When you leave your car parked in the sun, the temperature in the passenger compartment can rise to over 50°C. When you open the door you have no choice but to roll down all the windows to create a draft before you can even sit permanently on a hot seat. And what about the steering wheel that burns your hands and that you will have to hold with your fingertips.
Good reasons to equip
Available in different models and sizes, designed to be placed on the windscreen and the side and rear windows, sun visors protect your vehicle from UV rays and avoid turning your cabin into an oven.
Prevention accessories for parents, in addition to maintaining a comfortable room temperature, sun visors also prevent the youngest, more fragile, from risking dehydration due to excessive heat. In addition, UV rays that pass through the windows of the vehicle can also cause sunburn.
Finally, the side sun visor slightly darkens the interior of the passenger compartment, which allows young children to sleep. It preserves the privacy of your car by making the windows opaque and finally limits reflections and prevents you from blinking under the glare caused laterally by the sun when you are driving.
For trucks/vans there are sun visors fixed at the top and bottom of the windshield which folds to the side and opens at will.
Which model for which glazing
There are a multitude of sun visor models: for the windshield, the rear window, the side windows; cardboard, aluminium, PVC… Depending on whether you drive a sedan or a van, to benefit from significant sun protection, it is essential to choose a sun visor that is perfectly suited to your vehicle.
The most classic, the sun visor with a suction cup that attaches to the door windows, is removable and inexpensive. Disadvantage: with it, there is no longer any way to lower the side windows and, moreover, the suction cups often hold very badly. If you drive through a pothole, your sun visor could come loose and fall.
More elaborate, the electrostatic model adheres to the glass without sticking to it, which allows you to easily remove it the beautiful past season. There are a multitude of decorations that will delight young and old alike.
The “sock” sun visor is placed exactly as you put on a sock, hence its name. You put it on the glass or on the top of the door, which it completely covers. Easy to place, it can also be cleaned in the washing machine.
Roller models are attached to the top of the door. Just roll them down by gently pulling all the way down and roll them back up when you don’t need them anymore.
Finally, the great classic that you find everywhere in summer: the accordion that you place in front of the windshield or the rear window is intended exclusively for a parked vehicle. Advantage: in addition to preventing too much temperature accumulation, it filters UV rays, preventing your dashboard from discoloring under the action of the latter and the leather of your seats from drying out and, ultimately , to crack.
There are also large sun visors on the market which are placed on the windscreen and not inside the passenger compartment. They generally hold with rubber bands to be fixed on the mirrors or magnets which fix it to the bodywork. Thicker, they are more efficient than the interior models. “All weather”, they can also be used in winter for snow and ice.
Its size… The sun visor must cover the entire windshield and/or side windows. Otherwise, its effectiveness will be deficient. Likewise, be careful to check the size of your windshield before purchasing it. Too small it won’t hold. Too big, it will overflow and you will have a hard time fixing it.
Its material: choose an insulating model to avoid heat transmission, UV filter and reflective to reflect the sun’s rays.
Its appearance is a matter of taste and color, but your children will probably prefer patterns of their age…
Its attachment can be done using rubber bands, suction cups, but in any case, prefer ease of use and attachment. The more complicated it is, the longer it will take to install/uninstall.
Its price varies from 5 to 50 € depending on the size, the material and its practicality.
To be effective, the sun visor must be perfectly flat against the windshield.
How to put it on the windshield?
The interior windshield sunshade is usually concertina style. Simply unfold it and wedge it between the rear-view mirror and the steering wheel, ensuring that it is perfectly flat against the sides.
Be careful to respect the direction of installation which includes a tails side and a face side (to be placed against the windshield), as well as a notch for the rear view mirror.
If your model is fixed with suction cups, moisten them slightly so that they adhere better.
Padded sun visors are placed on the windshield. Thicker, they hold with rubber bands placed on the mirrors and prove to be much more effective.
From inside to outside
If you want to protect your vehicle without having to install/uninstall a sun visor on the windshield, you can opt for a sun visor strip. It is neither more nor less than an adhesive strip that sticks to the outside of the latter. Designed to resist water and climate change, it can stay in place all year round but only covers the upper part of the windshield which can be annoying in the event of “low sun” because it won’t save you the sun. ‘glare.
Another solution which covers the entire windshield: the tinted film. This final film must nevertheless respect a rate of transparency of at least 70%. Otherwise, beware of the fine because the installation of this type of film is regulated by the Highway Code.
Some sun visor models can also be used in winter to keep snow and ice off the windshield.