Best car drying cloths 2026
We discover which towel mops up the opposition when it comes to drying your car
Getting your car dry after you have rinsed it is crucial to get the best finish. If you live in a hard water area it will prevent limescale spot marks, and it will also give you a chance to clean off any bits you might have missed with the sponge.
Technology has moved on from the traditional chamois leather to microfibre towels, which are far more absorbent, less likely to leave streaks and not so abrasive on the car’s paintwork.
In this, our biggest-ever test, we gathered 13 towels from across the price spectrum. To evaluate each of them, we checked how much liquid they could retain by weighing them before and after being immersed in water for a minute and allowed to drain freely for 30 seconds.
We then wiped them over a glossy panel to see if they left any streaks. Finally, we considered extra features, such as hanging loops or storage bags, and the overall value.
CarPlan Demon Micro Microfibre Drying Towel 60x90cm
- Rating: 5.0 stars
- Price: around £14.05
- Absorbency: 6.4 l/m2
- Contact: mymotorworld.com
It’s not just the unbeatable water-absorbing ability that makes the Demon Micro a winner. The towel is made from a plush-feeling material with a ribbed effect on both sides, which sucks up drips and leaves a smear-free finish.
Used - available now
2019 Citroen
C5 Aircross
74,250 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L
Cash £10,995
2017 Mercedes
C-Class Estate
63,450 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L
Cash £13,500
2021 Volkswagen
T-Cross
25,446 milesAutomaticPetrol1.0L
Cash £14,995
2017 Volkswagen
Golf R
59,160 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L
Cash £16,995It’s big enough to clear large panels easily, but not so large that it’s unwieldy – although it does become heavy when saturated. That shouldn’t happen when cleaning a car, though, because we were able to dry an entire hatchback without needing to the wring the towel out. There’s a label which could double as a hook, and a zipped storage bag – all at a reasonable price.
Turtle Wax Ultimate Microfibre Drying Towel
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: around £15
- Absorbency: 6.3 l/m2
- Contact: turtlewax.co.uk
If the CarPlan is too big, then the Turtle Wax is nearly as absorbent and its 80x50cm size more manageable. It has a striped fabric on both sides, with wider strips of microfibre and narrower areas of looped towelling. The soft trim avoids damaging paint. Despite the smaller size it was easily able to dry a normal-sized car without being squeezed out.
Squid Ink Large Luxury Loop Drying Towel
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: around £13.99
- Absorbency: 6.3 l/m2
- Contact: squidinkdetailing.co.uk
The 50x80cm Squid Ink cloth is made from a towelling material, which left a slight wet streak on the paint, but this soon dried naturally in the air. This double-sided towel can be flipped over if you find some dirt you missed. It looks good value, too.
Simply 6ft2 Plush Drying Towel
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Price: around £14.99
- Absorbency: 5.5 l/m2
- Contact: ebay.co.uk
If there was a prize for looks, the Simply would win, with classy diamond stitching and red edge piping. It’s made of a plush microfibre on both sides and measures 92x61cm. There’s a label to hang the cloth from, too. It couldn’t quite match the absorbency of the front runners in this test, but still left a smear-free finish.
Halfords Advanced Drying Towel
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Price: around £12.60
- Absorbency: 5.0 l/m2
- Contact: halfords.com
This 90x50cm towel has a weighty long-piled microfibre material on both sides. Piping on the edges meant it didn’t absorb quite as much as identically sized rivals, but it still dried an entire car with ease.
The label doubles up as a hanging hook and the cloth could be considered great value if you buy in store to avoid delivery costs.
Angelwax Twisted Loop Drying Towel
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £19.95
- Absorbency: 5.1 l/m2
- Contact: angelwax.co.uk
The 80x60cm Angelwax towel feels weighty and substantial even before it gets wet, with a double-sided towelling material and carefully sewn edges, which make it feel quite upmarket.
While the price is higher than others, it feels as though it would last longer than some cheaper cloths. There’s no loop to hang it from, though.
Pure Definition Miracle XL drying towel
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £11.95
- Absorbency: 3.0 l/m2
- Contact: pure-definition.co.uk
The absorbency figure for any cloth drops sharply once it only has microfibre towelling on one face, but the Miracle XL is the best of the single-siders. Its 100x50cm length means you must take care not to dangle it in the dirt when cleaning lower panels. There’s no hanging hook, but the Miracle XL is the cheapest here and great value.
Autoglym Ultra Soft Drying Towel
- Rating: 3.0 stars
- Price: around £20.99
- Absorbency: 2.9 l/m2
- Contact: autoglym.com
As the name suggests, the Autoglym is soft (on one side at least), with a looped microfibre material that is claimed to absorb more water. This meant it was ahead of all other single-sided rivals except for the Pure Definition, but was sucking up much less than the heavier cloths here.
While the rougher side is good for gently rubbing stubborn fly splats, the cloth seems expensive next to rivals.
Gyeon Q2M Silk Dryer EVO 70x90cm
- Price: around £22
- Absorbency: 2.8 l/m2
- Contact: gyeon.co
Silk Dryer uses a looped towelling fibre, but the other side has a logo that’s rougher and absorbs less than the surrounding material.
Gtechniq Short Loop Drying Towel
- Price: around £29.95
- Absorbency: 5.4 l/m2
- Contact: gtechniq.co.uk
It looks like a cement surface, but the grey short- fibre towel is soft and absorbent. Others are better and substantially cheaper, though.
Soft 99 Max Wash Format Cloth
- Price: around £22.99
- Absorbency: 3.8 l/m2
- Contact: soft99store.co.uk
The pocketed design is easy to handle, but the more traditional towelling feels harsh compared with microfibres. Good absorbency, but it’s expensive for the size.
Sonax Microfibre Drying Cloth
- Price: around £18.60
- Absorbency: 2.6 l/m2
- Contact: sonax.co.uk
This one-sided cloth is made from traditional towelling, but it feels a bit thin compared with others. This is reflected in the absorbency, but not the price.
Car Gods Nike Edgeless Drying Towel 60x90cm
- Price: around £11.99
- Absorbency: 1.45 l/m2
- Contact: cargods.com
Car Gods’ waffle-weave is light and easy to handle, but is short on absorbency. New tech has moved the game on.
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