The 5 Best Car Vacuums - Summer 2021 Reviews

The best car vacuum with a cordless design that we've tested is the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+. This compact and incredibly portable handheld vacuum is easy to carry out to your car. It delivers an amazing performance across most surface types and is fantastic on low-pile carpets, where it easily sucks up pet hair and debris.

It has a good build quality and a straightforward design that makes it easy to assemble and maintain. Recurring costs are low because only one part, the dust cup filter, needs to be replaced regularly. There are some tools and brushes included to help with cleaning your car's interior. This includes a turbo brush for cleaning fabric-covered furniture like car seats, a hard bristle brush for scrubbing away stuck-on dirt, and a crevice tool for reaching into narrow spaces.

However, its battery runs out after only about 11 minutes of continuous use, so you need to work quickly if you have a big mess to clean up. It also has a tiny dirt compartment that needs to be emptied quite often, like most handheld vacuums. Otherwise, its fantastic performance and helpful tools make it a great choice for cleaning the inside of your car.

The best vacuum for cars that we've tested is the Shark Vertex UltraLight Corded. This stick/handheld vacuum has a long power cord, allowing you to clean your car even if it's parked somewhat far away from any electrical outlets. It feels decently well-built too, and its lightweight plastic construction makes it easy to pick up and carry.

It comes with a turbo brush with a self-cleaning brushroll for clearing debris on fabric-lined car seats as well as a crevice tool for tackling messes in tight corners. Performance on low-pile carpets is good overall, particularly in regards to pet hair, though it might take an extra pass to fully clear finer debris like baking soda. Its bagless design and washable filters also keep recurring costs low.

Unfortunately, this vacuum lacks a HEPA filter to trap allergens as you clean, which could be a bit of an inconvenience if your pet sheds heavily. Also, many parts need to be cleaned regularly, but it's worth mentioning that they're quite easy to access. Overall, if you value the virtually indefinite runtime of a corded vacuum, this is a good option for cleaning your car.

The best vacuum for cars in the budget category that we've tested is the Eureka Mighty Mite. This bagged canister vacuum is lightweight and fairly compact, making it easier to pick and move closer to your car. You can use it in a semi-handheld configuration by detaching a section of its wand and fitting the included crevice tool or combination hard-bristle brush/upholstery tool in place instead.

This vacuum clears pet hair and larger debris like sand from low-pile carpet without difficulty, and while you might need to do an extra pass to fully clear fine debris like baking soda from this surface type, its overall performance in this regard is still impressive. The suction performance also remains very consistent as its dirtbag fills up, which is good if you have several large messes to clean. It's remarkably easy to maintain, with very few parts that you need to clean regularly.

Unfortunately, its pre-motor filter and dirtbag need replacing periodically, so recurring costs are somewhat high. Its power cord is fairly short, which can make it difficult to clean the inside of your car if you're parked far away from an electrical outlet. Still, if you're looking for a compact canister vacuum that can easily deal with messes inside your car, this is a great option.