If you require a quick answer, the best car air freshener is the California Scents Coronado Cherry. It provides a great cherry flavoured scent that lasts for up to 60 days and also comes in a tub, which means that it can be placed anywhere inside of your car. However, if you would prefer a more decorative design that can be hung around the rear view mirror, gear stick or seat belt buckle, the Little Trees alternative is the best option that’s available in a variety of scents.
To rate the car air fresheners within this article, we based our recommendations upon testing the most popular air fresheners on the market, plenty of research and multiple factors. Some of the factors that we considered included the type, selection of scents available, durability (how long the smell lasts), construction quality and value for money.
Best Car Air Freshener Overview
- Best Overall: California Scents Coronado Cherry
- Best Value: Little Trees Single
- Best All-Rounder: Jelly Bean 3D
- Best Luxury: Yankee Candle Ultimate Jar
- Best For Aesthetics: Walls Ice Cream
- Best Air Vent: Febreze Clip-on Cotton
After cleaning your interior with a range of upholstery cleaners, you can extend the pleasurable smell with an air freshener. Whether you hang it from your rear view mirror or elsewhere in the car, there are plenty to choose from.
Below is a list of the best car air fresheners that are available in a wide selection of scents and provide a long lasting smell inside of your car.
The Best Car Air Fresheners
1. Best Overall: California Scents Coronado Cherry
By far one of the most popular and highly rated car air fresheners in the UK is the California Scents Coronado Cherry. It’s an American-made formula that comes in a metal tub with an adjustable opening. The intuitive opening allows you to set the intensity of the scent coming from the formula to best suit your requirements.
One of the main reasons for its popularity is due to how versatile the air freshener is inside of your car. It can be placed virtually anywhere from under the seat to inside of your car’s cup holder.
- Multiple bulk buy options
- Lasts up to 60 days
- Adjustable opening
- Sealed shut for freshness
- Available in a range of other scents
- May rattle when stored in certain areas of the car
To conclude, the California Scents Coronado Cherry is the best car air freshener on the market that’s long lasting and provides a great smell. It’s also very versatile because it can be placed virtually anywhere inside of your car.
2. Best Value: Little Trees Car Air Freshener
Little Trees are a brand that has been producing car air fresheners for decades and they offer a selection of 32 different scents. From a new car smell to lavender, there is a scent to suit everyone’s requirements.
- Choice of 32 premium fragrances
- Easily recognisable tree design
- Suitable for around the home or office
- Constructed of quality cardboard
- Available as a can, clip or bottle
- Lasts for up to 14 days
- Can be overpowering at first (recommended that you keep it in the wrapper for the first few days)
Overall, the Little Trees are the best value car air fresheners in the UK and the brand also offer the largest selection of scents. Although they aren’t that long lasting, the affordability means you can buy a selection of scents, which ensures you don’t get bored of the same old scent each time you get into your car.
3. Best All-Rounder: Jelly Bean 3D Car Air Freshener
Another popular car air freshener is the Jelly Bean 3D, which is available in a choice of 12 different scents. It features a classic Jelly Bean design that looks great and can be hung from various components of your car’s interior.
- 12 different scents
- Constructed of durable plastic
- High quality string for hanging
- Long lasting smell
- Ideal for car, home or office use
- Not as strong smelling after the first few days
Overall, the Jelly Bean 3D is an excellent all-round car air freshener that’s affordable, long lasting and available in a range of scents. It really does tick all the boxes and leaves your car smelling great.
4. Best Luxury: Yankee Candle Ultimate Car Jar
Yankee Candles are well-known for their scented candles but their car air freshener selection is just as popular. The brand offer a choice of 8 different scents and a selection of designs that include a jar, vent clip, vent stick or hanging cardboard cut out.
- Odour neutralising
- Choice of 8 popular scents
- Also available as a vent clip, stick or cut out
- Easily refillable
- Lasts up to 15 days
- Relatively expensive when compared to the alternatives
Although expensive, the Yankee Candle air freshener provides a great smell that won’t disappoint. If you choose the jar type, it can also be refilled when required, which will work out cheaper in the long run.
5. Best For Aesthetics: Walls Ice Cream Car Air Fresheners
Walls are a brand well-known for their ice creams and now you can have them as air fresheners inside of your car. The brand offer a pack of three that includes the UK favourites, which are the funny feet, starship and twister ice lollies.
- Colourful and fun design
- Constructed of sturdy cardboard
- Great smelling scents that mimic the ice cream
- Pack of three (great for sharing between cars)
- Not as long lasting as the alternatives
Overall, the Walls Ice Cream Air Fresheners are a highly rated option with a fun design and fruity fragrance. Considering that you get three air fresheners per pack, they also offer great value for the money too. However, they only last up to 10 days (according to the brand) but we found that they lost their scent after 7 days.
6. Best Air Vent: Febreze Clip-on Cotton Air Freshener
One of the most expensive air fresheners for cars is by the Febreze brand with their Clip-on design. According to the brand, they are designed to eliminate bad odours and freshen up your car. Although expensive, they are long lasting because they can last up to 30 days when installed correctly to an air vent.
- Lasts for up to 30 days
- Adjustable scent intensity
- Stylish and non-obtrusive design
- Suitable for refilling (works out as great value for the money in the long run
- Just as expensive as the luxury Yankee Candle alternative
Apart from the premium price tag, the Febreze Clip-on with the cotton fresh scent smells great and is also very long lasting. The adjustable slider upon the air freshener is also a great addition that allows you to set the scent intensity to best suit your requirements too.
How We Rated
As you can imagine, there are hundreds of car air fresheners available to buy in the UK and this can make your buying decision quite difficult. Whether you want an air freshener that gives you a new car smell or even something bizarre such as the smell of bacon, there is a huge selection of scents on the market.
However, to give you a helping hand, we’ve tried and tested the most popular options we could find. We also carried out hours of research and based our recommendations above upon a number of factors. Some of the factors that we took into consideration included the type, selection of scents available, durability (how long the smell lasts), construction quality and value for money.
Conclusion
If you spend hours commuting in your car each week, it’s worthwhile investing into a quality air freshener to keep the interior smelling great. You can also mix things up and try out different scents for each month because that’s how long most will be able to last. All of our recommendations above cover a range of air freshener types and offer a broad selection of scents. Whether you place the air freshener on the rear view mirror, seat belt buckle, gear stick or anywhere else in the car, our recommendations won’t disappoint.
