavelength signals at 900MHz reflect in an out of the many nooks and crannies of the ship where longer wavelength signals at VHF and UHF won't. The many reflections actually help with the FHSS operation because individual hot spots and dead spots also hop around as the frequency hops. The FHSS operation effectively stirs the modes so to speak. I never got my DTRs to set any range records. I got them for reliable local on-site simplex type use with family and friends. They are my high quality professional digital replacement for GMRS/FRS and MURS for local simplex type use. They outperform UHF Part 90/95 conventional portables on simplex and totally blow FRS away. A coworker once asked me why not just use FRS? My answer was that I have already been doing that since FRS was created in 1996 and longer than that as a GMRS licensee since 1992 with Part 90/95 commercial gear. I want a secure, high quality digital solution that is higher quality and more professional than FRS. The fact that they are totally scanner proof comes as a bonus. They are not monitorable on any consumer grade receiver (scanner) so don't even bother trying. I hardly use GMRS/FRS at all any more because I migrated my local on-site simplex type use with family and friends to the DTR radios on 900MHz.

Well there is a good reason for that low antenna. Keeping it out of the branches while off-road keeps it from getting broken as most are constructed from fiberglass. And as you know, better made antannas aren't cheap. Adding a spring just whips the antenna back into the body or top and either scratching body components or again, breaking the antenna. Many new off-roaders (first time radio owners) see and try to emulate others without understanding why their gear isn't as effective on the roads as in the woods.... It is a trade off they don't understand right away and like you say, might complain about their setup ignorant on why they can't reach longer distances out in the open. My CB antenna is as low as I can get too but I understand the SWR and reduced effectiveness and live with that as it serves the purpose I need it for. It's OK if you snicker at me when you see me driving down the road with my low-riding antenna but; don't try following me where I go, you won't make it. So far my GMRS setup isn't as good as my low riding CB either. In the rain traveling down different roads we got better distance and clearity out of the CB's than we got from GMRS radios. But I am on my own and new to this so I can't snicker at anyone while I am still in the learning phase... Not all that wander are lost!