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A steering wheel is your primary contact point while driving a vehicle, where you press the flesh mile after mile, so you want it to look and feel great. Luxury and sports cars already offer high-end steering wheels or you could spend hundreds of dollars on a replacement steering wheel for aesthetic and performance reasons, but an easy and affordable upgrade is to simply add a steering wheel cover—which can be done for under $20.

Covers are ideal for protecting your steering wheel from wear and tear, disguising cracks and other damage in older cars, supplying extra grip and comfort, or even providing warming and cooling features to make handling a hot or cold steering wheel more tolerable.

The Expert: As an automotive journalist for more than three decades, I’ve wrapped my hands around hundreds of steering wheels in new cars and have owned several beaters that required a cover, as with my current 1999 Saturn SW2 wagon. I've written about cars and technology for Wired, Rolling Stone, Road & Track, Automobile, PCMag.com, Playboy and numerous other publications; and I cofounded the C3 Group in 2013 to produce automotive industry events in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and at SXSW in Austin. C3 Group was acquired by Informa in 2018. Now, I split my time between Hood River, Ore., and Todos Santos, Mexico. When I'm not writing, I'm riding a surfboard

Steering wheel covers come in an almost overwhelming array of materials and colors, so you can express your personality. Rock a cover with everything from your favorite sports team to your most-loved cartoon character. Important things to consider are fit, material, price, feel, and extras like heating and cooling. A cover slightly changes the steering feel, but I found you get used to the sensation after just a few miles.

I evaluated wheel covers in two extremely different locations and environments—cold, rainy, and snowy Oregon, and hot and dry Baja, Mexico—and in two different vehicles: a 2017 Honda CR-V and a 1999 Saturn Wagon. I also read multiple online reviews to gauge what consumers think of each cover. Ultimately, I considered how easy a cover is to install, how it feels to the hands, whether it added weight or bulk, and whether extra features such as heating and cooling worked as advertised.

After slipping the Valleycomfy Leather Steering Wheel Cover onto the tiller of the CR-V, my first thought was “luxury car.” The genuine leather has a high-end look and feel and is a pleasure for the palms. It fit the CR-V’s14.5-inch steering wheel like the proverbial glove but was a bit of a stretch and struggle with the Saturn’s 15-inch helm. The Valleycomfy is a little heavier than other covers I tested but that didn’t affect steering feel. It provided better grip than the other covers and gripped the steering wheel the best, although I wonder whether the leather would absorb dirt and sweat over time.

Maybe because the SEG Direct Black and Gray Microfiber Universal 15-inch steering wheel cover came from Amazon tightly shrink-wrapped, I had to wrestle with it more than the others to get it to fit on the CR-V’s 14.5-inch wheel. Even with it stretched out a bit, it was a struggle. Slipping this cover onto the 15-inch wheel of the Saturn reminded me of the adage “like socks on a rooster.” But I liked the muted black-and-gray look and its feel was second only to the leather Valleycomfy, although for the same price you can have genuine leather instead of faux leather. It also weighs a bit less, but that didn’t make an appreciable difference.

After installing snow chains in the snowy Oregon’s Mt. Hood area, my hands were cold and numb. With considerable effort I eventually got the too-small Zone Tech 12V Plush Heated Steering Wheel Cover over the CR-V’s wheel, plugged it into a 12-volt outlet, and soon my hands were thawed and happy. The cover has a cushy feel even without the heat. It warms quickly and has a built-in thermostat. One downside is the 12-volt cord gets hung up when turning the wheel more than halfway, which could be dangerous if not for a quick-disconnect designed to detach in this scenario or on warmer days.

This low-priced steering wheel cover is made of silicone, so it’s extremely lightweight, and likely won’t get as hot or cold as leather and microfiber covers. Embossed bumps on the outer surface improve grip, while the rubber-like material is easier to clean. The cover is even washable, a plus if you’re sharing a vehicle with others. Potential downsides include its smaller size (could be prone to stretching out over time,) and longevity (it won’t likely last as long as leather and microfiber models.)

If you want to add some style to your ride, the ChuLian Bling Bling Diamond Steering Wheel Cover has you covered. It’s made of faux leather, with rhinestones rimming the outer surface that fit flush with the cover to eliminate snagging on, say, a ring or bracelet. It’s larger than most other covers here so installation is easier, and the manufacturer says the rhinestones provide a massage for the hands. But the bling cover is not recommended for hot climates since the fake stones can get hot, and chances are they’ll become loose over time and fall out.

This cover was super-simple to install with a subdued but elegant look and a good if not great feel. It also had the second-best grip on the steering wheel. Slightly less expensive than our top choice and runner up (by $1), it’s as heavy as the Valleycomfy leather cover. It’s made of the same microfiber faux leather as the SEG Direct cover, which the company calls “eco-friendly.” Its major advantage is that is has small perforations that Rueesh says provide “strong air permeability and absorbs sweat,” which I appreciated in the Saturn Baja-beater.

I was intrigued by the Sharper Image Cooling Gel Cushion Grip Steering Wheel Cover since I spend part of winter in Southern Baja where 80-plus-degree days—and hot car interiors—are common. At just over 15 inches in diameter, it was the easiest cover to install out of all the ones we tested, but even though it’s the second-lightest, it has a somewhat bulky feel. The cooling gel feature worked great —when it’s not hot out. But it works in reverse and gets uncomfortably warm on hot days. Within the first few minutes before the car interior cools down, I felt like I had continuously sweaty palms.

This steering wheel cover is made of synthetic rubber and viscose, a silk-like material for a smooth feel. Bokin says the cover “keeps your hands warm in the winter and cool in the summer” and that it’s “breathable and will absorb sweat quickly.” It has a unique hollow woven design and comes in 15 different colors to match any car’s interior. It’s universal-fit design makes It ideal for larger steering wheels, although on smaller wheels it could be loose-fitting, and it’s the heaviest cover in this list.