Check your car’s health with diagnostic dongle books, apps&games Sports Car and Kit Car Suspension and Brakes

OUR CHOICE PRICE

THE diagnostic port on all modern cars gives garage mechanics a simple way to communicate with the on-board computer to diagnose a problem. But the products tested here aim to help ordinary drivers use this same info – displaying fault codes, tracking mileage and even rating your driving.

They plug into your car’s OBD2 port, then connect to IOS or Android apps via Bluetooth. So does new subscription

Price: £49.95 Contact: autonect.com Rating: ★★★★★

THE Autonect app isn’t as polished as Smartdriverclub’s Viewpoint, but the information is presented in a way that’s still very easy to understand. Although it doesn’t offer as many features, you get the same fault diagnostics, mileage tracking and breakdown support. You can separate business and personal miles, so it matches its rival on this front.

Where Autonect pulls ahead is when reviewing your journeys. As with the kind of black box an insurer might install, it tracks incidents of harsh braking and acceleration or excess speed, giving you an idea of how to improve your driving.

You pay more initially for the Autonect, but there’s no monthly subscription, so it won’t take you long to break even. service Smartdriverclub work better than one-time purchase Autonect?

Both dongles were simple to install and worked seamlessly. We didn’t expect the ‘free’ service to provide Smartdriverclub’s functionality, so it was a question of whether it was worth paying the £6.60 a month for the extras.

Smartdriverclub is feature-packed and easy to use. But Autonect’s dongle has all the information most drivers will want, without the monthly fee. It’s our pick.

Des Hammill (Veloce Publishing, veloce.co.uk) Price: £27.50 Rating:

DON’T expect to be entertained by this High-performance Manual. It could be an essential resource for any kit or racing car owner looking to tweak their suspension to cut lap times. But while information is presented clearly, with useful diagrams throughout, there’s no denying its niche appeal, or its high price.

“These products aim to help ordinary drivers use on-board computer to diagnose a fault”