The windshield sun shade has a dual purpose: On warm days, keeping the interior of your parked-outside car cool so you don’t suffer when you get back in, and also protecting against the damaging effects of ultra-violet (UV) rays. Also, we’ve all seen badly discolored, cracked and dried-up plastic dash pads. UV dries out auto interior materials, including leather, vinyl and other plastics, fabrics and carpets. That’s aesthetic, but it also causes materials to evaporate and release volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

A phenomenon known as “new car smell” is similar, in that, according to Chemical & Engineering News, it represents the off-gassing of VOCs from adhesives and sealants. The sun shade is a low-tech product that will combat both of these phenomena. Usually costing $20 or less, it’s a simple rectangle of fabric, or a combination of fabric and plastics (cardboard seems passé) that unfolds to fit across your windshield and block the sun’s rays. Some of the products include a warning: Not to be used while driving!

If wearing sunglasses while driving isn’t an option for you, a car sun visor extender for your vehicle can be a terrific alternative. Visor extenders come in different varieties, as some block the sun entirely and others work as fold-down polarized screens, but the goal is always to give drivers better visibility.

All the extenders we recommend attach to your existing sun visor, and they extend vertically, horizontally, or both. If your backseat passengers are experiencing excessive glare from the side windows, you might look into a car window shade that covers your back car window and protects the car interior’s backseat.

Do windshield sunshades work? Indeed, they do.