Exterior Accessories

Do the new wash-and-protect solutions live up to the hype? We find out by putting a selection to the test

We fire up ten rivals to discover which cleans up

Which paintwork product will protect and survive best in our test?

We find the best way to take a load off your mind

Save time but leave your paint well protected with the best car wax sprays

There’s a huge range of products for protecting your car’s paintwork, but we find out which car wax and sealant is best for you

We test the latest backpacks for your al fresco meals

We discover the best solution for cleaning your car

Looking for a roof box for the holiday season? We test eight of the best load carriers on the market

Which tow bar friendly products make loading up your car for a cycling break quick and easy?

Which is best roof rack on sale? We look at rail and flush mounting market leaders to find out...

We pick from eight roof-mounted bike racks for spring getaways

Errol Wright wanted a 'dream home' Defender where he could cook, clean up and sleep in the back...  so he built himself one

Imagine this in yellow and you can see it’s related to the Wolf.

An obvious alternative to the Vax package, thanks to its similar price and equally generous smattering of extras

If money is no object, this is the machine to have.

No nonsense seems to be Makita’s mantra here.

They say you can tell the quality of a power tool by its weight.

A phenomenal package for the price, considering that glut of accessories is backed up by impressive performance stats

The latest K4 is fitted with Karcher’s innovative Full Control feature, which is a lance-mounted pressure display

Inno’s effort has supports for both wheels that splay to place the bike in the rack

With its inverted clamps, the Forklift can attach to either style of roof bar, like Yakima’s Freeloader tyre holder.

This frame-holding rack scores on price, but the construction is confusing and the pictorial instructions are hard to follow.

This rack locks to the roof bars like our winner.

Placing on to the channel of the bars, rather than sliding in, the WhispBar has securing levers at opposite corners.

As with most Thule products, this cycle rack is so convenient that you want to use it time and again

Farecla’s Paste Wax has a chequered history in our tests, but it thrived in the wet conditions, making the top five for the first time

Another former winner, Shield is the only liquid wax in our top 10