Best car shampoos 2025: the best wash-and-wax care for your car

Back in the day, cleaning the car was all about washing-up liquid and a sponge. But thankfully for cars’ bodywork, we soon learned that this can be damaging because salt and other compounds designed to make kitchenware sparkle can affect paintwork. 

As a result, the market today is flooded with car shampoos promising to help remove dirt and contaminants without causing damage.

In addition to lifting dirt away from your paint, plenty of these products will also leave an aesthetically pleasing shine and a potentially protective barrier behind. This helps to reduce dirt and water adhering which makes the car easier to clean next time round – the so-called ‘wash and wax’ product. 

In terms of cost, there is little to choose between a simple car shampoo and a wash-and-wax product, so we assembled eight examples of the latter to see which is best at removing dirt and leaving behind a smooth, deep shine to repel dirt, making it easier to clean next time. 

The products or services referenced in this story have been reviewed independently by our experts. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. However, this will never influence our opinion or ratings.

Best overall wash & wax – Autoglym Ceramic Wash and Protect
Best value wash & wax – TurtleWax Zipwax
Best wash & wax for cleaning – Halfords Essential
Best wax finish – Carplan Ultra Wash and Wax

Best wash & wax car shampoos 2025

1. Autoglym Ceramic Wash and Protect – Best overall wash & wax

What Car? rating - 5/5

Pros

- Easy to use
- Great cleaning action
- Excellent final finish

Cons

- Expensive

The Autoglym Ceramic Wash and Protect is the most expensive product here to buy initially, but with the promise of up to 33 washes from a bottle, only the Meguiars costs more per-wash. 

The Autoglym leaves the bottle as a liquid and the packaging recommends three capfuls to a bucket of water. It mixed nicely and makes some suds, although they weren’t as robust or as long-lived as some others here. In fact, the promotional material actively describes it as low-foaming. 

It is very straightforward in use, and clung well despite not foaming as much as some. Little effort was needed to agitate and remove the dirt and despite lighter suds, it still seemed to go a reasonable distance in terms of coverage.

Rinsing off was easy and it dried with no streaking, delivering a deep shine. Once dry, subsequent applications of water beaded and ran off very quickly, leaving a virtually dry panel that was streak free. 

Tester’s insight
“The Autoglym has a high initial purchase price, but I thought the number of washes you get from the bottle helps to take some of the sting out of that.”

Buy it if
- You want the best cleaning and finish
- You really want to look after your paintwork

Don’t buy it if
- You want a budget product
- You just want a quick clean

The facts

2. Turtlewax Zipwax – Best value wash & wax

What Car? rating - 4/5

Pros

- Low price
- Reasonable cleaning
- Goes a long way

Cons

- Quite hard work
- Beading effect could be better

Turtlewax’s Zipwax has been around for a while now, and this latest formula is double concentrated to go further. 

It’s a thick gel from the bottle and the instructions say to use just 10ml in a bucket of water. Once dissolved and with a brief high-pressure application to froth the product, the suds appeared to be relatively short-lived and started to dissipate quickly.

In use, it felt as one would expect and brought the dirt off the surface well, although it did need some effort to release it. The product clung to the vertical panels of our test vehicle reasonably well. 

It required more effort to dry the product than others here, and felt like we had to rub the water off rather than wipe it – despite the packaging mentioning the presence of Carnauba wax, one of the best protective products available. But once dry, the resulting shine was good; the results of the water application were less so – the liquid formed a sheet across the panel which took quite some time to run off so there was no beading at all. 

Tester’s insight
“I liked that the TurtleWax Zipwax is fairly old-school; it’s a thick, gloopy product that foams up, but the suds don’t seem to last very long.”

Buy it it
- You’re on a tight budget
- You’re more interested in washing than waxing

Don’t buy it if
- You want a combination of properties
- You want the best finish

The facts

3. Halfords Essential Car Wash and Wax – Best wash & wax for cleaning

What Car? rating - 4/5

Pros
- Trusted name
- Decent performance
- Good price

Cons
- Slightly smeary finish
- Water repellence could be better

Part of Halford’s Essentials range, this thick liquid is almost a gel and comes in at an attractive price. 

It’s a straightforward process to use – add a 50ml capful to a bucket of water – and clean the car. The packaging promises to remove grime and leave no streaks, and we found the thick suds clung well to the vertical panels. They remained in place for long enough, but didn’t require too much effort to bring the dirt off the panel. 

Once cleaned, the products rinsed off and dried easily with a microfibre cloth – a wipe rather than rubbing as with some others. Once dry, the surface was clean and the shine was acceptable though there were one or two streaks – despite the promise on the packaging. 

When the panel was drenched, it began to run off from the corners, although it was slower than some of the other products. 

Tester’s insight
“I found there was some streakiness but nowhere near as bad as others and while there was still lots of water sheeted on the panel, it had begun to run off.”

Buy it if
- You want a quick and easy product to use
- Your bodywork is in good condition, just grubby

Don’t buy it if
- You want the ultimate repellent finish

The facts

4. Carplan Ultra Wash & Wax – Best wax finish

What Car? rating - 3/5
 

Pros
- Low price
- Decent beading
- Goes a long way

Cons
- Quite hard work
- Cleaning could be better
- Streaky finish

Carplan’s Ultra is excellent value, coming in a five-litre bottle which typically costs less than £6. 

It’s a very thick, gloopy product part-way between liquid and gel, and you need to use a fair bit of it according to the instructions – three capfuls or 50ml to a bucket. It foams up nicely, giving a feeling that it will do a good job, and the lasting suds sit on vertical panels well. 

In use, it felt easy to apply, and lifted the dirt off the panel well. However, when it came to dry with the microfibre cloth, it felt as though some of the dirt had remained – the end result came up quite streaky, suggesting that there was some dirt left on the panel. 

The panel was definitely cleaner than before, but the finish was not as smooth as hoped. Once dried, applications of water, seemed to bead on the surface and run off surprisingly well, suggesting the wax element of the product works more effectively than the wash.

Tester’s insight
“This is incredibly cheap and initially I thought it would be great value. However, it didn’t seem to lift all of the dirt away from the paintwork, which was slightly disappointing.”

Buy it if
- You’re on a tight budget
- Your car tends not to get too dirty

Don’t buy it if
- You want a combination of properties
- You want the best finish

The facts

5. ArmorAll Ultra Shine Wash & Wax

What Car? rating - 3/5

Pros
- Reasonable price
- Carnauba wax included
- Goes a long way

Cons
- Doesn’t cling to bodywork
- Smeary finish
- Little beading effect

The ArmorAll Ultra Shine Wash & Wax is another very thick, gloopy gel that recommends three capfuls to a bucket of water. 

It has a very pleasant orange smell and forms suds that appear robust. But in use, it doesn't seem to cling to the vertical panels very well, running off quickly. Despite needing to work the product swiftly, it appeared to lift dirt off the paintwork well and leave a reasonable finish. 

However, like some others here, drying felt more like a rub than a wipe and the finish was slightly smeary, although better than some here. 

The resulting dry finish was actually quite nice and when water is applied, it began to run off, even if this didn’t happen quite as quickly as the Autoglym or Carplan. 

Tester’s insight
“The ArmorAll is a reasonable product, on par with say the ZipWax, in that is does a decent job but there are better products here.”

Buy it if
- You want a reasonable all-rounder
- Your car doesn’t get too dirty between washes

Don’t buy it if
- You are budget driven
- You want the best finish possible

The facts

6. TripleWax Diamond Wash & Wax

What Car? rating - 3/5
 

Pros
- Acceptable performance
- Reasonable price

Cons
- Slightly smeary finish
- Water repellence could be better

TripleWax’s Diamond Wash & Wax is another product containing Carnauba wax to provide a “brilliant” shine following washing. 

It’s a thick liquid with a recommendation to add 50ml to a bucket of water. However, there is no guidance as to how many capfuls this is, but after some swift calculations we determined that to be equivalent to a single capful. 

It produced a layer of thick suds that stuck well to the car’s vertical test panels and it was easy as any here to use, requiring two passes over the panel with the brush and the dirt lifted away easily without much effort. 

Drying was simple, requiring a wipe rather than rubbing, although there was some streaking left afterwards, suggesting not all the product or dirt was removed. Once dry and subsequently doused with water, water began to run off as it sheeted, rather than beading or quickly dissipating. 

Tester’s insight
“The Triplewax was a fairly standard-issue wash and wax; it did a reasonable job of lifting dirt off the surface and left the panel looking better than before the wash, although I thought it seemed to need an excessive amount of rinsing.”

Buy it if
- You’re not fussed about ultimate performance
- You just want to give your car a quick once-over

Don’t buy it if
- You want water to bead off your panels

The facts

7. Holts Shampoo and Wax

What Car? rating - 3/5

Pros
- Lowest price here
- Up to 300 washes
- ‘Professional’ range

Cons
- Needed lots of drying effort
- Smeary finish
- Little beading effect

This Shampoo and Wax is from Holts’ Professional range and offers exceptional value for money. 

It’s a thick liquid, as opposed to a gel, and has a powerful, chemical smell to it. We added two capfuls (30ml) to a bucket of water – although the instructions say one to two – and it soon foamed up, although it also began to break down quickly. 

The diluted product appeared to go on well to the vertical panels – it clung well and didn’t run off immediately – and wasn’t particularly hard work in use. 

When rinsing, the product appeared to have lifted and carried dirt away from the panel effectively but it did require a lot of drying – rubbing more than wiping – as the surface finish retained more water than some of the others. 

Once the panel was dry, the shine wasn’t particularly deep and the finish was rather patchy. When water was applied copiously, it just seemed to sheet on the surface of the panel, and didn't run away desperately quickly. 

Tester’s insight 
“The Holts’ green colour and detergent smell reminded us of old-school shampoo or even washing-up liquid.”

Buy it if
- You want a quick wash of grubby, not dirty, paintwork
- You want the most product for your money

Don’t buy it if
- You want a repellent finish
- You want a wipe-clean process

The facts

8. Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax

What Car? rating - 3/5

Pros
- Renowned brand
- Excellent cleaning ability
- Reasonable shine

Cons
- Huge price
- Disappointing repellence

We thought the Autoglym was expensive wash-for-wash, but the Meguairs is more than twice the price. For that, you would like to think that its performance is at least on par and when it comes to cleaning, it is; it is a very thick gel – the thickest here. 

The instructions specify four capfuls to a gallon of water, which is the highest concentration of product on test. We added eight capfuls since our bucket capacity was two gallons. It also needed some warm water to help it dissolve completely, but in our tests, we could still notice high product concentration in the water even after mixing. 

The packaging mentions “thick suds” and these cling well, going to work even before agitation. The brush went over the bodywork very easily and rinsing with lots of low-pressure water, as per the other products, resulted in a smooth finish that dried easily and quickly. 

The resulting shine was nice but the water repellence, following a dousing, was very disappointing; there appeared to be little water movement at all, the sheet of liquid clinging to the vertical panel with no appreciable movement. 

Tester’s insight
“The Meguiars is a product of two halves; the cleaning element is excellent but the water repellence was disappointing. I thought that this, combined with the price, was disappointing.” 

Buy it if
- You want excellent cleaning
- You trust in a large brand

Don’t buy it if
- You want the best post-wash finish
- You are budget conscious

The facts

How we test car shampoos

We followed the instructions for each product to mix up a 13-litre bucket-full of liquid and suds to clean a car. We filled the bucket with ten litres of water, applied the measured dose of product then used the high-pressure-jet setting on the handgun to create foam to the top of the bucket. 

We cleaned a panel per product on a black SUV; on each side, the front and rear doors, the rear quarter and the front wing/bonnet edge. The car had deliberately not been cleaned for two months over autumn and winter and the product was applied with a brand-new panel brush which was rinsed thoroughly between products. 

We used a standard domestic home water supply through an external tap with a shower function to rinse the product off and applied/agitated the dirt on the paintwork for the same amount of time per product and twice over the entire area. 

We dried each with a clean microfibre cloth then once dry, applied copious amounts of water to each panel to assess the resulting water-repellent qualities. 

How we rate car shampoos

Value: How far does the product go? How well does it foam in the bucket? How long do the suds last? How well does the product cling to the vertical test panels when applied? 

Cleaning: How well does the product lift dirt from the surface of the panel? Is repeated application of the product needed to lift and carry the dirt away? How easy is it to use and how much effort is needed to remove the dirt?

Drying: How easy is it to dry the panel after cleaning? Does the water stick overall to the panel or lift off easily with the microfibre cloth? Is the finish smooth or does the product leave streaks, suggesting it did not clean the panel very effectively? Did the product leave a noticeable shine on the dry panel?

Water repellence: How well did each product repel water once dried and each panel was soaked? Did the water bead and run off, form a sheet to run off or remain on the surface of the panel? 

How we test products

The products or services referenced in this story have been reviewed independently by our experts. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. However, this will never influence our opinion or ratings.

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