Central to pretty much any car cleaning method is using a lot of water to wash, and there’s no better way to dry off a car afterwards than with one of the best drying towels on sale.
While it can be tempting to walk away after giving your car its final spray with a pressure washer. However, leaving it to air dry (especially in the sun) will leave unsightly watermarks that can ruin the look of an otherwise sparkling car.
A microfibre drying towel is explicitly designed to absorb the remaining water on your car, carrying more than its own body weight in water while remaining soft enough to be pulled across a car without causing any damage.
The best drying towels at a glance:
Editor's choice: Detailers United Hydro Hoover XL - Buy now on Amazon UK
Best on a budget: Gtechniq MF2 Microfibre Drying Towel - Buy now on Amazon UK
Best for absorbency: The Rag Company The Gauntlet Drying Towel - Buy now on Amazon UK
The very best drying towels will help prevent these streaks and are a relatively simple way of ensuring that your car looks as good as it can after pampering the paintwork with a fancy car shampoo.
The best car drying towels in detail
Editor's choice
Our favourite drying towel is the huge and plush microfibre option from Detailers United. Offering a huge surface area of 50 x 80 cm the Hydro Hoover XL should be able to clean a smaller car's bonnet in just two sweeps. Partner this with a twisted loop microfibre for capturing as much water as possible and a super soft 1400 GSM (grams per square metre) microfibre and this will prove to be an efficient way of drying a car. The only real issue is the heft of lugging a sodden example will be a bit of a workout.
Pros
- Huge surface area
- Excellent value for money
Cons
- Heavy when wet
| Size: | 50 x 80 cm |
| GSM: | 1400 |
Best drying towel on a budget
Not as soft as the Hydro Hoover option, the MF2 from Gtechniq is still designed to dry efficiently and without causing any scratches. Featuring 450 GSM microfibres, it's nowhere near as plush as other choices but won't get so heavy and cumbersome to use when wet. The benefit to this is that it'll prove to be really easy to use, even with its huge 60 x 90 cm drying area. Both sides are different, with one having a shorter pile that's perfect for buffing waxes or drying windows.
Pros
- Very effective for drying cars
- Won't get so heavy when drying
Cons
- Only one side has the twisted loop microfibres
| Size: | 60 x 90 cm |
| GSM: | 450 |
Best drying towel for absorbency
A very fancy option for car drying, The Rag Company is a heavyweight in the world of car care and well worth the price premium. Made from 700 GSM Korean microfibre, this towel has been designed to be able to absorb ten times its own weight in water, thanks in part to the quality of the microfibre used and a patented blend of twisted loop and plush fibres for the best efficiency. The edges are finished in a 'Buttersoft' suede to prevent scratches and it's also designed to be durable.
Pros
- Fantastic quality
- Exceptional durability
Cons
- Hefty
| Size: | 76.2 x 30.5 cm |
| GSM: | 700 |
Best premium drying towel
There's a clear price premium for the Woolly Mammoth Drying Towel, but on closer inspection, it's clear why. For a start, it's a colossal drying towel, finished in an ultra-plush, inch-thick microfibre designed to dry a car in a single pass. Chemical Guys claim this towel is capable of holding one US gallon of water before becoming saturated which makes it an excellent choice for cleaning larger vehicles. The edges are also finished in silk to prevent the chance of scratches occurring and that ultra-thick microfibre pile should lift away any remaining grit, preventing damage from occurring.
Pros
- Incredibly soft
- Very safe on paintwork
Cons
- Will take ages to dry
| Size: | 91.4 x 63.5cm |
| GSM: | N/A |
Best drying towel on a tight budget
If you want to dry your car on more of a budget and don't mind applying a bit more elbow grease then this simple microfibre towel from Kent Car Care is our pick. While it may not have the soft properties or weight as other options, it'll be able to absorb eight times its weight in water and it's still packed with features. Soft edges made of satin to prevent scratches for example are a premium feature, as is the large surface area and a soft finish that won't irritate the paintwork.
Pros
- Very affordable
- Surprisingly big
Cons
- Not as absorbent as other choices
| Size: | Five square foot |
| GSM: | N/A |
Best waffle weave drying towel
Waffle weave microfibre towels have the benefit of featuring a larger surface area than regular microfibre towels thanks to the waffle design. This means they're effective drying towels and should dry much quicker at the expense of having a much thinner pile. This means towels like the Water Magnet Drying Towel are very effective at drying cars but won't be much use if there's some grit left in the paintwork. Another top use for waffle weave drying towels is cleaning and drying glass, where the fibres of traditional microfibre can leave streaks.
Pros
- Quicker drying time
- Waffle weave expertly dries bodywork
Cons
- Not so good at safely lifting remaining grit
| Size: | 10.5L x 17W cm |
Best innovative drying towel
Promising to do more than just dry your car, the Gtechniq Diamond Microfibre Towel can also be used for polishing surfaces. Designed not to leave any marks or become saturated thanks to the clever outer layer that wicks water away from your car's bodywork into a central reservoir that will store the water until you need to ring it out. It's not soft like a normal drying towel but is very absorbent and fantastic.
Pros
- Very clever design
- Multiple uses
Cons
- Not a conventional drying towel
| Size: | 40 x 40 cm |
| GSM: | 300 |
What you need to know about car drying towels:
What features should I look for?
Most drying towels offer roughly the same amount of features so it's only smaller things that really need consideration. Size is one such thing, the bigger the towel the quicker you can dry your car but the longer it'll take to dry once wet.
Also think about your car's paintwork. Older cars without a top coat are extremely delicate so you'll need a softer towel to prevent any damage. Get one with a higher GSM (grams per square metre) and protected edges to keep it from damaging your car's paintwork.
What about Chamois?
No. Chamois may have been all the rage in the '90s, but like JNCO jeans it can now be consigned to the history books permanently. The problem is that Chamois may have dried a car, but it also left loads of tiny scratches in paintwork called marring.
Do drying towels contribute to microplastics?
Unfortunately they do. Pretty much all microfibre is made from plastics at current, and as you use these products to dry a car and then wash them afterwards, microscopic plastic particles will be shed from them. If you're totally against microfibre usage, a car dryer uses nothing more than hot air to dry cars and it is worth considering.
How to properly dry a car:
Your drying technique matters just as much as what equipment you use. We have a few tips that will help you dry your car better:
Never leave your car to dry in direct sunlight, not only will this make any cleaning product less effective, it will leave watermarks. Place your car in the shade for the best results.
Don't scrunch your towel up when you're drying it. Make use of the towel's surface area and drape the towel over the bodywork. This will make drying quicker and more effective.
Use a quick detailer as you dry to provide some extra lubrication. These drying aids will reduce scratches and leave extra gloss too.
Remember to turn your towel frequently.
For the best results, open your doors, boot and bonnet when the car is nearly dry so you can catch any water that has accumulated in the sills.
Ryan Gilmore is the Deputy Autos and Tools Editor for CAR, specialising in car cleaning and hand tools. With an MA in Automotive Journalism, when he's not testing buckets he can be found looking at old Porsches.