Our Top Picks for the Best Car Apps for your Smartphone

Driving can be a very fun and enjoyable experience, but for many, it can also become a stressful experience. Luckily, there are lots of helpful apps that can help solve people’s driving problems or just help to make the activity of driving a little less boring. Here are our top picks of apps to make car enthusiasts and car buyers’ lives easier.

Waze

Waze is an easy-to-use popular car navigation and entertainment app. The application has 130 million users, so it has proven to be a success. The app is available to download on iOS and Android.

The special features on the Waze app are:

• The app gives their users live traffic updates and alerts
• It also notifies the user about police vehicles nearby and hazards
• The navigation route gets you to your destination faster, as it instantly changes the route to avoid traffic
• Users get an estimated time of arrival to their destination
• Users can easily listen to music via the app

Price of the App: The app is free to download and there are no in-app purchases. Although Waze does strongly advise their users to make sure they have a mobile data plan with their phone providers, as mobile data is used to make the app usable on the go.

Ease of use: The app is full of interesting features, but that does not make it difficult to use. The format of the app is based around a map, so this makes it very easy for users to navigate through the app.

Other comments: It is important to make sure your smartphone is positioned appropriately in your vehicle when you are using Waze. The driver needs to be able to view the screen of the phone whilst also being able to look at the road ahead.

Smart Dash Cam

The Smart Dash Cam is an app that allows its users to use their smartphone as a dashcam. This app is useful because some dash cams are expensive to buy and install, so this app is ideal for people who want to record the road but do not want to fork out lots of money for a dashcam.

The special features on the Smart Dash Cam app are:

• Available on iOS and Android
• Built-in manual and auto recording mode
• Record video with low/medium/high resolutions
• Continues loop recording
• Share video via email
• The video can be directly uploaded to YouTube
• Turn off monitor while driving
• Music can be played whilst using the app

Price of the App: Free to download, but there are in-app purchases.

The ease of use: The app may appear technical to new users at first glance, but once the user has used the app a few times they will become more familiar with how to use the app.

Other comments: The app is easy to use and the fact that the user can directly email the footage, makes the app very trustworthy and reliable. The app definitely gives its users reassurance that any potential accidents and disputes on the road will be recorded.

Spotify

Spotify is one of the world’s leading music streaming applications. Spotify can easily turn a long boring drive into a happy, relaxing drive because of the variety of music the app has to offer. The app is also compatible with onboard entertainment systems such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Screenshot from the App Store

The special features on Spotify are:

• Available on iOS and Android
• Users can search for songs, artists and albums
• Users can discover new music
• Users can create their own playlists
• Users can listen to spotify, via the app, desktop or car stereo system
• Users can listen to podcasts

Price of the app: The app is free to download and users can use Spotify for free with advertisements. Users can use Spotify Premium which removes advertisements and it allows the user to download playlists and podcasts, so they can listen when there is no wifi or mobile data, so this is ideal for traveling in case users are in areas where there is no internet connection.

Spotify Premium plan costs: 

Individual– 1 account, £9.99 per month

• Play offline
• On-demand playback
• Ad-free listening

Duo– 2 accounts, £13.99 per month

• 2 Premium accounts for one couple who live together
• Duo Mix: a playlist for two people to share
• Ad free listening
• Play offline

Family– Up to 6 accounts, £16.99 per month

• 6 Premium accounts for family members who live together
• A family mix, so families can share a music playlist together
• Explicit music can be blocked
• Ad free listening
• Spotify Kids: an app that is suitable for children

Each Spotify Premium plan offers its users the first month free, so users can see whether they enjoy the Premium features before their monthly payments start.

The ease of use: The app is very easy to use, the app is also aware when its user is driving, so it goes onto drive mode, where icons become very big. However, it is not recommended to touch your phone whilst you are driving as in the UK there are laws against using your phone whilst being in control of a vehicle.

Other comments: If you are using the Spotify app in your car, it is important that it is used safely and is not a distraction from your driving. Spotify works safest in a car when it is connected to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

Plugshare

Plugshare is a useful app for electric car owners. It is common for new electric car owners to experience EV range anxiety, this is where the drivers have a worry or fear about running out of power on a journey and not being able to find a nearby charging point. This is where Plugshare, helps to solve this problem. The app is designed to relieve EV drivers of their anxiety by showing the driver nearby electric charging stations.

Screenshot from the App Store

The special features on Plugshare are:

• Available on iOS and Android
• It can be used on Apple CarPlay
• Plugshare claims to be the most accurate EV and Tesla charging station map
• Users can leave reviews on the charging stations they have visited, so this gives users an indication of which charging stations work better than others
• It also locates users to fast chargers, which is ideal for those who are desperate to find a faster way to charge their vehicle

Price of the app:

The app is free to download and there are no hidden fees. It is unclear whether there are advertisements on the app, but even if there are some advertisements it shouldn’t be too much of a nuisance because this is a quick and easy-to-use information application.

Ease of use: The app is a simple information app that is designed to make it easier for electric car users to find nearby stations.

Other comments: The app can be used internationally, so it isn’t limited to British roads, this makes the app ideal for those who intend to take their electric vehicle on an international road trip.

AppyParking

AppyParking helps to take the stress out of parking. The app can be used by all types of drivers and the app even tells the user about the parking fees of the car park it can also find the user free on-street parking, which will definitely help the user to save money on parking. The app is also designed to help professionals, such as couriers find destinations across the country.

Screenshot from the App Store

The special features of the AppyParking app:

• Available on iOS and Android
• Gives an estimated arrival time to the parking spot
• In app navigation which directs the user to the desired location
• Payment links- users can use the app to make direct payments to the parking provider
• It informs the user of car park operating hours, so they can know when the car park opens and closers and whether there is a free parking period of some days
• It also shows the user where there is yellow lines and the parking rules with the lines

Price of the app:

The app is free to use, there are no hidden fees for using the application.

Other comments: The app has lots of positive reviews from its users, the application seems to be reliable, honest, and trustworthy. It is fair to make the assumption that the app takes the stress out of parking in unfamiliar places.

PetrolPrices.com

PetrolPrices.com is an informative app that gives users accurate information regarding the pricing of fuel at petrol stations. The app cleverly shows the price and location of the petrol stations on an interactive map.

Screenshot from the App Store

The special features of the PetrolPrices.com app:

• It allows users to find the cheapest or nearest fuel stations to their location
• The app covers 98% of UK fuel stations
• Users can leave reviews about their experiences with the fuel stations
• Users can report missing or incorrect price information on the app, so this helps to ensure users are always receiving accurate fuel prices
• Users can add their vehicle information to the app to earn points and get helpful reminds such as MOT or tax renewal reminders

Price of the app:

The app is completely free to use, it is a helpful information app.

Other comments: The app is ideal for all types of road users who fill their vehicles up with fuel. It definitely takes the anxiety away from struggling to find nearby petrol stations when your car is low on fuel.

BPme: Pay for Fuel in Your Car

The BPme app makes filling up your car very easy. Users no longer have to leave their vehicles to pay for their fuel. The app is designed to be used at BP fuel stations and customers can earn points from using the app.

Screenshot from the App Store

The special features of the BPme app:

• Users can pay for their fuel using the app
• Users can check their points and see new offers
• Users can access their rewards card and earn or redeem points in-store
• Users can choose the pump and choose how much fuel they want via the app
• Users can keep track of their fuel receipts on the app
• The app can show users where their nearest BP station and Wild Bean Cafe are

The price of the app:

The app is completely free to use, it is simply an app created by BP to help make filling up vehicles at their stations less of a hassle.

Other comments:

The app is easy to use and it is ideal for those who frequent road users, as it saves time on queuing up at busy petrol stations and it is also helpful for drivers who are driving in new areas and trying to find their nearest BP fuel station.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps is an application that is pre-installed on the iPhone. Apple classes this app as essential and that is why all iPhone users have access to it. The application is helpful to drivers because its SatNav system is very accurate and the application is very easy to use.

Screenshot from the App Store

The special features of the Apple Maps app:

• Pre installed on iPhone
• Users can browse for places to go such as: shopping, food, drink and more
• The app can be used to look up information about opening hours of places
• The app can be used to get phone numbers and ratings of places
• Users can ask Siri to find the places they would like to go
• The app gives an accurate estimated arrival time
• The app takes the driver to the quickest route with the least amount of traffic

The price of the app: The app is completely free to use, it doesn’t need to be downloaded onto iPhones. If Android users are looking for an almost identical alternative to Apple Maps, they can use Google Maps.

Final thoughts

We hope you have found our information on the best car apps to download useful. Here is a summary of our thoughts.

Best overall car app: Waze

Best safety app: Smart Dash Cam

Best entertainment app: Spotify

Best app for electric cars: Plugshare

Best app for convenience: AppyParking

Lastly, it is important to make sure applications do not distract you from driving, if in doubt, always safely pull over and stop the vehicle to intensively use applications.