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The car lover’s Christmas gift guide for 2018!

You local supermarket has been playing inappropriately snow-themed tunes and dazzling you with sparkly baubles for more than a month now, so it can only mean one thing: Christmas is near. Near-ish.


Near enough! So, just as we do every year, we've this week canvassed the CarAdvice office for suggestions on things they'd love for Christmas!

As always, the result is a mix of toys you'll trample at midnight, socks you'll orphan, and genuinely practical items you'll find yourself realising – on the roadside, in the rain, miles from anywhere – you left in the garage.

Here's what we're digging this year!


Led as always by driver, commentator and good bloke Steve Pizzati, Audi Australia's drive experiences are a hoot. They've also got a good variety of packages on offer, from day events to big trips. Check 'em out here.



Broadening the training scope to defensive driving and 'run what you brung' opportunities, CarAdvice has done spent plenty of time with Driving Solutions in Sydney and Driver Dynamics in Melbourne. Both offer a great range of courses for drivers young and old.

If you prefer something with more mud and dirt, our man Sam Purcell recommends Off Road Rush in Queensland.


The Christmas and New Year holiday season is hectic, so you'd be forgiven for wanting a little extra 'insurance' in the form of a dash camera to record any – knock on wood – potential incident you might encounter out there. Uniden's new iGO CAM 70R is one worth checking out.



Coffee Table Book by PIOTR DEGLER

The description says it all: "An extensive photographic project about Cubas car culture. 222 full color images is the result after 1 month and 3000km on the island. Printed in Italy on high quality paper and available for shipping worldwide. A tribute to the cars that have survived over half a century on the island, thanks to the inventiveness of the Cuban people."


It's been 50 years since the legendary, iconic Hot Wheels brand burst onto the scene, and there's all manner of throwback tribute stuff available. Big W has a huge range, and Angus & Robertson has an amazing coffee table book. Shop around though, you might finder better prices online. The official 50th Anniversary website is here, too.


If you own a classic, a limited-edition model or the last of its breed, you could probably do worse than make sure the beauty is tucked properly away when you're not taking it out for a rare cruise. We haven't tested this Autonovus product, but it does look like a great idea.



You don't have to go far to find awesome auto-themed t-shirts, but we're fans of the gear at Blipshift and Import Bible. Disclosure: this writer has known Import Bible's founder for a mighty long time, and he's the best.



What's better than taking that classically daggy Christmas jumper style and adding the fan-fave E30 coupe? Tough to pass this one up.



In a similar theme, for Porsche fans, is the stunning Weissach Wunderland jumper. It's available from December 6 with international shipping. Should arrive just in time! (Their t-shirts ain't bad either.)



Yeah look I'm buying one of each. One pair of each, that is. I mean, how the heck can I not?



Here's one we came across just this week: a fully-funded Kickstarter that combines that classic wooden toy car feel with a die-cast base to achieve the best of both worlds. Good for parent and kid alike!



CarAdvice has already been a customer with GrabMeGear, kitting out our own vehicles for testing and filming trips requiring some time in the great outdoors. We can happily recommend it!


It wouldn't be a CarAdvice gift guide without some Lego, and what a legend this one is.

Q: You see this arm here? Open the top and inside are your defence mechanism controls. Smokescreen. Oil slick. Rear bulletproof screen. And left and right front wing machine guns. Now, this one I'm particularly keen on. You see the gear lever here. Now, if you take the top off, you find a little red button. Whatever you do, don't touch it.

Bond: And why not?

Q: Because you release this section of the roof and engage and fire the passenger ejector seat. Whoosh!

Bond: Ejector seat, you're joking?

I never joke about my work, 007.

Well, the Lego version may not promise all that…



You're probably going to have a Christmas lunch road trip on your hands, so you might also have a post-lunch clean-up in aisle two to take care of. This kit should see you right.



You wouldn't think our comparisons editor Curt Dupriez could be dragged away from driving, and writing about what he's been driving, but Microsoft managed it with the latest instalment in the Forza Horizon series. Catch Curt's review here, and then go grab a copy.


It may still be a month away, but from all at CarAdvice, we wish you a Merry Christmas! 

Got any specific suggestions? Shoot us a link at our contact page (you can't post links in our comments section below, as an anti-spam measure), and we'll consider it for the list!

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