Gifts for Car Lovers That Promise Convenience, Fun, and Safety

In our experience, you often get what you pay for. Our experts favored choices at the extremes. We found that a free app (Driver Dash Cam, available for Android and iPhone) is good for trying out a dash cam before buying one. And when it comes time to buy, resolution counts. We favored the Redtiger F7NP Basic. It earned excellent scores for daytime video quality, audio quality, and ease of installation, as well as midlevel scores for nighttime video quality and versatility. Plus, it comes with a secondary camera to record the rear of your car.

See our review of dash cams.

Pandora and Spotify are integrated into many infotainment systems, providing a compelling alternative to terrestrial and satellite radio. Each app has a base-level free service that’s ad-supported (meaning you’ll hear an ad every so often between songs).

For $5 per month, Pandora Plus removes ads from its streaming radio service, and Pandora Premium—at $11 per month—allows you to search for individual songs or albums and make playlists. The Family plan is $18 per month. And there are special rates for students and military members.

Spotify, a similar music service, likewise has a no-advertisement Premium service that starts at $12 per month. (Premium Duo can be shared by two users for $17.) Premium Family costs $20 per month and lets family members in the same household enjoy up to six Premium accounts. The Student plan includes Hulu for $6 per month.

Many cars over the past decade came with a satellite radio receiver, enabling access to hundreds of channels with a subscription to SiriusXM.

The service offers a free introductory three-month subscription, allowing the music fan on your holiday list to play country, rock, hip-hop, classical, or pop music in the car and via an app. The price climbs to $10 per month for the basic car and app music package. Talk and News can be added à la carte for $5 each, and Sports can be had for $8. The All Access plan includes all content for $25 a month.

We found pros and cons for each type, ultimately favoring one that mounts on the windshield with a built-in charging capability to offset the energy demands of using phone-based navigation. 

Learn how to choose the right phone mount for you. 

Shop phone mounts: Amazon, Target, and Walmart

All of the units we tested had at least one built-in USB port to handle those recharging duties, as well as a built-in flashlight. Some had connectors that allow you to charge certain laptops. These functions add a lot of versatility to the jump packs, making them handy for campers and quite helpful during a power outage. Jump-starters designed to tolerate temperatures as high as 140° F can be bought for under $50, such as the Avapow Jump Starter A07 1500A (Amazon) and Nexpow G17 2000A (Walmart).

Learn more about jump-starters.

Shop jump-starters: Amazon, Home Depot, and Walmart

There are three basic types of gauges: stick, dial, and digital. Our testing shows that you don’t need to spend much to get a good gauge. Stick gauges are the most compact, making them easy to stow in a glove box. We favor a digital unit from Accutire for its accuracy, durability, ease of use, and price. But the classic Intercomp 360060 (Amazon) dial gauge works well and may appeal to car enthusiasts.

See our tire pressure gauge buying guide and ratings.

Of the three types, we favor the kits. They come with a can of sealant and a compressor that work together. The sealant is connected to the tire via a screw-on tube, and the compressor is plugged into a 12-volt power accessory port. With most kits, the compressor forces air through a container of tire sealant into the flat tire. Unlike the pressurized sealant cans, these kits can pump up a truly flat tire to its recommended pressure. And because the sealant isn’t pressurized before you use it, you can keep the kit in your car. (Pressurized cans risk rupturing if left in a hot car.)

Among the units evaluated, CR staff members favor the AirMan ResQ Pro + (available at Amazon for $65).

See our complete evaluation of tire sealants. 

Many cordless tire inflators are compatible with a line of battery-powered tools, making it tempting to add the inflator as part of a suite rather than as a stand-alone item. We have evaluated small, drill-looking inflators and slightly larger ones, finding the capabilities of the larger models to be worth the added expense. An advantage of these larger compressors is that most allow you to set the target pressure, then just let it do its job. You don’t need to remain crouched, holding the air nozzle in place. They can inflate a car tire in just 4 to 7 minutes. 

If you’re shopping for a cordless toolkit and prize having a great inflator, choose the DeWalt 20V Max Inflator ($149 without battery at Home Depot) for its combination of overall good performance, simple-to-use features, quiet operation, and use of logical hose storage. Consumer Reports has found DeWalt cordless drills to be strong performers as well.

Learn more about choosing a cordless tire inflator.

Consumers can tap into the same OBDII port with a more basic code reader to learn about the problem that triggered a warning light in the instrument panel. This can help with determining the urgency of the issue and aid in discussing it with a technician. However, the low-priced, consumer-grade tools may capture just a general code, rather than a specific one that reveals enough information for a detailed diagnosis. 

Prices continue to drop for these tools. Models with their own screen can be found for $50 to $100. And there are simpler units that depend on a Bluetooth connection to a phone, like the Veepeak OBDCheck BLE we tried. At $32 at Amazon, this tiny device proved easy to use. 

With luck, such a tool may not be needed frequently, but it can be handy to share one within family or circle of friends. 

Search for code readers at Amazon.

There are budget DIY kits for removing the haze and resealing the plastic coating of those lenses. They take a bit of elbow grease, but the improvement can be significant. We evaluated several kits a few years ago and were impressed with the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit ($23 at Amazon) and the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System ($23 at Amazon).

Learn more in our headlight restoration kit buying guide.

We purchased a few winter emergency kits online to gauge what you might get and how useful they might be in a pinch. The ones we bought cost about $45 to $75. They may seem pricey, but you’ll probably spend more than $100 to buy many of the items individually to assemble your own kit.

Look for a kit that will complement how and where you drive, and consider how much space it might take up in a car.

Learn more about assembling your own emergency kit.

Discount clothing stores such as Kohl’s and mass-market stores such as Walmart often stock these items. A fan may appreciate more official brand apparel available through car dealerships or an automaker’s online store, like the BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Mopar, Nissan, Porsche, Tesla, Toyota, or Volkswagen stores.

In addition to the usual items, you might find a cool modern or classic car emblem there for a fun decoration. 

It’s worth noting that significant discounts are often available for driving experiences and schools for the holidays. But when budgeting, be aware that track insurance is often additional.

• Richard Petty Driving Experience: Sessions range from one-lap ride-alongs to race-driving instructions on NASCAR cars at tracks across the U.S. Prices range from $230 to $4,200, depending on the discounts, course, and experience.

• The Extreme Experience: Drive or ride along in muscle, sports, and super cars at tracks across the U.S. Prices range from $79 for a ride along to $500 (starting) to drive a Ferrari 296 GTB on the track.

• Radford Racing School: Conducted at a track near Phoenix, training courses include a teen driving experience (starting at $1,999) and training in high-performance driving skills using muscle cars (starting at $1,499 for one day in muscle cars). Plus, there are competition racing programs for karting, drag racing, Formula 4, and more.

• Skip Barber Racing School: The long-running Skip Barber school operates car control (open to teens and adults) and high-performance driving programs at major tracks throughout the country.

• StreetSurvival: Teen-driving sessions held nationwide focused on safe driving techniques and concepts. We have even hosted events at the Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center: $125.

Cars: The Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 gets top marks for dry braking, hydroplaning resistance, and noise. It also delivers above-average handling, snow traction, and braking performance on wet surfaces. Plus, members give it the highest rating for satisfaction. If you want a UHP tire with even more sport capability than the Michelin and don’t need all-season versatility, UHP summer tires earned the highest scores for performance in our tests.

SUVs: The Michelin CrossClimate2 is the clear standout among all-season SUV tires, with an Overall Score several points above its nearest rivals. This exceptional tire provides above-average—or greater—performance in every test. Plus, it is an all-weather tire, meaning it has cold-weather capabilities like dedicated winter/snow tires but can be used all year. Its high cost is offset by the epic 95,000-mile predicted tread life. 

See our tire buying guide and ratings. Or go right to our Top Pick Tires.

Backup Camera
The AUTO-VOX CS-2 Wireless Backup Camera connects wirelessly to an included 4.3-inch screen. The camera is powered by a lead from the car’s backup lights, enabling this system to turn on automatically when Reverse is engaged. It has guidelines, which can be turned off. 
Price: $90
Where to buy: Amazon

Bumper Protection
The BumpShox is a thick foam rubber bumper guard that frames the license plate and sticks out to help protect your car from being scratched or tapped by other vehicles when they’re being parked. It’s a cinch to install. It can be helpful with city parking and in crowded parking lots. It won’t protect against impacts at an angle, but the convenience is appealing.
Price: $35
Where to buy: Amazon, BumperShox

Teenagers are among the riskiest drivers because of a combination of immaturity, inexperience, and social pressures. Consequently, they have crash rates that are almost four times those of drivers 20 and older. Choosing the right car can help teens stay safe, but it can be challenging to balance all the factors that make a vehicle ideal for inexperienced drivers.

Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provide lists of cars, SUVs, and minivans that balance accident avoidance, crash protection, performance, and reliability. The vehicle recommendations are ideal for teens, but they can serve any shopper looking for a vehicle that excels in those areas.

See the complete lists of best used cars and best new cars for teens. 

Learn everything you need to know about teen car insurance.

And we pull together the models with the lowest transaction prices, recommended or not. Those are the most discounted new cars right now. It can still be a challenge to find some models, especially a well-rated one, that’s selling for less than the sticker price. But there are relative savings when you consider that some models are selling for over MSRP.

Our lists spotlight the latest national deals. You can check local transaction prices on our car model pages.

To conveniently find a good deal in your area, use the Consumer Reports Build & Buy Car Buying Service.

We have ratings for infant seats, harnessed car seats, and booster seats to help you find the right model. Below are the standout seats in three core categories. Before buying, see our complete car seat buying guide and ratings.