2018 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
Matt Allan checks out the best presents for the petrolhead in your life
It’s that time of year again when we all start scrabbling around wishing we’d started the Christmas shopping earlier.
While we can’t help with what to get fussy Aunty Doris or tell you if you’re getting the right glitter-pooping unicorn for your youngest, if there’s a car-nut in your life we’ve got you covered.
With something to suit every budget here is our guide to the best motoring gifts out there.
UP TO £25
● Defender signal blocking Faraday pouch, £5
Keyless car thefts are soaring but it doesn’t take much to thwart relay attacks. A simple, metal-lined “Faraday pouch” is enough to block the signal and stop it being intercepted by criminals. The Defender costs less than a fiver and was top-rated by Auto Express in its group test.
● Simoniz cleaning products, from £6
Some people love to spend hours cleaning their car. For them, Simoniz’s range of products are ideal and pocket friendly. They cover everything from basic car shampooing to tyre care and tar/bug removal. We’ve been particularly impressed with the upholstery cleaner and Ultra care wheel cleaner.
● Wing mirror squeegee, £5.99
A glove-box sized tool for keeping your mirrors clean. Perfect for this time of year when mirrors are regularly iced up or covered in rain and you can’t reach them on the move.
● Movie cars print, £17.99
Perfect for pop-culture obsessed petrol heads, this stylish print is one of a range from Rear View Prints. If movies aren’t your petrolhead’s thing, they also offer beautiful representations of classic racing cars, sports cars and circuits.
● The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car, £20 Does what it says on the tin. This is an alphabetised and none-tooserious journey through the world of cars from Messersclarkson, May and Hammond.
From the origins of Porsche and the fate of Lada to the dark history of the Wankel engine and the correct name for those weird little hairs on new tyres, it’s packed with a blend of useful and useless facts to impress/ bore your friends and family.
UP TO £50
● Auto Finesse Caramics Paintwork Protection Kit, £50
One for those who want to take their car-cleaning obsession to the next level. The Auto Finesse Caramics Paintwork Protection Kit coats your vehicle’s paintwork with a ceramic resin which bonds to the paint, protecting the finish, making it easier to clean and keeping it looking better for longer.
● Ravensburger 3D Puzzle – 911R, £26.68
Whether you know someone who owns a Porsche or someone who wishes they did this 108-piece puzzle will let them have a little piece of Stuttgart’s finest in their house with 1:8 scale reproduction of the spectacular 911R.
● Ring battery charger, £39.99
Ideal for anyone with a classic car tucked up in a garage at this time of year the Ring smart charger can act as a rapidcharger to revive a completely flat battery or as along term maintenance unit to keep a battery topped up ready for use.
● Ryobi R18H-0 ONE+ Cordless Hand Vac, £34.99
A tool to help car-proud petrolheads keep their motor’s interior tip-top condition. The lightweight cordless vacuum uses a bagless dust bowl and comes with a built-in crevice tool for those really stubborn biscuit crumbs. It’s part of Ryobi’s One+ range, designed to share a single 18V battery between multiple tools so the price is without the battery pack.
● Haynes Ferrari engine manual, £26.25
The real thing might be beyond our budget but as part of its series aimed at enthusiasts, Haynes has produced this pictorial history of 15 iconic Ferrari engines. Packed with colour photographs of every element of the engines along with some of the famous cars which used them, it covers powertrains ranging from the very first Ferrari V12 – the 195 Inter – to the 1975 introduction of a V8, the turbocharged 208 and the V12 unit married to the first fourwheel-drive
Ferrari.
UP TO £100
● Garmin Drive 50 LM Sat Nav, £79
One of a range of new budget-friendly sat navs that still come packed with features. The Garmin Drive 50 LM is preloaded with lifetime maps of the UK and Ireland. It comes with driver alerts for dangerous curves, fatigue warnings, speed changes, wrong way on a one-way and more. It also features red light and speed camera alerts.
● Echomaster monitor and reversing camera kit, £89
An aftermarket kit that allows the fitting of a reversing camera to virtually any car. Ideal for anyone who struggles with spacial awareness, the kit features a pedestal-mounted weatherproof camera which feeds to a 4.3” dashboard-mounted monitor.
● Nextbase 212 bundle, £59.99
A simple dash cam for those who don’t need fancy features. The 212 Lite features a 140-degree ultra wide angle lens that captures footage in 1080p HD quality and has a low-light function. It comes with a powered magnetic Click & Go mount and 2.7-inch colour screen. Currently, Currys is bundling the camera with a polarising lens for better clarity and a carry case. ● Pure Highway 200, £79.99
This digital radio adaptor is another aftermarket addone that brings older cars up-to-date. The Highway 200 is from one of the digital radio pioneers and offers DAB and DAB+ reception with autotune and 20 station presets. It can be connected to a car’s aux-in port or transmit over a free FM frequency and also features a line-in cable for streaming from a phone or music player.
● Ryobi R18I-0 ONE+ Cordless Inflator, £64.99 (without battery)
This Ryobi portable inflator can be stored in your boot, so you can keep your tyre pressures correct on the go, improving braking and emissions. It is a dual function inflator and deflator with a digital pressure readout and shuts
off when you’ve reached your selected pressure.
£100+
● Garmin 55 Plus dash cam, £119
Demonstrating the more advanced end of the dash cam market, the 55 Plus features 1440p resolution and a 3.7MP stills camera. It also comes packed with advanced driver alerts, including forward collision and lane departure, red light and speed camera warnings. Like most cameras it comes with on-board wifi for connection to a dedicated app but also features voice control to allow you to start and stop recording without having to touch anything.
● Halfords Advanced 200 Piece Socket and Tool Set, £185
If your loved one spends more time tinker with their car than driving it then this is the kit for them. Made from chrome vanadium steel, the set includes a full range of metric and AF sockets, three different sized drives, ratchet spanners and a spread of screwdriver bits. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee.
● Lego Technic Bugatti Chiron, £329.99
The most ambitious Technic set out there, this does a remarkable job of recreating Bugatti’s mind-boggling hypercar in brick form. With 3,599 pieces, the Lego set isn’t something you’ll chuck together in an afternoon but the reward for a true car enthusiast is huge. Everything from the W16 engine to the gearbox and active rear wing actually function and there’s even a unique serial number for each of the 1:8 scale models.
● Tomtom Go Camper, £379.99
The flagship six-inch Go Camper features all the usual navigations tricks of Tomtom’s high-end units including live traffic info, wifi, smartphone connectivity, lifetime map updates and user-created road trips but has an extra trick for owners of campervans and motor homes. by entering their vehicle’s dimensions, they can ensure the unit won’t send them down unsuitable roads, saving them potential embarrassment and damage to their vehicle.
● Lewis Hamilton replica helmet, £2,995
One for the super-rich and super-obsessed. Among the branded teddy bears and mugs on the official Mclaren store site is this replica of F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 helmet. The limited-edition replica is an exact copy created by Arai helmets and comes with a certificate of authenticity.