The Best Baby Car Sun Shades this Year (Tested)

ggomaArt Universal Magnetic Shade

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In addition to the four pullover shades and six static cling shades, we tested three magnetic shades and one relying on suction cup and hook attachments to secure.

The ggomaArt Universal Magnetic Shade scored the highest of these shades, with nearly 100% sunlight blockage.

This shade came with magnetic fasteners as well as suction cups for reinforcement.

Do note that this style of shade is only practical for metal framed windows and doors. The sale listing itself advises to double check your doors before purchasing. We were able to hang the shade on both a GMC Acadia and a Chevy Cruze.

The shade does hang freely at the bottom, so it is easy for a child to grab onto and try to remove, but compared to the other magnetic shades, the ZATOOTO Magnetic Blinds and the Munchkin® Brica® Magnetic Stretch to Fit™, the ggomaArt offers the overall best sun and UV protection, tear resistance, and aesthetic appeal.

The downside to this shade is that, because of the material, the window is completely blacked out, creating a blindspot for the driver.

The shade did not come with installation instructions, so it took a little longer to figure out how to set it up on the window, but it still only took us a minute to install the shade with the magnets and suction cups.

The ggomaArt comes with a single shade, so if you are wanting to cover both backseat windows, you will need to order two.

This is a great shade to allow a child to nap in the backseat on a road trip, blocking all sun rays from the rear window except for the small gaps on the side.

Value

Sunshades in general are not an expensive product. The prices of our tested products varied from $8.99 to $20.99. Most sunshades can be purchased at an average price of around $15. An affordable but useful product such as this would make a great gift for a baby shower.

Many shades came in two to four packs, with only the ggomaArt and Munchkin® Brica® Magnetic Stretch to Fit™ shades coming with a singular shade.

Product Price Performance

Why You Can Trust Us

Our team of professionals has researched hundreds of children’s products over the past seven years. We have used many of these products ourselves as parents and grandparents.

Our team completed extensive research to determine the most popular baby car sunshades on the market. After choosing our products, we read several buyer’s guides to find out exactly what people are looking for in a sunshade, wanting to make sure our choices could fill that need.

We read hundreds of critical customer reviews of baby car sunshades and based our extensive testing criteria on these findings.

We purchased all the products in this review at retail prices and did not receive any incentive or compensation from manufacturers. All recommendations and opinions are strictly our own.

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How We Tested

Our extensive research showed that buyers’ most common complaints about sunshades are that they fall off easily, they don’t provide adequate sun and UV ray protection, and that they don’t fit their car windows well.

Other frequent complaints were that the products were low in quality and difficult to use/reuse.

Based on this information, we aimed our testing criteria for each shade at five main areas:

Sunlight Protection (30%)
Stability (30%)
Design/Fit (20%)
Quality (10%)
Ease of Use (10%)

We installed each of the sunshades on the rear window of our vehicles for testing. We installed them on both a GMC Acadia and a Chevy Cruze to help determine how different sizes and types of vehicles may vary the test results.

We drove the vehicles, tested the shades in direct sunlight, and even used a backseat passenger (three years old) to help test the sun protection, durability, and quality of each shade.

Product Ratings, Tests and Specs

Testing Categories

Sunlight Protection

In this category, we measured how well each sunshade blocked the sun’s rays. For these tests, we hung each shade in direct sunlight and rated its protection. We took thickness of the material into account as well as any gaps around the sides of the shade when rating the sun glare.

Here are the overall scores in the Sunlight Protection category:

Stability

In this category, we tested all of the shades to see how well they stayed secured to the window. We tested their ability to stay on while in a moving vehicle, as well as if a little one could remove the shade and if the window could be rolled down.

We were pleased that all of the shades, regardless of attachment method, stayed secured to the window during our driving test. Even hitting bumps and taking sharp turns, none of the shades ever fell.

Some shades passed the child test better than others. Pullover shades such as the TFY and the ShadeSox could not be removed at all since they stretch over the entire door and are secured by the closed door itself.

Some shades, especially the ones that adhere by static cling, were easily able to be removed during testing.

The window could be rolled down with about half of the shades, particularly the pullover style shades. None of the static cling shades stayed attached when the window was rolled down.

Design/Fit

In this category, we tested each shade to see how well it would fit on cars of different sizes. We also wanted to see if the shade interfered with the child at all, if it made any noise while moving, and how it looked aesthetically.

The majority of the shades could be hung on both a GMC Acadia and a Chevy Cruze. Some sunshades advertise that they are universal, but due to the varying window sizes, it is important to measure your window before ordering the product to make sure it will fit.

Some of the sunshades can be ordered in a variety of sizes, which is beneficial and more customized for your personal vehicle.

Most shades did not interfere with the child in the backseat or make noise while the car was moving.

When testing the aesthetic appeal of the shades, we found that the pullover shades once again topped the charts. Because they can cover an entire window, they gave a more unified look than some of the other shades.

Many of the static cling shades would bunch at the top and/or bottom because of how they were packaged, which lowered their visual score.

Quality

In the quality portion of our testing process, we tested each shade on four factors: how it arrived from the manufacturer, how much visual distortion it caused the driver, how easily it would tear, and if it left any damage or residue on the window after removal.

All of the shades arrived in good shape. No pieces were missing or particularly damaged. For the most part, the shades did not leave any marks or residue on the windows. The only one that did was the kinder Fluff shade, but the residue wiped off easily.

When hanging anything in a car window, there is going to be some distortion of the driver’s view, resulting in less visibility. Darker and larger shades caused more distortion while lighter, smaller shades caused less.

Because most car shades were made of mesh material and/or plastic, they were subject to some tearing. For this test, we tried to push a pencil through each shade to see how much and how easily it would rip.

Of all of the shades, the ggomaArt Magnetic Shade was the only one that could not be punctured by the pencil.

The mesh material was more forgiving than the plastic, with the mesh typically just stretching out and the plastic easily ripping.

Ease of Use

Nobody wants a shade that is frustrating to deal with. We wanted to make sure our sunshade choices were convenient as well as functional.

All of the shades could be installed fairly quickly. Here is the time it took to install a single shade on the back passenger window:

Not all of the shades came with installation instructions, but most are fairly self-explanatory and easy to install. Something we learned that not all instructions shared was that, particularly for the static cling shades, the window will need to be cleaned before installing to guarantee a better stick.

We were able to easily remove and store all of the sunshades back into their original packaging.

Some shades were easier to re-store than others. You might consider storing the static cling shades flat instead of retwisting to fit into their pouch as the twisting can further warp the shape.

We were able to reinstall all of the shades, regardless of style, without any issues adhering to the window.

Are Sunshades Safe?

We are not aware of any credible research on the safety of baby car sunshades, nor are we aware of any statistics directly related to accidents involving the use of sunshades.

The purpose of a sunshade is to protect your passengers (typically children) from the brightness of the sun. This can be a matter of comfort to keep the sun glare out of their eyes and keep the car cool, and also a matter of protecting baby’s delicate skin from harmful UV rays and potential sunburn. Sunshades exist to bring comfort and safety.

It should be noted, however, that placing anything in the window of your car can create a blind spot and distortion while driving. Though some sunshades give more distortion than others, buyers should proceed with caution when picking out and using them.

Sunshades give parents ease of mind in knowing that their child is protected from the sun and comfortable in the backseat.