Best Steering Wheel Covers: Got It Covered

Our Top 8 Steering Wheel Covers

We get it. Not everyone lives a decadent lifestyle in which they are afforded the opportunity to drive week-old Mercs and Audis. Why, just last month your author tested a press car with over 5,000 miles on the odometer. The indignity.

We’re joking, of course. The VerticalScope brain trust is just like you: putting their pants on one leg at a time and driving clapped out old beaters. Since it is the one item of your car that you must handle every time you hit the road, some steering wheels tend to lose their covering with age. Some drivers hate these covers as they tend to fatten up a steering wheel rim in an age where most drivers could use all the road feedback they can get. Others are far more accepting.

With that in mind, take a gander at these steering wheel covers we found on Amazon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a press car with a thousand-mile odometer.

Offered in an array of colors - just like automakers used to do for their interiors back in the ‘80s and ‘90s - this steering wheel cover is advertised as being constructed of real leather, not man-made polyurethane. Its pattern of stitching is supposed to aid grip even if it does look like a contorted snake.

This thing is intended to fit cars with steering wheels of diameter between 14.5 and 15.5 inches, so drag out that measuring tape before clicking ‘buy’. Pickup trucks might prove to be a tight fit, as the seller suggests heating the cover up with a hairdryer before installation on a vehicle of that type. Hey, at least it should grip the wheel tightly.

Here’s an option that can add a dash of color to even the most funereal of interiors. Said to be made of breathable microfiber leather, the cover is purported to ‘absorb sweat quickly’. That’s fine for the original owner ... but you definitely wouldn’t want to pick up one of these at a yard sale.

The seller says they offer an 18-month warranty against manufacturing defects, though we’re certain your road rage antics won’t be covered under that policy. Another bonus is the 30-day money-back guarantee. There are a ton of real-world customer photos in the listing as well.

You remember these, right? Essentially a flat piece of man-made leather, they are made to wrap around your steering wheel and kept in place by a sinew of plastic shoelace-style strapping. The latter is wrapped in a slightly diagonal fashion around and around and around and around and … you get the point.

Eventually, you should wind up with a steering wheel completely covered in perforated fake leather. The installation process is not for the impatient amongst us. But if you simply must have a dose of yesteryear, then here’s your pick. This product is available in three colors and has a healthy 4.3 out of 5-star rating on Amazon.

We’re getting into the style over function part of our list now, with this cover that looks for all the world like those blankets they sell in the gift shops at Sky Harbor in Phoenix. Fitting steering wheels sized 14.5 to 15 inches on the round, they should be suitable for the vast majority of cars in America.

Made of a linen blanket material, the seller says it’s good for use in both hot and cold weather. However, you gotta imagine that it can get a bit funky with sweat if installed in a non-A/C car that’s taken through the wilds of a place like Furnace Creek.

Yep, we’re going there. How anyone in the world manages to hang onto control of their vehicle with one of these things installed is well beyond the imagination of this author. Made of faux wool, this cover - available in eight different colors - is best used for show only.

But look at it! The sample photo of the cover in Cameo Brown looks as if someone took all the fur off a Tribble, while the White one appears to have been made from a Yeti. Here’s a bonus: for the dirt-cheap as-listed price, one also gets a cover for their e-brake lever and shift lever. I mean, most new cars don’t have either of those things anymore but ... just look at it.

We had to include this one simply because it has ‘madmax’ in its product name. Well, that and the fact it’s shinier than your author’s bald head after a midday run. Made of fake news leather and available in several (very shiny) colors, it’ll improve the look of an old or worn steering wheel at the very least.

Out of just over a hundred reviews, admittedly a small sample size in the grand scheme of things, a full 98% have given this cover a four- or five-star rating. Real-world pictures abound, along with the warnings that the surface might get a tad toasty if your car is parked in the sun for extended periods of time.

This cover is very similar to the one that started this post, complete with the same three indentations in its radius stitching. Still, we’re including it because it is from a different seller and is reasonably priced. It is advertised as being made from microfiber leather.

Zoomy red is the only color option here, a decent choice to jazz up that dark inkwell of an interior. Consumer reviews are generally positive, tempered with the advice to blow dry this thing before trying to slip it on over the steering wheel.

With well over 25,000 ratings and umpteen reviews, this steering wheel cover is one of the most popular options on Amazon. The seller says it is made of durable microfiber (read: fake) leather and fits steering wheels between 14.5 and 15 inches in diameter. In other words, very nearly all the vehicles on our roads today.

Installing the thing is easy as donning a pair of shoes - if they were shoes for your car, that is. Simply start by lining up the cover with the top of your car's wheel, working and stretching the cover around the perimeter towards the bottom of the steering wheel. The instructions note this is a snug-fitting cover, so warming the thing to make it more pliable is a good idea. For that step, either hit it with a hairdryer or just leave it in the sun for a while.

Which steering wheel cover is best?

Although the term ‘best’ may have varied definitions depending on the choice of individuals, in general, this could mean either ‘best overall’ or ‘best in value’. While the former gives a decent performance, durability, looks, and quality of material, the latter offers the best value for money, i.e., you get optimum quality within a reasonable price range. Considering this, the following covers could be worth a try:

Best Overall

SEG Direct Microfiber Leather ( Buy here)

Available in as many as six colors, this steering wheel cover is available in three sizes that range from 14.25” to 16”. The cover is non-slippery and ready to install.

Best Value

Rueesh Microfiber Leather ( Buy here)

This one is available in four shades and comes in a universal 14.5” to 15” size. The cover possesses all the qualities that microfiber leather has to offer.

Do steering wheel covers ruin your steering wheel?

In fact, they do the opposite. With continued usage, the material of the steering wheel may deteriorate and the steering may look old and untidy. Furthermore, to add insult to the injury, you can’t do anything about it as replacing the whole wheel might be quite expensive.

With a decent and good quality wheel cover, you can not only prevent the wear and tear of the steering itself, replacing the cover is comparatively way cheaper as well, should its material deteriorate over time.

Are cloth steering wheel covers good?

Because clothes have the tendency of absorbing liquids, a wheel cover made of cloth significantly reduces the chances of your hand getting slipped from the wheels due to sweat. However, it is imperative to have a cover that tightly fits the steering wheel so the cover itself doesn’t slip while driving.

Which leather is best for the steering wheel?

In most high-end cars, the steering wheels are made of pigmented leather whereas some of them use Teflon leather. While the former gives a good feel while holding the wheel, the latter offers the sense of plastic.

Nevertheless, if you are going for a steering wheel cover, you may want to go for the one made of either Genuine Leather that is non-slippery or Microfiber Leather that has soft padding to massage your palm to make your drive comparatively less tiresome.

Is a steering wheel cover worth it?

Although most steering wheels that the cars nowadays come with offer a firm grip on the hand, sometimes they are too thin to be comfortable while driving. With that said, some points that you should know about the wheel covers include:

Initially, the covers were manufactured to offer a good grip as the steering wheels themselves were made of smooth material and were slippery

The steering wheels were, and in some cars, even today are pretty thin which makes it inconvenient to hold them properly, especially when turning. The covers have grooves and some irregular embossed material and add a layer of thickness to make the wheel easy to hold, particularly for people with large palms

While purchasing a steering wheel cover, you must make sure that the size is accurate, and the material of the inner side is hard and rough enough to hold the wheel tightly. This will ensure that the cover doesn’t slip from the wheel while driving

Are steering wheel covers one size fits all?

No, they are not. This is because the steering wheels installed on the cars vary in size depending on the model and make of the vehicle. However, most wheels fall between the size range of 14 inches and 17.5 inches in diameter. Therefore, while buying a wheel cover for your vehicle, it is imperative to check the owner’s manual and purchase the one that perfectly fits your car’s steering.

From time to time, TTAC will highlight automotive products we think may be of interest to our community. Plus, posts like this help to keep the lights on around here. Learn more about how this works.

(Editor’s note: This post is meant to both help you be an informed shopper for automotive products but also to pay for our ‘90s sedan shopping habits operating expenses. Some of you don’t find these posts fun, but they help pay for Junkyard Finds, Rare Rides, Piston Slaps, and whatever else. Thanks for reading.)

[Main photo credit: Tomasz Majchrowicz / ShutterStock.com. Product images provided by the manufacturer.]