Are you looking for a car-related gift idea to give to someone just before Christmas? There are several practical and cool items you could get which aren’t all that expensive but could prove pretty useful for in-car use.
In this guide, we run down some of the best gift ideas for in-car use, plus the sort of prices you can expect to pay.
Sat-nav device
Integrated satellite navigation devices have become rapidly more common amongst new cars as this decade has progressed. Nevertheless, there’s still the possibility you know at least one person who drives and doesn’t have their own portable sat-nav to use.
While it’s true that most smartphones nowadays contain apps which can be used for navigation, you’d probably need to buy a separate holder to use it for driving in a practical way. Also, navigation apps tend to drain the batteries of smartphones quite quickly.
Therefore, getting a portable sat-nav is still a worthwhile gift for drivers who are likely to drive to unfamiliar locations in the future. There are a huge number of portable sat-navs one can find in the market, with prices varying between about £60 to £300. The sat-navs costing £100-plus tend to come with extra accessories like a case.
Honestly, which sat-nav suits best to buy largely depends on how much you’re willing to spend, but you can look to the respected sat-nav making brands such as TomTom, Garmin or Binatone for ideas. The best sat-navs don’t just give turn-by-turn directions but can also offer live traffic updates and notifications of speed cameras and nearby petrol stations.
Dashcam
Dashcams are small cameras typically attached to windscreens and they have grown rapidly in popularity over the last few years. Potentially ranging price-wise from about £30 to over £100, the dashcam can give you a lot of extra security in case of a potential accident.
For one thing, having a dashcam onboard should protect the driver using it from any insurance fraud attempts. If you’re in an accident that you know is not your fault, a dashcam can provide all the evidence you need to pass on to insurers and possibly the police.
The more you’re willing to spend on a dashcam, the better quality image you should get from the camera. Remember to check that the product you’re thinking of buying for someone can record in high definition (HD). We’d also recommend you get some extra SD cards to go with the dashcam, since these tend to be used by the devices for saving recorded footage.
Leather driving gloves
A new pair of leather driving gloves can genuinely improve someone’s driving experience. That's not just because they’re fashionable or make you feel like you’re in a movie (think Ryan Gosling in Drive or Jason Statham in The Transporter).
Driving gloves can also make driving a little more comfortable, especially during cold winter days. With prices varying from about £20 to £60, a pair of gloves can prove to be a straightforward but effective stocking filler.
California Car Scents
California Car Scents are little cans which contain organic (and biodegradable) fragrance oils in compressed plant fibre scent pads. These can easily be popped under a car seat or in a cup holder and they can keep the air in the cabin smelling pleasant for months and months.
An established hit in America, certain UK store chains sell California Car Scents to motorists nowadays. A single typically costs about a couple of quid and you can usually get four packs for about £10.
You can order this product with loads of different kinds of fragrances. We personally recommend the Corando Cherry!
Car wash kit
If you know someone who likes to clean their car regularly (or, in contrast, someone who could do with tidying up their vehicle) then a car cleaning kit can be a fairly inexpensive but welcome car-related gift.
You can spend somewhere between £30 to £50 on a cleaning kit, but even a cheaper one will probably come with essentials like polish, bodywork shampoo and a surface protector. There are numerous brands that sell car cleaning kits, among them Autoglym is popular and should prove a safe selection to make nowadays.
Hands-free phone kit
For about just £30 to £40 you could give a fellow motorist the luxury to (legally) drive and talk with a Bluetooth hands free kit.
Some Bluetooth products (the SuperTooth Buddy Handsfree kit for example) can clip on to the car’s sun visor and use a built-in microphone and loudspeaker to allow drivers to arrange calls with voice commands alone.
Thermal flask
A straightforward sort of gift, but a thermal flask can prove very useful for motorists who intend to go on long drives and want to keep themselves nourished and warmed up during the trip.
A flask can prove particularly useful during winter drives and they can be bought online for less than £10, though some higher quality examples can cost nearer to £20.