We just can’t help ourselves. A manufacturer spends the equivalent of the national debt honing a car to within an inch of perfection, only for us to accessorise the thing. Some of us stop at a few crass bumper stickers, an air freshener or a smartphone holder. Others seem intent on sending the tasteometer off the scale.
Although we wouldn’t recommend taking car accessory advice from a Premier League footballer, we say fill your boots. It’s your car – do what you want with it. Just make sure you remove the wheel spinners and headlight eyelashes before the end of the PCP agreement.
Rather than simply presenting you with a smorgasbord of cheap, tatty landfill, we have (with the exception of the fluffy dice) recommended some car accessories that are genuinely useful. From satnav to battery chargers to car cleaning products, think of this as CAR Products' greatest hits collection. Sort of.
The best car accessories
1. Amazon Echo Auto

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If you rely on Alexa to organise your home life, why not take it (her?) along for the ride? Echo Auto connects to your car via a smartphone app and talks to you via the speakers. Say 'Alexa' and you can use it to change the radio station, make a call or fire up your favourite playlist. Alternatively, you could ask your passenger to do it for you.Read CAR's full guide to Alexa here.
2. Veld USB Car Charger
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And along came USB-C. The saint all-in-one USB connection we've been hankering for since USB came along in the late nineties and was then also hailed as a saint. Bring your car up to date with a useful USB and USB-C adaptor.
3. AlcoSense Pro
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We've tested this rigorously and come to the conclusion it's the best breathalyser. It uses a similar sensor used in the much more expensive units the police have. It'll warn you if you're over the limit and will suggest when you'll be fine to drive again. You can also change its parameters depending on what country you're in. Read CAR's guide to home breathalysers.
4. ESR HaloLock Magnetic Wireless Car Charger
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Most drivers know that it's illegal to hold a mobile phone while driving, but you'll almost certainly spot somebody doing just that on your morning commute. Spending a tenner on a car phone mount will keep you on the right side of the law while keeping your phone locked in place. A phone mount is a lot cheaper than the fine you'll receive if you're caught holding a phone at the wheel. This one adds the benefit of wireless charging to it.Read our full guide to wireless car chargers.
5. Rewire Security DB2
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A budget but effective GPS tracker from UK company Rewire Security. You hardwire this unit yourself and pay a £5 monthly subscription that gives you real-time location, speed, and route history, among other things via the GPSLive app. The DB2 also comes with a SIM that will automatically connect to the strongest available signal in 120 countries and is accurate to roughly two metres. Read our full guide on vehicle trackers.
6. Stoplock RFID Pouch
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Stoplock are one of the big names in UK for analogue car security accessories such as steering wheel locks. Its RFID key pouch is a budget-friendly way to keep thieves at bay if they ever attempt a relay attack on your keyless car. Read all about relay attacks and RFID protection here.
7. Nextbase 522GW Dash Cam
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The 522GW is packed with useable and useful features beyond the fantastic recording quality. It has Emergency SOS, GPS, Alexa Bulit-In, and can be used with a rear facing camera add-on. It's a tremendous dash cam.Read our Nextbase 522GW vs 622GW test.
8. TomTom GO Basic Satnav
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Our philosophy is that a satnav should follow the same principles as steak. Done right and not over complicated. TomTom's GO Basic delivers on this. You get the first class TomTom Traffic, which is accurate and superb at avoiding congestion; plus TomTom Europe maps updates. You can get speed camera updates too, if you pay the subscription beyond the free three months. Choose between a five- or six-inch screen.Read our full guide to aftermarket sat navs.
9. Sony XAV-AX3005 Premium Media Receiver
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Voice control, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Spotify, Amazon Music, WhatsApp, Maps, DAB+ Radio, 6.96-inch touchscreen, rear view camera ready, 4 x 55W Dynamic Reality Amp 2. It's all here in Sony's slim and fantastic media receiver.
10. CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger

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Starting a car with a flat battery can be a frustrating experience. There are a number of different outcomes, but you can guarantee some wasted time, a little effort on your part and a few curse words thrown in for good measure. Investing in an automatic charger will preserve the life of your battery and avoid the need to pop next door in search of jump leads. CTEK is arguably the best in battery charging business. Certainly top three. Read CAR's full article on the best smart car battery chargers.
11. NOCO Boost X GBX45
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A power pack is a valuable and compact addition to your glovebox. NOCO is one of the names and its new GBX45 is ideal for most. To begin with, it's only 20cm long and weighs 600 grams but is good for jump starting up to 6.5-litre petrol and 4.0-litre diesel engines. It's a regular power bank too for charging other devices. Read our full guide on the best jump starters.
12. JVL Universal Rubber Car Mat

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Genuine car mats are expensive. Flick through an accessories brochure u2013 more likely scroll through a PDF u2013 and you'll see some eye-watering prices. If you have a set of pristine carpet mats in your car, keep them looking that way by investing in a set of rubber mats. You can trim these rubber mats to size, so they should fit most cars. They cost a fraction of the price you'll pay in a showroom.
13. Febreze Car Air Freshener

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The last time we looked, you couldn't buy a Yankee Candle with a fragrance of 'Damp Dog', 'Last Night's Takeaway' or 'Sportswear in the Boot That Should Have Been Removed Two Weeks Ago'. These are unpleasant smells and they have no place in your car. We wanted to recommend the Bob Ross air freshener, but we're playing it safe with this six pack of Febreze Cotton Fresh fresheners.Read CAR's article on the best car air fresheners.
14. SeaSucker Mini Bomber Rack
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Suction bike racks allow you to attack a bike to your car's roof without the need for roof racks. Therefore, you can attach your Avanti to your GR Yaris, Ford Mustang, or whatever it is that you wouldn't ever contemplate adding roof racks to.Read CAR's bike rack comparison test.
15. Wacaco Nanopresso
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The non-powered list is dominated by Wacaco, and this is its best unit. It weighs a mere 336g and is just 15.6cm long. It's ideal for espresso lovers, hence the name, and works by very simple means. You add 10g of finely ground coffee to the filter basket and add hot water into the tank. You then start pumping with the piston. After several pumps, the pressure will be high enough (18 bars) and fresh coffee will begin to dribble out. The coffee should be fully extracted after 20 to 30 pumps. Makes one 80ml cup.
16. Halfords Advanced 470L Black Roof Box
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A sleek black lump that gives you extra luggage space without having to resort to a van. Joy. This roof box is of medium size (176cm x 83cm x 45cm) and good for all but small hatchbacks. It has a generous 470 litre volume, has an easy-mount Power Grip system and easy to open and close thanks to assisting lid lifters. Read our guide to roof racks in order to be able to fit roof carriers and racks.
17. Car Organiser

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You're not the kind of person who buys a boot tidy. A boot tidy is the kind of thing owned by people who put creases in a pair of jeans, fold their bags for life and place them in a drawer, and have a knitted toilet roll cover in the downstairs cloakroom. But it's time to change your outlook, because a good boot tidy will change your life. You'll wonder how you ever managed without one.
18. AA First Aid Kit

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You really ought to carry a first aid kit in the car. Indeed, it's a legal requirement in some countries. This AA first aid kit covers the essentials. The pack includes alcohol-free wipes, waterproof plasters, dressings, bandages, gloves, tape, scissors, safety pins and a foil blanket.
19. Gtech Multi MK2 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

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The Gtech Multi Mk2 looks so good (though not quite as good as the Mk2 Cortina), you won't want to leave it in the garage. Light and with good suction power. A handheld, bagless whirlwind that will make quick work of loose muck in your car. It's a mere 1.5kg but the trade-off is that you get about twenty minutes runtime. It's a race against time somewhat but that adds excitement to an arguably mundane task. Get the full rundown on the best car vacuum cleaners here.
20. Autoglym Collection

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This Autoglym pack contains everything you need to give your car the love it deserves. Autoglym says it's the perfect gift for a car enthusiast, but we reckon you can treat yourself. The kit includes bodywork shampoo, polish, extra gloss protection, clean wheels, tyre dressing, alloy wheel seal, interior shampoo, car gloss polish, vinyl and rubber care, a sponge, a drying cloth and a finishing cloth. Just add a mug of tea and away you go. We promise we won't say you missed a bit.Check out our full article on the best car cleaning kits.
21. Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax Spray
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Ceramic coating is a relatively recent development to the world of car cleaning but has certainly staked its claim as one of the top exterior protectants. This particular product is a spray wax that can be used on almost any surface including wheels, exterior glass, plastics and headlights. Apply to a clean, dry surface, spread with a cloth then wipe clean. Add a second coat after 24 hours for up to a year's protection. Read all about ceramic coatings for cars here.
22. Window Sun Shade

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Privacy glass might give you that 'gangsta' look, but it won't protect your loved ones from harmful UV rays. For that you need a sun shade. These mesh nets are designed to stretch across the top half of the door, so they can be used with the rear windows up or down. They won't look cool in a rap video, but they'll keep your cabin chilled.
23. Carpoint Fuzzy Dice

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Cool or kitsch? It is believed that the use of fluffy dice dates back to the Second World War when U.S. airmen used them as a sign of good luck. In the 1950s, the dice migrated from the sky to the streets, when they became a part of illegal street racing. Fluffy dice: great in a Ford Capri, but questionable in a Nissan Juke.