The mobile phone is probably the most essential ‘tool’ you need to carry in your car nowadays. Whatever trouble you get into, you can use it to call for help – whether that be the emergency services, a breakdown truck or a friend.

But mobiles are only useful if the battery is charged, so carrying an emergency power pack in your glovebox makes sense. You can pay £6 for a simple device or 10 times that amount for a comprehensive emergency system – your choice depends on what you need it to do.

Factors include whether it will work with smartphones and iPods, while a mini USB connection is also handy, as it can be used for a variety of phones – from Motorolas to BlackBerrys, as well as some MDA/PDAs.