In these difficult times we all need something to look forward to and, since you’re reading this, that’s likely to involve cars. While some will be looking forward to dealerships opening, many more will be planning maintenance and cleaning.
If your experience is anything like mine, then the car you cleaned at the start of lockdown will be covered in dust and pollen by now, and need further attention. So below we celebrate the aftermarket and provide you with the top products for cleaning, maintaining and protecting your car.
Unlike some outwardly similar awards, ours are backed by an extensive test programme that’s unmatched by any other UK car magazine. Over the past 12 months, we’ve tested just over 600 products – 619 to be precise – and an increase on 2019. Our weekly multi-tests account for just over 500 of those, and all the results are on our website. More than 100 were assessed in mini tests, with the results fed into the online coverage where possible. And, finally, 15 products were tested individually in our First Test programme.
When we say something is good, it’s backed up by the decades of experience our product testing team brings to the programme. Every single product will have been thoroughly scrutinised, and the class winners here are the best picks from a total of 248 products tested over 20 categories.
Armed with our test winners, you’ll be giving your car a great start as you prepare to head back onto the road.
Best car products 2020
Product of the Year: Autoglym InstaDry
- Price: Around £13
Looking back over previous Product of the Year award-winners, we’ve favoured those that were innovative, tackling familiar problems in a new way, or ones designed for new tasks.
PURE’s Highway DAB radio adapter and Bridgestone’s DriveGuard universal run-flat tyre are good examples, as are CTEK’s pioneering battery chargers. We’ve also celebrated remarkable achievements, like Continental winning all three of our tyre tests in one year.
But our 2020 winner falls into the first of those categories, because it takes a unique approach to drying a car.
Unlike other microfibre solutions, which seem to be in a race to create the biggest, fluffiest towel for drying your car, Autoglym teamed up with Vileda to create the InstaDry, which is even thinner than a traditional chamois leather. It has a microfibre knitted base with a PVA coating, which makes it highly absorbent, but doesn’t hang on to trapped dirt, reducing the risk of damaging the car’s paintwork.
And that slim weave makes the InstaDry so easy to use. While monster microfibre rivals hoover up huge amounts of water, they also get very heavy and hard to move, control, and wring. They’re also best when dry, and leave a film when wet.
By contrast the Autoglym InstaDry is at its best when wet. It can’t hold as much water as the bigger towels, but it sucks up six times its own weight. Yes, it needs more frequent wringing, yet this is easy and quick to do, and is no strain on the hands and arms.
The InstaDry works brilliantly, and is a fine example of using existing tech in a unique way to solve an age-old problem. Another innovative Product of the Year.
Best bug cleaner
There will hopefully be some summer left when the UK emerges from lockdown, and we can start driving our cars properly again. But while sunny weather is good for trips to the coast and weekend breaks, it does mean bugs will be around, splattering bodywork and glass.
Sometimes screen wash and glass cleaner are enough to shift the mess, but more often than not you’ll need a specialist cleaner that can lift away baked-on debris without damaging the clearcoat. And you need to act fast, because bird lime can eat into the lacquer, while the longer bugs are left on the car in hot weather, the harder they are to shift.
Our search to find the best cleaner to keep in your car involved tackling three areas of our bug-splattered car, using limited wiping and gentle rinsing. We made two attempts, and monitored progress before finally factoring in cost.
Winner: Angelwax Revenge
- Price: Around £8
- Size: 500ml
Commended
Auto Finesse Citrus Power
- Price: Around £10
- Size: 1,000ml
Simoniz Insect & Dirt Remover
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500ml
Autoglym Active Insect Remover
- Price: Around £9
- Size: 500ml
Best car wax and sealant
There’s a lot happening in this sector as makers continue their search for long-lasting products that require the least effort. Sealants have made big inroads in recent years, with their easy-to-use formulas giving remarkable durability from solutions that are not much thicker than water. The big focus now is on using ceramic in sealants, and we hope to test those later in the year.
For this test we concentrated on conventional pastes and liquid waxes, plus non-ceramic sealants – or at least those that didn’t claim to contain them. As usual, our main focus was on how long the various solutions protected our test bonnet.
We assessed how easy each was to apply, then monitored water beading over six wet weeks. Regular washing was also undertaken to simulate normal use and to accelerate ‘wear’. Prices from the makers’ websites and online sources was factored in, and adjusted to take into account the fact that hard waxes go further than liquids.
Winner: Bilt-Hamber double speed-wax
- Price: Around £15
- Size: 250ml
Commended
Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection
- Price: Around £13
- Size: 325ml
Simoniz Original Wax
- Price: Around £8
- Size: 150g
Car Gods 54 Athena Diamond Carnauba Wax
- Price: Around £20
- Size: 500ml
Best wheel cleaner
Wheels can make or break a car’s kerbside appeal – especially if they’re neglected, or simply filthy. They are also one of the hardest areas to clean, because the dust from the brake discs bonds to the clearcoat surface due to the high temperatures generated when braking.
A mitt soaked in soapy water may do the job, if you wash your wheels frequently, but most of us will need a specialist cleaner. A good one can loosen the grime enough for a pressure washer to clean the wheel. If there are any spots, these can be removed with a brush – and our pick of these is the new Halfords Large Alloy Wheel Brush.
To find the best performer, we took scrapyard wheel trims and focussed on the cleaner by using only gentle rinsing to reveal progress. We completed multiple tests and took into account the types of rim each could be used on, plus price and extras.
Winner: Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel
- Price: Around £13
- Size: 1,000ml
Commended
Simoniz Ultracare Alloy Cleaner
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500ml
Kenotek Wheel Cleaner Ultra
- Price: Around £15
- Size: 1,000ml
Wynn’s Wheel Cleaner
- Price: Around £9
- Size: 500ml
Best pressure washer shampoo
There are plenty of products to put right those minute scratches and swirls that, quite literally, take the shine off your paintwork, and here are the best products to help you avoid or minimise marks being made in the first place.
Dragging grit across the clearcoat due to not using enough soapy solution, or failing to rinse the mitt properly causes the damage. The key to avoiding marks is to shift as much dirt as possible before touching the car, which is where snow foam comes in.
We’ve previously tested soap designed for use with a pressure washer, but most samples here are designed for use with a snow-foam lance, so we used one too; these cost as little as £15, and deliver a thick coating of soap on the car.
We assessed the thickness, cling and cleaning power by applying from a fixed distance for five seconds. Price was also considered.
Winner: Autoglym Polar Blast
- Price: Around £18
- Size: 2,500ml
Commended
Angelwax Fastfoam
- Price: Around £23
- Size: 5,000ml
Turtle Wax Snow Foam Shampoo
- Price: Around £13
- Size: 2,500ml
Bilt-Hamber surfex HD
- Price: Around £17
- Size: 5,000ml
Best glass cleaner
Glass should always be the last job when cleaning your car. That allows you to remove any overspray from treating plastics with protectant, or smudges from waxing paintwork, leaving the glass spotless.
Before starting, check for heavy external marks from bird sap or dried chemical ‘water spots’ from less-than-thorough rinsing, which may require a glass polish to remove. With these gone, a conventional cleaner will take off that thin oily layer that builds up on the inside of the car. The easiest way to ensure quick progress is to use two cloths – one sprayed with cleaner to remove the film, and a second clean one to buff off any residue.
Our test to find the pick of the glass cleaners focussed on that oily film. We put a thin layer of oil on a window glass, with one side painted black to clearly show any residue. We used a set number of wipes for each cleaner, and did a series of side-by-tests. We then took price in to account to come up with winner.
Winner: Armor All Glass Cleaner
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500 ml
Commended
Autoglym Fast Glass
- Price: Around £9
- Size: 500ml
Car Gods 54 Zeus Glass Perfection
- Price: Around £10
- Size: 500ml
Hellshine Pain
- Price: Around £10
- Size: 500ml
Best bumper shine
External plastic trim on cars has improved massively since the time black bumpers, like some people’s hair, turned prematurely grey. Despite this, that doesn’t mean plastics no longer need protecting, and a piece of trim that’s been treated with a decent protectant will have a sheen to match just-waxed paintwork.
Although there are few bumpers on modern cars that are not painted, there’s still a surprising amount of trim that would benefit from a good protectant. Spoilers, wing-mirror mounts, wheelarch and underbody trim, plus grilles, are just a few of the areas that a car-proud owner could consider treating.
Removing grime is usually just a matter of a wipe with a soapy mitt or, in extreme cases, an all-purpose cleaner, so our test focussed on protection and appearance. In much the same way as we carried out our test for waxes and sealants, we applied each contender to a scrapyard bumper and monitored beading over six weeks. We also rated the appearance at the start and finish, as well as taking the various products’ prices into account.
Winner: Simoniz Back to Black Bumper & Trim
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500ml
Commended
CarPlan Original Black
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500ml
Angelwax Enigma Corona
- Price: Around £30
- Size: 500ml
Black Diamond Trim Gel
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500ml
Best scratch remover
Any car more than a few years old will inevitably have swirls, marks and scratches in its paintwork. Careless washing, bushes and bird droppings all leave their mark on the clearcoat and dull the shine. It’s a common problem, and there are plenty of car-care companies with solutions in their range.
Professional detailers use a variety of compounds to restore shine, but for DIY use, the solutions are all towards the less aggressive end of the range. Whatever the abrasiveness, as a rule of thumb, if you can feel the mark with your fingernail, the damage is beyond the ability of a DIY scratch remover.
To find the best product to revive your car’s shine we took a scrap bonnet with tired paint, added marks with a plastic tool and got to work with limited wiping and multiple attempts, monitoring progress as we went. Price was also a factor.
Winner: Turtle Wax Scratch Repair & Renew
- Price: Around £8
- Size: 207ml
Commended
T-Cut Rapid Scratch Remover
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 500ml
Autoglym Scratch Removal Complete Kit
- Price: Around £19
- Size: 100ml (100ml Super Resin Polish)
Simoniz Universal Colour Restorer
- Price: Around £4
- Size: 500ml
Best wash wax
Wash waxes are for those without the time or energy to apply a coating to their paintwork, but who still want to protect it. These products go on as you dry the car after rinsing, or are applied to wet bodywork, cutting at least one step in the process.
While never as long-lasting as a conventional paste wax, the latest, more durable sealant formulas are getting closer. To see just how close, we marked off a bonnet and applied 14 rivals to their makers’ instructions, protecting neighbouring sections to avoid cross-contamination.
We assessed how easy each was to apply, looking for the fewest number of stages. The bonnet was then left out in the winter weather for six weeks, with water beading monitored regularly. We also washed the bonnet to simulate normal use. To get a result, we took price into account – although this played a relatively small role in finding our winner.
Winner: Alchemy Duck Tail
- Price: Around £13
- Size: 500ml
Commended
Auto Curators Hydro Repel
- Price: Around £14
- Size: 1,000ml
Autoglym Rapid Aqua Wax
- Price: Around £17
- Size: 500ml
CarPlan Demon Shine
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 1,000ml
Best leather cleaner
Having a leather interior adds a premium feel to a car, a fact reflected in the desirability of cars with hide upholstery – if it looks good. But cracked bolsters, grime packed into the seams, and bare patches will only lose you money come resale time, so it pays to keep your trim in good condition.
That means regular, sensitive cleaning, and treating the hide with a conditioner to keep it supple. The need for regular attention has grown in recent years, with reduced leather thickness along with the increased popularity of heated seats, which can dry out neglected hide. Some cleaners apply an integral conditioner, while other makers prefer to split the tasks between two products.
We checked both aspects, rating how well each removed ink and grime, then assessing conditioning by timing how long a droplet of water took to soak in. As usual, we also took price into account.
Winner: Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Cleaner
- Price: Around £10
- Size: 500ml
Commended
Polished Pigs Leather Cleaner
- Price: Around £11
- Size: 500ml
Angelwax Heaven for Leather
- Price: Around £9
- Size: 500ml
Gyeon Q2M Leather Cleaner Strong
- Price: Around £13
- Size: 500ml
Best interior cleaner
These interior cleaners are the multi-taskers of the car-valeting world; jacks of all trades that can usually work on multiple surfaces, on both the inside and outside of the car.
While our exterior test looked for some sort of protection from the elements to keep the trim looking good, our focus inside the cabin was cleaning. And, although some people may like the shiny appearance a protectant can provide, most modern materials have a more muted finish. With cleaning at the top of our list, we also looked at how well that subtle finish could show through.
We applied margarine and ground-in chocolate to a plastic trim panel, before trying to remove them with limited wipes and precise amounts of cleaner. We repeated the test three times to ensure a consistent result, plus added price into our final calculations.
Winner: Dodo Juice Total Wipe Out Refill Concentrate
- Price: Around £14
- Size: 500ml
Commended
Autobrite Direct Citrus Wash
- Price: Around £8
- Size: 500ml
Gtechniq W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner
- Price: Around £6
- Size: 500ml
CarPlan Demon Clean
- Price: Around £5
- Size: 1,000ml
Best tyres
Our annual tyre test broke new ground this year as we followed the industry and today’s new-car buyers, and concentrated on SUVs.
A decade or so ago, we tested tyres for off-roaders, but this was a first for SUVs, which are the current hot ticket in the market, with new SUV-specific designs going on sale regularly.
The tyre size that we chose for this year’s test was 235/50R18. This is used on older versions of the Audi Q3, BMW X3 and Volkswagen Tiguan, and represents one of the biggest-selling sizes in this area of the market.
We may have been surrounded by acres of off-road testing facilities at Continental’s proving ground in Texas, but we stayed on the tarmac, matching the way these cars are used. As they always have, our tests assessed braking and handling in the wet and dry, plus curved and straight aquaplaning. We also measured cabin noise and fuel economy, and considered price, which played a very small role in the result.
Winner: Nokian Powerproof
- Price: Around £125
Commended
Falken Azenis FK510 SUV
- Price: Around £120
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
- Price: Around £140
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT 2 SUV
- Price: Around £125
Best all-season tyres
Just as every car manufacturer wants an SUV in its range, every tyre maker wants an all-season tyre in its line-up, as drivers increasingly want tyres that can cope with all conditions. For many, particularly those who don’t need pin-sharp handling, these tyres cope best with difficult conditions without the hassle of swapping rubber every autumn and spring.
Nine brands were included in our test – we also assessed a winter and summer tyre for comparison – and five of the products were new, although only one of the firms had followed Michelin’s example and produced a more summer-orientated design.
We tested the 205/55R16 all-season tyres alongside our winter-tyre test in the wet, dry and on snow, looking at aquaplaning, braking and handling in frozen Finland and in Germany. To find a winner, we adjusted the balance of the scores across snow, wet and dry performance to reflect the conditions UK drivers face most often.
Winner: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2
- Price: Around £72
Commended
Continental AllSeasonContact
- Price: Around £87
Michelin CrossClimate+
- Price: Around £85
Nokian Weatherproof
- Price: Around £70
Best winter tyres
There’s no doubt that for the ultimate in grip and safety, swapping tyres as the seasons change is the way to go.
The tyres most UK motorists use, otherwise known as summer rubber to our European neighbours, is superior by some margin when the weather is warm and dry. But dedicated winter designs enjoy an even bigger advantage in the cold and especially on snow. And that massive safety margin in freezing conditions is why winter tyres have been part of our test programme for the past decade.
We broke new ground with this year’s test, conducting it at Nokian’s winter testing facility in Ivalo, Finland, and, with the firm’s help, the independent motor industry proving ground at ATP Papenburg in Germany. Our tests had the usual mix of aquaplaning, braking, handling and cornering assessments in snow, dry and wet conditions, and we tested new tyres from Michelin, Nokian and Goodyear in the 225/45 R17 size.
Winner: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+
- Price: Around £110
Commended
Continental WinterContact TS 860
- Price: Around £130
Michelin Alpin 6
- Price: Around £130
Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Price: Around £120
Best sat-nav app
The smartphone has revolutionised the way we are entertained and informed in our cars. And while it’s great to listen to an unlimited selection of music, the most useful function has to be the ability to use phone-based navigation apps on your car’s screen.
Sat-nav apps are usually more accurate and up-to-date than even the poshest built-in systems, and they often have extra features to make your journey quicker and keep you informed. Although these apps are inexpensive or even free, there’s still a wide variation in the quality of directions on offer.
To test the best, we asked the apps to help find an incomplete address, started guidance, and then stopped to check for a nearby fuel station and restaurant. We also deliberately got lost to check re-routing speeds.
Winner: Google Maps
- Price: Free
- Apple CarPlay/Android Auto: Yes/yes
Commended
TomTom GO
- Price: Around £2 a month (1 week free trial)
- Apple CarPlay/Android Auto: Yes/yes
Waze
- Price: Free
- Apple CarPlay/Android Auto: Yes/yes
Best dash cam
We make no excuses for testing so many dash cams; they’re one of the most popular accessories, and the tech is moving so quickly.
If you’re involved in a smash, any camera is going to be invaluable, but the latest units ensure the clearest-possible footage. Even the cheapest offer functions such as GPS location and speed logging to use as evidence. We mixed dash cams that offer near-broadcast-quality 4K video recording with cheaper units, to see whether the difference was worth the extra cost.
We attached the eight cameras to the same windscreen and tested them in different light and weather conditions. The footage was then downloaded on to a laptop and also viewed on the camera makers’ apps to measure ease of viewing and editing. Finally, price was taken into account; you don’t always get what you pay for.
Winner: Nextbase 622GW
- Price: Around £250
- Footage quality: 4K
Commended
Nextbase 522GW
- Price: Around £150
- Footage quality: 1440p
Kenwood DRV A601W
- Price: Around £235
- Footage quality: 4K
Best roof bars
With a pair of roof bars, the sky is the limit for your load space. Whether you’re a cyclist looking for the best way to carry bikes on your car, or a family motorist needing extra space for holidays, roof bars are an essential piece of kit that mean you don’t need to buy a huge car just for the occasional journey.
Many modern SUVs and estates have integrated roof rails to make fitting bars easier, but the biggest-selling models remain hatchbacks and relatively small cars with plain roofs. These can present a challenge for roof-bar designers, so buying the best-engineered products can make life significantly easier.
We checked how easy the bars were to assemble, fit to the car, and remove. We also expected them to be secure and to remain quiet at motorway speeds. Finally, we checked the products for value for money. Which of the bars carries off our prize?
Winner: Cruz 130 OptiPLUS ST
- Price: Around £75
- Max load: 75kg
Commended
Thule Evo WingBars
- Price: Around £195
- Max load: 75kg
Cruz Airo T
- Price: Around £110
- Max load: 75kg
Best wiper blades
We hardly ever think about the two strips of rubber that wipe the water and dirt from your windscreen until they finally split, or cause an MoT failure – and yet they are essential for safety, whatever the time of year.
If yours haven’t been changed for some time, the chances are they’ve slowly started to smear and judder, and yet this happens so gradually you might not even notice. Changing to a new set could make your journeys safer and less stressful, but choosing a bad blade could cause more problems than it solves.
We looked at one of the more common sizes of blade – 22-inch (or 550mm) – with the ‘aero’ style profile fitted to most modern cars. During the test, we checked for juddering and wipe performance in a variety of weathers and driving scenarios.
We also awarded additional points for ease of fitting and value for money. So which wipers swept away the competition?
Winner: Bosch Aerotwin
- Price: Around £20
- Adapters: 1
Commended
Aerowiper
- Price: Around £15
- Adapters: 1
Michelin Stealth Hybrid
- Price: Around £18
- Adapters: 6
Best headlight restorer
Plastic headlight lenses are among the best automotive innovations of recent decades because they improve safety, reduce weight and allow for more interesting lamp shapes.
However, they have an Achilles’ heel: after a few years exposed to sunlight and washing, they fade and become dulled. This makes the whole car look tired, reduces light output and can even cause an MoT failure.
Some owners will splash out on new lights or get a professional polish, but several DIY kits claim to give the same result, using drill-mounted abrasives or plain elbow grease. These gradually remove the faded plastic layer to restore a smooth, perfectly clear surface that can then be protected with wax or special fluids.
We tackled the dulled lights of an old Astra to see which was the clear winner in the drill-mounted and hand-applied categories.
Winner: Armor All Headlight Restorer Wipes Kit
- Price: Around £10
- Application: By hand
Commended
QUIXX Headlight Restoration Kit
- Price: Around £13
- Application: By hand
Holts Headlight Restoration Kit
- Price: Around £15
- Application: By machine
Autoglym Headlight Restoration Complete Kit
- Price: Around £21
- Application: By machine
Best battery charger
Assessing battery chargers is one of the most detailed tests we do, because we look at around 80 aspects of performance, versatility and instructions. At the heart of all this, naturally, is reviving a dead battery.
We took all the packs down to the same level then charged them, timing how long they took to reach the 80 per cent needed to start a car, and how the current was delivered. We also checked lead lengths and clamps, while looking for sparks during misuse, such as touching live clamps together, or making a wrong connection.
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) was checked to industry standards to ensure the chargers won’t affect a car’s other systems. Instructions were also assessed, and we looked at the modes included, six and 12V charging, the types of battery that could be revived, plus price. No wonder it took two solid days to put our 10 chargers through their paces.
Winner: CTEK MXS 5.0
- Price: Around £65
Commended
Sealey Autocharge 650HF
- Price: Around £55
Maypole MP7428
- Price: Around £45
Best headlight bulb
Twin-filament H4 bulbs were the focus for our revised test. They may be proper old-school halogen bulbs at a time when car manufacturers are refining adaptive LED lighting, but they are still the most common type of headlamp on UK roads.
They’ve also outlasted gas-discharge HID technology that is fitted to precious few new designs, such are the packaging and power advantages of LEDs. Our figure of merit (FOM) – which is based on light at two places 50 metres in front of the car, and one spot at 75 metres – was retained, but because it is alignment-dependent, we also measured beam length and the brightest spot in the beam, and took an average of two bulbs’ results.
Maximum output was then checked to ensure all were within the ECE regulations. The prices we quote are for a pair of bulbs, but while we took this into account, cost played a small role in the overall result because, as with tyres, these are safety items, and performance is key.
Winner: Osram Night Breaker Laser Next Generation
- Price: Around £26
Commended
GE Megalight Ultra +120
- Price: Around £22
Bosch Gigalight Plus 120
- Price: Around £19
Halfords Advanced up to 150% Brighter
- Price: Around £38
Not enough products for you? Then take a read of our best car tyres page
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