Looking for a sun shade to block New Mexico sun

March 18, 2015 4:50 PM

I need to buy a sun shade for my car. I’m in New Mexico and am looking for a high quality sun shade that is well fitted to the windshield that blocks heat extremely well.

It looks like the three biggies in this area are WeatherTech TechShade ($50), CoverCraft UVS100 ($55) and Flex Shade ($41), and the Heatshield ($40). Do you have any positive or negatives points about any of these? Is there something better out there?

posted by jroybal to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

Years ago I got a sun shield for my car through a company called "protrim", which looks like they are now called Auto Heat Shield.

It worked well for years and made a huge difference in the car temperature on hot days. I just did a search for my economy car on their site and came away with a price of $35, fyi.
posted by ajax287 at 6:29 PM on March 18, 2015

I like in Arizona and I just use the reflective ones that twist into a little hoop; however, I have three of them and I can put them in other windows as I see fit using various ways to support them. A good sun shield does help but you're going to have other windows that are collecting some of the heat, especially as the sun moves through the sky during the day. So once you find your windshield sun blocker of choice, spend a few more bucks and get a cheap reflective shield that you can prop in the back window or side window as you see fit.
posted by azpenguin at 10:17 PM on March 18, 2015

I have the Heatshield for my Honda Fit. I park outdoors in Las Vegas during the day and it makes a huge difference. The Heatshield wraps around to cover the entire windshield plus the two small front side windows on my car. However, it is gigantic - if you want to wrestle with it you can roll it into a tube and secure with velcro, but even rolled up it takes up a lot of space. I had to extend the Velcro wrap strap because it was hard to roll up into a tube narrow enough to wrap; I'm more likely to just pitch it in the backseat unfurled because I rarely have back seat passengers.
posted by zepheria at 10:20 PM on March 18, 2015

What helped even more than the shade was getting film put on the windows that filters UV - pricy but worth every penny to avoid being cooked by the desert sun!
posted by zepheria at 10:23 PM on March 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

New Mexican here.... I use a screen designed for the Honda Civic model that I drive....and it was in the price range of your options.

Also, New Mexico allows some really dark window tinting, and it makes a world of difference in the overall car temperature. Consider doing that as well.
posted by answergrape at 9:41 AM on March 19, 2015 [1 favorite]