Top 9 Best Car Air Fresheners And Buying Guide

Last Updated on June 27, 2023 by Chase Manhattan

New cars smell good, real good! After being welcomed by the great smell for a few months, or let’s say a year if you’re amongst those who don’t give rides to strangers, you’re left wandering all over for an air freshener that will bring back the long-gone New Car Smell.

If you are rushing for time, we recommend the California Scents Organic Air Freshener due to the longevity and also having different scents that you can keep changing over time with no harmful chemicals.

Do note that no air freshener will ever bring back the New Car Smell” you can eliminate all the bad odours and create new smells.

Best Car Air Fresheners Table Comparison

Product	Features	Check Out The Price
	- Long Lasting Aroma - Great fragrances	California Scents Organic Air Freshener
	– Clips on the sky vents – Have a linen & sky scent that is not subduing	Febreze Vent-Clip Air Fresheners
	- Eco Friendly and no chemicals - Prevent moulds and can be used out of cars	Vitscan Natural Moso Bamboo Car Air Freshener
	- Each pack possesses different fragrances - Have a masculine scent aroma.	Little Trees Black Ice Car Air Freshener
	- It gets rid of stubborn odors quickly - It does not occupy a lot of space in your car	Ozium Smoke and Odors Eliminator Gel
	- Uses no chemicals. - It is actually ornamental.	FriEQ Car Air Purifier
	- It makes use of clean orange oils with no harmful chemicals - mask different odours easily	Citrus Magic Natural Odor Eliminating Air Freshener Spray
	- Closest to New Car Smell. - Long enduring aromas.	Chemical Guys New Car Smell Air Freshener
	- Natural way to eliminate bad odours  - 100% safe.	Moso Natural Charcoal Air Purifying Bag

Best Overall

California Scents Organic Air Freshener

 

– Item Weight: 1.4 ozs

– Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 2.8 x 1.5 ins

If you’re seeking an air freshener that lasts quite a long time, I guess you may want to give this California a shot. A package of these air fresheners has four cans with a variety of organic fragrances. What makes this air freshener stand out from Drive above is that it can be placed in different locations.

Pros

– Long Lasting Aroma

– Great fragrances

Cons

– The aromas might be actually overthrowing for some

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Best Budget

Febreze Vent-Clip Air Fresheners

   

– Item Weight: 3.2 ozs

– Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.6 x 2 ins

The unique design of these air fresheners has seen most of their users find other uses for them. Some have them in their bathrooms, boats, pets’ houses and virtually anywhere else where air freshening is critically required. These air fresheners are designed to clip on your car vents and you just love their linen & sky scent

Pros

– Clips on the sky vents

– Have a linen & sky scent that is not subduing

Cons

– Scent may not last long in the car

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Vitscan Natural Moso Bamboo Car Air Freshener

 

– Item Weight: 1.76 ounces

– Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 9.2 x 3.5 inches

While Vitscan bamboo car freshener has the same purpose as the air fresheners we’ve reviewed thus far, most of its users appreciate that it’s eco-friendly and uses no chemicals or fragrance to clean the air in your car.

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Vitscan Air Freshener is versatile and can be utilized and placed almost anywhere without compromising its integrity. The manufacturer also claims that these bamboo charcoals will also prevent moulds and mildew and can, therefore, be used in refrigerators and bathrooms.

Pros

– Eco Friendly and no chemicals

– Prevent moulds and can be used out of cars

Cons

– The satchels did not have grommets to contain the charcoal pieces

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Best Car Air Fresheners For Guys

Little Trees Black Ice Car Air Freshener

– Item Weight: 2.9 ozs.

– Product Dimensions: 1 x 1 x 1 ins.

Not unless you’ve just relocated from another planet, Little Trees with their tree-shaped air fresheners requires no introduction at all. All along, they have been able to produce air fresheners with all sorts of fragrances, including vanilla, chocolate, and Black Ice. For those who don’t like extremely perfumey’ air Best Car Air Fresheners, this is the way to go.

Pros

– Each pack possesses different fragrances

– Have a masculine scent aroma.

Cons

– The aroma does not last long

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Best Car Air Freshener For Cigarette Smoke

Ozium Smoke and Odors Eliminator Gel

 

– Item Weight: 11.2 ozs.

– Product Dimensions: 3 x 2.5 x 5.5 inches

Ozium Odor eliminating Gels can be placed in all small spaces and have a patented fragrance formula that truly eliminates odor. The twist top allows for scent level control. They work around the clock to maintain your environment.

Pros

– It gets rid of stubborn odors quickly

– It does not occupy a lot of space in your car

Cons

– lack of variety for scents

FriEQ Car Air Purifier

 

– Through: FRiEQ.

– Item Weight: 1.4 ozs.

– Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 1.3 x 1.3 ins.

FriEQ car purifier works in the same way as Ozium Gel Eliminator and Healthy Car Air Purifier. This air freshener plugs into your car’s 12V cigarette outlet. It also emits a bluish light that boosts your car’s aesthetics.

Pros

– Uses no chemicals.

– It is actually ornamental.

Cons

– Won’t operate without electrical power.

Citrus Magic Natural Odor Eliminating Air Freshener Spray

 

– Through: Blue Magic.

– Item Weight: 3.2 ozs.

– Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 1.8 x 7.8 inches

Not specifically meant for use in cars, most car owners have made it a go-to due to its ability to mask different odours easily and naturally without exposing you to harmful chemicals. This air freshener uses pure citrus oils and has no fluorocarbons or hydrocarbons.

Pros

– It makes use of clean orange oils with no harmful chemicals

– mask different odours easily

Cons

– The aromas might overthrow some customers.

Best Air Freshener For Car

Chemical Guys New Car Smell Air Freshener

 

– Item Weight: 1.2 extra pounds.

– Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 2.4 x 2.4 ins.

Chemical Guys seem to have discovered the way to a new car’s smell. This air freshener comes in a 16 Fl. It fades into the New Car Smell’ after 1-2 hours.

Pros

– Closest to New Car Smell.

– Long enduring aromas.

Cons

– Has rubber-like scents.

Moso Natural Charcoal Air Purifying Bag

 

– Item Weight: 7 ozs.

– Product Dimensions: 6 x 6.5 x 1.5 ins.

This bag of Moso Bamboo Charcoal by Moso Natural emerges as the best way to eliminate bad odours and maintain clean air in your vehicle. Remember Drive Natural Moso Bamboo Air Freshener we reviewed earlier on? You get clean, breathable air.

Pros

– Natural way to eliminate bad odours 

– 100% safe.

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Cons

– Has little coverage.

– You require several bags.

Automobile Air Freshener Buying Guide Car

Air fresheners come in all sizes and a variety of Scents. Variety of Products like Gels, charcoal, and ionizers work by cleaning the air of all bacteria and odours, leaving fresh and clean air behind. With that, let’s go to the fun part of choosing the best air freshener Scent for your car

Variety Of Fragrances

Whether is its fresh scent, clean scent, powerful scent, subtle scent or fruity scent, we can agree that it can be one of the most important factors when choosing a car air freshener because it will determine how your car smells like for the foreseeable future. It is good to test a few brands with popular scents before settling on one 

Aesthetics

The wide variety of car air fresheners may determine the interior aesthetics of your car. Some air freshener like the spray most probably will not be visible until you use it to eliminate any odor particles Others, like the plug-in air freshener products or freshener vent clips may be more visible and may affect the interior aesthetics of your vehicle. This may be another factor to consider before picking the right air freshener for your car.

Space

Depending on the side of your car, the type of product you choose may be quite crucial.  A can type of air freshener may take up one of your cup holders while a space saving plug-in version may not be that large, but it still occupies a cigarette lighter slot that could be used to charge other devices. If you want a car air freshener that does not take up a big space, a rearview mirror version or freshener vent clips will be your best bet.

Variety

It is important to choose a brand that offers a variety of scents so that you can find one you like. The main reason is that different scent may help to tackle different odor problems like smoke smell, moldy smell or other nasty smells, especially for rideshare vehicles.

We recommend considering brands that have a variety pack so you can try various pleasant fragrance and decide on your favorite fragrance. You will also have the choice to switch scents around if you get sick of using one for a while.

Duration

This is a major factor for you to decide when to buy a new car air freshener. More expensive versions, like the vent clips and clip-ons will last longer than the cardboard versions. So it may not be the case where the cheapest version is the best bang of your buck.

Odor Masking vs Odor Eliminator

Good quality air fresheners are useful for odor elimination but will cost more. Depending on usage,  a vehicle with heavy cigarette smoke scenarios or pet odors may require more odor elimination towards frequent nasty odor or foul odor

If you just need a pleasant scent or sweet scent for odor masking, you may not need to invest in high quality air fresheners

Harsh Chemicals

This may be a major concern for people with sensitive skin issues. If you are concerned about this, do consider an air purifying bag or air fresheners gels that are made without harsh chemicals.

Types of Car Air Fresheners

Car air fresheners come in a variety of types that release the scent and installed differently in your car. You’ll want to learn about each to find the type that you prefer.

Cardboard

One of the most affordable air freshener you can get in the market., However, the time span of usage is normally very short. Their most common form are like trees hanging from your rearview mirror.

Plug-In

A plug-in air freshener normally has a cigarette-lighter end with a liquid container attached. It is similar to a home air freshener that you plug into a wall outlet. Once you have plugged into the lighter and the car is on, the liquid is heated up, it is like an auto air freshener where the scent is released into the air to replace any bad smell or unpleasant odor in your automobile

Can

This is another type of air freshener that comes in a metal or plastic canister with a gel-like substance in it. The holes on the lid of the canister allow you to twist the lid and control the amount of the level of scent to be released in your vehicle. This is normally placed in a cup holder.

Vent Clip

This is the type of air freshener is quite similar to the cigarette lighter plug-in as it also has a container of liquid. 
The major difference is when you clip them onto your air vents, your favorite scent is only released once the air passes through the clips. You can blast your air vents for the maximum scent to be released

Spray

A spray air freshener is a bit different from other auto air freshener that releases scent over a period of time. It is in a can that you spray yourself whenever there is a bad odor you want to target. The advantage of this type of air freshener to the ability to target the area directly like the smell of smoke etc

Conclusion

After being welcomed by the great smell for a few months, or let’s say a year if you’re amongst those who don’t give rides to strangers, you’re left wandering all over for an air freshener that will bring back the long-gone New Car Smell.

No air freshener will ever bring back the New Car Smell” you can eliminate all the bad odours and create new smells. Gels, charcoal, and ionizers work by cleaning the air of all bacteria and odours, leaving fresh and clean air behind. 

While Vitscan has the same purpose as the air fresheners we’ve reviewed thus far, most of its users appreciate that it’s eco-friendly and uses no chemicals or fragrance to clean the air in your car. FriEQ car purifier works in the same way as Ozium Gel Eliminator