HITTING the road with the kids this summer? Keep babies and children cool and out of the glare of the midsummer sun with a car sun shade for their passenger windows.
Designed to keep little ones, and even pets, more comfortable on hot journeys, car sunshades can be quickly installed on your rear car windows and provide a cooling bit of shade on your drive.
Car sun shades come in a wide range of designs and sizes, to fit a wide variety of vehicles. If the sunshade is too big, you may not be able to install it properly, but if it’s too small, it will still let in sunlight and reduce the benefit, so it’s important to measure up your car and find the best fit for you.
You can also choose from suction cup designs, roller blinds with clips or slip-on window socks, all of which have their own pros and cons.
Which one is right for you will largely depend on your family’s needs and the type of vehicle you drive.
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Remember you’ll still need to apply sunscreen to your baby or child whilst in the car, unless your car sunshade specifically states that it offers full UVA and UVB protection.
At a glance:
- Best overall: Dreambaby Car Window Shade
- Best value: Roller Sunshade
- Best mid-range: Pop-Up Safari Car Sunshades
- Best premium: Dreambaby Car Window Shade
- Best for babies: DIZA100 Double-layer Car Sun Shades
- Best heat protection: Munchkin Car Window Sun Shades
Dreambaby Car Window Shade
Dreambaby Car Window Shade/Socks, £15 from Argos
Pros: Windows can be opened, completely covers windows
Cons: Not that attractive, comparatively expensive
Rating: 5/5
These car shade/socks may not be the prettiest things to look at, but they are certainly effective. This design is installed by popping the sun shade over the top of the rear car door frame.
They fit snugly on our mid-size car (with a bit of yanking) and we secured them with the attached velcro strips. Once on, they created a nice shady environment in the back, but were still see-through enough for young passengers to peer out.
However, the best thing about this car shade design is the fact that you can completely open the window and let in cool breezes – plus they keep out any unwanted bugs and flying critters too.
Size: 50 x 55cm; Number in pack: 2
Munchkin Brica Car Window Sun Shade
Munchkin Brica Car Window Sun Shade, £9.49 from Amazon
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Pros: Can be rolled up and left in place, two ways to install, heat warning system
Cons: 1 per pack
Rating: 4/5
This smart little sun shade comes with two ways of attaching to your car, either with clips at the top of the frame or a couple of suction cups.
We used the suction cups, which held on tightly and kept the shade firmly in place. The top of this roller blind was a little bit too wide for our car, which meant we couldn’t fix it right at the top of the window, so it’s definitely worth checking measurements beforehand.
The mesh of this shade is quite wide, which means that it offers good protection from glare and still has plenty of visibility for your car game of choice (eye spy is always a classic).
The roller blind retracts at the push of a button and it also benefits from a clever heat indicator, which turns from red to white when your car is too hot and acts as a handy reminder to take a break during uncomfortable road trips.
Size: 38.1 x 48.2cm; :1
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2-Pack Pop-Up Safari Car Sunshades
2-Pack Pop-Up Safari Car Sunshades, £9 from JoJo Maman Bébé
Pros: Cute design, 2 in a pack, easy to install
Cons: Doesn’t cover all of the window, basic design
Rating: 4/5
Looking for an easy-to-install, affordable car shade that you can use instantly? These pop-up shades from JoJo Maman Bébé could be just the thing.
Initially we were a bit worried that the single suction cup wouldn’t be enough to keep them secure, but they stayed firmly attached on our two hour journey.
Our little tester loved the cute animal design too and they were dark enough to do a decent job of blocking out bright sunshine.
Size: 36 x 44cm; Number in pack: 2
DIZA100 Double-layer Car Sun Shades
DIZA100 Double-layer Car Sun Shades, £5.99 from Amazon
Pros: Complete blackout, windows can be opened
Cons: 1 per pack, can be pulled down
Rating: 3/5
Our tester absolutely loved the cute dinosaur design on this curtain-style sun shade.
It pops on to your car frame easily using magnets and from there you can choose to have the curtains completely drawn or tied back to expose the mesh layer.
We liked that there were two options with this blind, and the complete blackout could be handy for naps or even for privacy use in camper vans.
However, we found that the curtain could quite easily be pulled down by wilful little passengers (what a fun game!) although this wouldn’t be a problem with very young babies.
We also liked that you could open the window with this blind, however, the mesh layer did blow about a fair bit.
Roller Sunshade
Roller Sunshade, £6 from Halfords
Pros: Can be rolled up and left in place, easy to install
Cons: 1 per pack, slimmer shade
Rating: 3/5
If you’d rather have a sun shade that can be left on your car all year long, this retractable shade from Halfords is a simple, easy-to-use option.
Two suction cups hold the blind in place and a third can be used to pull and stick the shade when needed. Our testers found this particularly handy when midway through a car journey that suddenly went from grey and dreary to bright, beaming sunshine.
However, we did find this shade was a little on the slim side, so some sun was still able to peep in. The pack we tested only had one shade, but they are also available to buy as a pair for £10 if you need two.
Size: 57.5 x 40 x 3.5cm; Number in pack: 1
How we tested the car sun shades
We tested these car sun shades by putting them up in a couple of varying-size cars and taking them on journeys with young testers in the back.
We looked at how easy they were to install, how well they stayed up, how much of the car window they covered and how much sun and glare they blocked.
Where to buy car sun shades
You can buy car sun shades from major home retailers such as Amazon and Argos as well as specialist child and baby stores such as JoJo Maman Bébé and motoring specialists like Halfords.
How much do car sun shades cost?
Car sun shades are relatively affordable and are definitely something to consider for sunny journeys with children or pets in the back of the car.
Passenger car sun shades tend to cost somewhere between £5 and £20 – you’ll pay a little more for additional features such as heat sensors and UV protection and if you need both rear passenger windows to be shaded, you may need to pay a little more for a pair of shades.
