The 6 Best Car Sun Shades to Protect Your Vehicle—and Keep It Cool

This one-piece car sun shade is available in seven different sizes—the most of any we cover—to give you a custom fit for a variety of cars, trucks, and SUVs. At the smallest size listed, this shade is about 59 inches wide by 21 inches tall, and 69 inches wide by 39 inches tall at the largest. There’s also roughly 9 inches of slack in the center for narrower windshields. Along with the size range, we appreciate the manufacturer’s easy-to-read size chart.

The shade folds in half and twists into a compact package to stow in the included storage bag. Performing this operation inside a car may be too unwieldy, however, so we recommend collapsing it outside.

This simple kit comes with two rounded rectangular shades, with three sizes available to suit everything from smaller coupes to larger SUVs. For narrower windshields, the pieces easily overlap, which gives a degree of adjustability.

To install, the semi-rigid sides of each shade are simply pushed into the windshield frame, then the factory sun visors can flip down for additional support. Before you disembark, you can twist them into a compact size and zip them into the included carrier bag.

This extra-large shade offers 65.7 by 36.4 inches of coverage for use in pickup trucks and SUVs. It features a reflective silver polyester outer layer to fully block both UV and heat. It can also fold in half for storage, but the large size may make that process more difficult.

There’s a storage bag included, along with a bonus steering wheel cover, which can help keep the vehicle’s controls at a safe temperature while parked in the heat.

This collapsible umbrella-style sun shade boasts superior performance thanks to ten layers of material dedicated to blocking UVA, UVB, infrared heat, and all visible light.

The folding mechanism comes in three sizes, and each has a notch cut out to accommodate the rearview mirror. Once collapsed, the shade slots into the included carrying bag, and the package is small enough to be stowed away in a glovebox or door pocket. The handlebar of the umbrella mechanism is also flexible to stop it being obstructed by vehicles with high dashboards.

This product uses an accordion-style polyester material, much like a cellular shade. That also lends it a great degree of adjustability, as you can stretch the shade to your desired width. The only drawback is that you have to adjust the size every time you install the shade.

The full height of the fabric measures 25 inches, and it weighs less than a pound. Installation is a snap, with double-sided tape to mount it to the passenger side, and it connects to a hook that’s mounted on the driver’s side. When not in use, the shade stores inside the casing, so it’s fairly inconspicuous.

Perfect for parents or ride-share drivers, this shade is meant to live on side windows instead of the main windshield, left in place while you’re driving. The mesh fabric filter eliminates sunlight glare and blocks a claimed 90 percent of UV rays while still allowing a good amount of outward visibility.

The medium-size car sun shade comes in either a two- or a four-pack, for more coverage options. Larger versions are also available to suit bigger sedans and SUVs. The only caveat is that you can’t roll down the window while the shade is stuck to it.