Best car shampoo 2026
Which is the best product to keep your pride and joy clean this winter?
With all the spray foams and prewashes, it’s easy to forget that you still need to get hands on with a mitt in a bucket of soapy water. Many drivers just use washing-up liquid, but household detergents are likely to strip protective waxes off your paint.
A dedicated car shampoo will not only look after your car, but many are also so inexpensive they could actually end up only costing you the same per wash as a generous squirt of Fairy liquid.
We test seven products here, ranging from the very cheapest to some high-end products to see if these offer an advantage. Unlike our separate ceramic shampoo test, we were not checking for the effects of any claimed protective coatings here and only tested the cleaning power and ease of use.
How we tested
After reading the instructions to check dilution levels, we first judged the foam both in the bucket and on the panel, then measured the lubrication level. A more slippery solution makes wiping easier and prevents wear on the paint. To test this we soaked a microfibre cloth in the solutions and dragged it across a freshly rinsed bonnet, measuring the force needed.
To test the cleaning power, we checked that the solution could dissolve a spray of oil. We then entered the price and dilution rate into our spreadsheet to check the cost per wash for a 10-litre bucket.
Bilt-Hamber Auto-Wash
- Price: around £16.95
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 17p/34p
- Contact: bilthamber.com
- Rating: 5.0 stars
Used - available now
2021 Mercedes
A-Class Saloon
43,967 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L
Cash £17,460
2024 Volkswagen
Tiguan
47,441 milesManualPetrol1.5L
Cash £14,750
2018 BMW
3 Series Touring
49,990 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L
Cash £17,400
2027 Mercedes
GLA
19,279 milesAutomaticPetrol1.3L
Cash £26,880In terms of cost per millilitre, the Auto-Wash is the most expensive here and that could put some buyers off. But the instructions say you can use just 5ml of the fluid – that’s a teaspoon – in a 10-litre bucket of water and still get decent results for 17p per wash.
If you want increased lubrication for your wash mitt and more foam, it suggests doubling the dosage. We tried it at this level and were seriously impressed at the amount of foam and cleaning power.
VP pH Neutral Shampoo
- Price: around £8.95
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 18p
- Contact: vp-uk.co.uk
- Rating: 4.5 stars
Like the winning Bilt-Hamber, you only need to use the smallest squirt of the VP to get a good result, with the instructions suggesting a dilution rate of 1,000:1. It’s easy to administer the sweet-smelling thick liquid too, because the bottle has a pop-up cap, which also prevents accidental spills.
The initial high level of foam it creates in the bucket dies down after a few minutes, but it soon returns when you use the mitt on a panel, creating a good level of lubrication and impressive grease-busting ability.
Simoniz Shampoo & Wax
- Price: around £8.50
- Size: 2 litres
- Cost per wash: 13p
- Contact: tesco.com
- Rating: 4.0 stars
Even though the instructions suggest using up to three times as much compared with the two highest-rated shampoos here, the Simoniz’s low price and big bottle mean it’s still good value, at just 13p per wash for a 30ml-per-bucket concentration. This produced a reasonable level of foam and a surprising level of lubrication. Unlike most of the rivals, you can pick it up in Tesco, so won’t need to add a delivery cost to the price.
Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo
- Price: around £10.49
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 30p
- Contact: autoglym.com
- Rating: 3.5 stars
Autoglym’s ceramic shampoo has scooped our top award in its own category, but the company’s less sophisticated Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner has to make do with a place just off the podium in this test. Although it looks reasonable value and the formula’s added rinse aid does have a noticeable effect in helping to reduce water spots, its results in the lubricity tests were just behind the leaders.
Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild
- Price: around £11.67
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 70p
- Contact: dodojuice.com
- Rating: 3.5 stars
It’s not just the name which will make you smile while using the Dodo Juice. The flip-up lid makes it easy to dispense, although the suggested doses are listed as capfuls, so most people will squirt and guess.
It produces plenty of foam and lubricates well, plus it claims to have limescale inhibitors, which reduce residue marks in hard water areas. But it’s simply too expensive to be a winner here.
Jennychem Cola Shampoo
- Price: around £10
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 25p
- Contact: jennychem.com
- Rating: 3.0 stars
A big one-litre bottle for a tenner makes the Cola-scented Jennychem seem like reasonable value, but the instructions say it needs a hefty 25ml dose for our 10-litre bucket, raising the cost to 25p per wash.
Although the aroma makes your mouth water and it did a reasonable job of cleaning, there was little foam and the lubrication measurement was fifth in the score chart.
Tesco Auto Shampoo and Wax
- Price: around £4
- Size: 2 litres
- Cost per wash: 6p
- Contact: tesco.com
- Rating: 2.5 stars
The obvious main attraction of the Tesco own-brand shampoo is the price. Despite being less than half the cost of any other product in this test, you get a full two litres of the fluid. Even using the suggested top dilution of 30ml per bucket, it costs just 6p per wash. But you get what you pay for – it produced almost no foam in the bucket and had the worst scores for lubrication.
Verdict
It looks expensive, but the Bilt-Hamber Auto-Wash can still be very effective even when used in tiny quantities, making it good value. It’s the Best Buy. VP is snapping at its heels with the pH Neutral Shampoo, which takes second place. Third goes to Simoniz’s Shampoo & Wax, which is simply great value.
Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express? We’ll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too.
