The 5 Best Car Vacuums - Spring 2021 Reviews

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

It's well-built and has a simple design that makes it easy to assemble and maintain. There's only one part, the dust cup filter, that needs to be replaced regularly, so it incurs low recurring costs. It comes with some tools and brushes that can help you clean your car, including a turbo brush for dislodging dirt from fabric-covered furniture like car seats, a hard bristle brush for scrubbing away stubborn dirt, and a crevice tool for getting into tight corners.

However, its battery only provides roughly 11 minutes of continuous use, so you need to work quickly if you have a big mess on your hands. Also, like most handheld vacuums, it has a small dirt compartment, so you need to empty it fairly often. That said, its outstanding performance and handy tools make it a great choice for cleaning your car's interior.

The best vacuum for cars that we've tested is the Shark Vertex UltraLight Corded. This lightweight stick/handheld vacuum has a good range thanks to its long power cord and has onboard storage for some of its tools, so they're easily accessible. It can also be used as a handheld vacuum if you need to get into hard-to-reach areas.

In addition to coming with a crevice tool and an extension wand, it has a self-cleaning turbo brush, which can help lift pet hair and stuck-on debris from your car's upholstery. Although it struggles to clean small debris like baking soda, it does a good overall job picking up pet hair and large debris like sand. It feels decently well-built, and since its parts have a clip-on design, it's easy to assemble.

Unfortunately, it has a few parts that need regular maintenance. While a couple of parts also need to be replaced over time, recurring costs are still quite low. If you don't want to have to worry about battery life or recharge times, this corded vacuum is one of the best vacuums for cars that we've tested.

The best vacuum for cars in the budget category that we've tested is the Eureka Mighty Mite. This affordable, corded canister model can be used in a semi-handheld configuration, making it easier to clean the inside of your car. It's also very portable, thanks to its slim design and built-in carrying handle.

It easily picks up pet hair and debris like sand and baking soda from low-pile carpets, and its performance remains consistent as the dirt compartment fills up. There are quite a few tools included that can help you clean the inside of your car, like a crevice tool for reaching tight spaces and a hard bristle brush for cleaning tougher messes. Also, it's intuitive to assemble and remarkably easy to maintain, thanks to its simple design.

However, its build doesn't feel very sturdy, and it lacks a HEPA filter for trapping allergens. Its power cord is also fairly short, so you need to have an outlet close by when you're cleaning your car. That said, this vacuum offers solid performance for cleaning cars at a more budget-friendly price point.