This shampoo is our pick of the lot for value, and it did a great job of cleaning our cars, getting the built-up muck off their sills without much sponging on our part, and leaving a clean, shiny finish that a dry microfiber or chamois finishes up nicely. It doesn’t leave quite the water-beading, glossy finish that other pricier options achieve, but at the price, it’s hard to beat.
What Car? ratingFour stars out of five
5. Williams Racing Car Wash and Wax
This product’s prestige name brings high expectations, and we weren’t disappointed. It foams enthusiastically and eats away at the dirt on the car, leaving a smooth feel and a high shine. We’d rate the finish as being generally very good, if not quite up there with the Autoglym and McLaren products. It’s great value, too, but the issue is that the small bottle pictured is hard to get hold of. It’s easiest to buy it from Amazon in pairs of hefty five-litre bottles, and this isn’t always ideal.
What Car? ratingFour stars out of five
6. Holts Car Shampoo and Wax
It might look like washing up liquid, but Holts is perfectly effective car shampoo that also leaves a nice finish thanks to the wax. It didn’t make the paintwork as water repellent as others, nor leave quite such a high shine –hence a lower mark here. It still did a fine job of removing the dirt from the car, including stubborn bugs, and at this price it’s a very worthy option for a budget shampoo.
What Car? ratingThree stars out of five
7. Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo and Conditioner
This shampoo gives a nice, smear-free finish and a glossy look to the paintwork. It also provides a coating that helps water to run off freely, so while it didn’t offer the same level of finish that we got from our more pricey range of shampoos, it’s still a decent result. It’s usefully cheaper when bought in the bigger 1.8-litre bottle, though –it’s much better value than the rather pricey 473ml bottle.
