Best indoor car covers 2022
Protect your pride and joy from dust, dirt and bumps
If you’re lucky enough to own a weekend sports car or classic alongside your daily driver, then chances are it’s kept in a garage. You might think being indoors keeps the body and brightwork out of harm’s way, but you’d be wrong. Dust, damp, dirt and other airborne contaminants will settle on the paintwork, which will dull the finish and could encourage corrosion. Then there’s the possibility of getting bumped by trips to the freezer or to get bikes or a lawnmower.
So it’s wise to invest in a cover that will prevent moisture from getting through to paintwork while being breathable enough to prevent a build-up of damp. But which is the one to keep your car protected? We threw on eight to find out.
How we tested them
We tested breathability by putting each cover over a steam-filled box with a moisture trap above for five minutes. We checked how water was repelled by spraying the cover then checking the other side after five minutes. A drop test assessed bump protection, while we looked for security straps, storage bags and mirror pockets. Quality, ease of fitting and price were also factored in.
Verdict
The soft yet tough Luxor stays on top with the very similar Richbrook and Morethanpolish offerings coming close. The Cosmos 10366 was our pick of the budget indoor covers.
- Concours Luxor Premium Indoor Car Cover
- Richbrook Super Soft Perfect Fit Indoor Car Cover
- Morethanpolish Satin Soft Stretch Indoor Car Cover
Reviews
Concours Luxor Premium Indoor Car Cover
- Price: around £120
- Rating: 5 stars
- Contact: concoursautoproducts.co.uk
At 3.3kg the Luxor was the heaviest we tried and, unsurprisingly, this meant it was very good at knock protection. It performed just as well when the anti-UV satin finish was resisting moisture, and its breathability was just as impressive. As standard, shiny black is the only choice, but it did come with mirror pockets and, although the fit on our test car was snug, the carry bag also included a pair of detachable tether straps just in case. The large central eyelets were designed for use with the optional £9.95 security cable. Well thought out, and our champion.
Richbrook Super Soft Perfect Fit Indoor Car Cover
- Price: around £110
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: richbrook.co.uk
Richbrook has slightly revised its cover since our last test so it extends further down the sides of the vehicle. At 180gsm, it was one of the thicker covers on test which explained its 2.8kg weight, but this also resulted in very good knock protection. The fit was good on our car, the elasticated front and rear sections pulling tight to the body which went some way to mitigating the lack of tethers. Breathability and moisture resistance were great and it’s nitpicking to bemoan the lack of mirror pockets.
Morethanpolish Satin Soft Stretch Indoor Car Cover
- Price: around £130
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: morethanpolish.com
Another delightfully soft cover which pampered our paintwork. The 220gsm satin material is blended with Lycra and provided lots of protection against errant bumps. As with several others, we liked the satin finish, which was both aesthetically pleasing and practical, repelling water easily while still being breathable. We’d have liked mirror pockets and tethers would always be handy, although in this case the cover was a very tight fit and unlikely to move. It’s now available in six, rather than five, sizes and in red, black, grey or navy blue.
Cosmos Indoor Car Cover 10366
- Price: around £45
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: comotpro.com
The Cosmos is manufactured in 130gsm breathable polyester, is available in four sizes (small to extra large) and in a choice of two colours: blue or red. The 2.1kg cover easily packed down into its soft, zip-up bag and although it didn’t pull down the sides of the car as low as some, it certainly wasn’t bad. The stretchy nature of the material meant it clung to the bodywork and it was good on both moisture tests. Its light and relatively thin material lost it points on bump protection, but the price means it’s still worth checking out if you can live with that.
Cover Zone Sahara Indoor Car Cover
- Price: around £90
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: cover-zone.com
The Sahara comes in any colour you like, as long as it’s black. The material is a single layer non-woven polypropylene construction designed not to fluff, shrink or scratch and is mould-resistant. We found it impressively large for our vehicle, coming well down both the sides and with elasticated sections at each end holding it neatly in place. We liked the door mirror pockets and two detachable tether straps and the underside was suitably soft against the paint surface. Its single-layer construction hindered its knock protection result, though.
Concours Mystere Indoor/Outdoor Lightweight Cover
- Price: around £65
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: concoursautoproducts.co.uk
The Mystere cover was very different from the Luxor (opposite), weighing around half the amount and the colour choice was limited to ‘Flash Gordon’ silver. We were pleased to find twin mirror pockets, a couple of tethers and eyelets for a security cable – a £9.95 option when ordering. Its light weight made it easy to fit, the elasticated sections at each end pulled it close into the bodywork. As with others the single layer trade-off was lower bump protection, but it was rated for indoor and outdoor use.
Classic Additions Super Soft Stretch Indoor Car Cover
- Price: around £150
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: classicadditions.co.uk
At 190gsm, this thick, luxurious cover produced one of the best anti-knock results and the soft fleece lining will be kind to the paint. It breathed well and pushed water off easily, too. The 10 sizes range from XXS to DEF (for Land Rover Defender 90), with prices up to £179. Such a wide variety explains why there were no tether straps, although mirror pockets were standard. Certainly, it was one of the best fits on our car, and excellent overall if you can afford it.
Buy now from Classic Additions
Sealey 3-Layer All Seasons Car Cover SCCM
- Price: around £50
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: sealey.co.uk
The Sealey performed well in breathability and even better at keeping water out. It was heavier, at 2.6kg, and thicker than some similar covers, but it couldn’t match the anti-knock abilities of our top performers. Available in S, M, L, XL and XXL it only comes in light grey but it can be used outdoors. We liked the three sewn-in tethers but there were no mirror pockets and it was quite tricky to get back into the small bag. The medium cover was a tad long for our car, but elasticated sections held it securely.
Parking your car outside instead? Check out the best outdoor car covers here
