We love our cars and we also love to personalise them, whether that’s to make them more distinctive, safer or more comfortable. So if you’re putting together your Christmas list, these are the top 10 car accessories that should be on it.
Sat-nav
When sat-navs came out they allowed to navigate from one place to another – and for that alone they’re incredibly useful. But they’ve grown up since then to the point where they now do so much more. They’ll route you round jams, find specific points of interest, allow you to have a phone conversation via bluetooth, can be voice-controlled and you can stream music or even television through them too. Prices start at just £50 for an entry-level unit and go up to £300 for something with plenty of bells and whistles.
Dash cam
If you’re involved in a crash that’s not your fault, having footage of what happened can save you a huge amount of hassle and grief. With the rise of no-win no-fee lawyers, you need something to protect yourself if somebody tries to take action against you when you’ve done nothing wrong. No wonder dash cams have become so popular. Prices start at £50 and run to £300 or so, the posher models featuring dual lenses plus an ability to record your time and location via GPS.
Action camera
You probably don’t have any great desire to capture your crawl around the M25, but if you’re undertaking a more aspirational trip an action camera could be just what you need. The best known is the GoPro and thanks to the huge range of available accessories it’s easy to recommend. But much cheaper alternatives can be picked up for well under £50 and while the image quality might not be quite the same, you can still record some spectacular footage of those mountain passes or coastal drives on your holidays.
Tow bar
A tow bar can make your car more usable than you think, even if you’ve got no inclination to pull a caravan. For starters you can tow a trailer – which brings all sorts of outdoors pursuits into reach, from camping to boating. But tow bars aren’t just suitable for towing; you can also mount an array of accessories onto them, the best known of which is a bike rack. More convenient than putting your bikes onto your car’s roof, a bike rack on the back of the car lets you fill your car with people and luggage, without impacting on its practicality at all.
Fire extinguisher
Modern cars have high-pressure fuel lines and complicated electrical systems. When those lines fail after a few years (or less), your car can quickly be burned to a shell, which is why you need to put out the fire as quickly as possible. That means not relying on the fire brigade to get to you – it means carrying a fire extinguisher in the front passenger footwell where you can quickly get to it. With just £15 buying something really good, why wouldn’t you carry your own fire extinguisher?
Car care kit
When you pick up your new car it’ll have a coating of wax on the paintwork to help protect it from the elements. But that coating soon disappears and then it’s up to you to apply a fresh one every now and then. It’s easy to just pay a fiver at the hand car wash every so often, but if you really want to look after your car and help its bodywork shrug off the elements you’ll give it a really good clean every now and then, before giving it a good polish. Prices start at under a tenner.
Portable tyre compressor
A lot of drivers overlook the tyres on their car – don’t be one of them. Check their pressures every couple of weeks or so to make sure they’re not soft. If they are your car will be using more fuel than it needs to and your tyres will wear out faster. For just £20 or so you can buy a compressor that’ll plug into a 12-volt socket – around three times this much buys something with a built-in battery. With an integral pressure gauge you can check your tyre pressures quickly and easily, and if necessary, top them up with air too.
Alloy wheels
If there’s one thing that really sets off a car it’s a smart set of wheels. So if your car looks a bit sad on its steel wheels with battered trims, investing in some sleek new alloys could really bring it to life. You’ll need to buy wheels specifically for your car (the diameter, width, offset and bolt spacing all need to be correct), but there’s plenty of choice for just about any car. Before buying, tell your insurer and once fitted keep them clean or they’ll soon look just as tatty as the wheels you’ve taken off.
Heated seat covers
Loads of new cars are available with heated seats, including some superminis. But if you don’t have that luxury and you want to keep warm this winter, invest in a set of heated seat covers. Fitted to your front seats like a regular set of covers, these contain a heating element which is powered from your car’s 12-volt socket. You can pick up a cover from around £20; for this you can expect a choice of heat settings.
In-car DVD system
Keeping the kids entertained on a long journey can be a thankless task, but if there’s one way that’s pretty much guaranteed to keep them quiet it’s by letting them watch a film. There are loads of systems available, including hand-held units, screens that are held on to the back of the front-seat headrests via straps – or you can go for a fully installed system if you’ve got a suitable car and deep pockets. Prices start at under £100 for a portable system.
 
Richard Dredge
December 2015