Winter Car Kit

Quick answer: a jump starter, a tyre inflator, a shovel, a torch, gloves and a blanket cover almost every winter breakdown. Everything else on the internet's list is optional.

1. A lithium jump starter, not cables

Jumper cables need a second car and a willing stranger. A lithium pack lives in the trunk for months, holds its charge well enough for an emergency, and starts the car alone. Buy one rated for your engine size: a 1000A peak pack handles a four-cylinder comfortably, and a V8 or diesel wants 2000A or more.

Check the capacity every autumn. Cold reduces what a lithium pack can deliver, so a pack that starts a car in July may not in January.

1. A tyre inflator that plugs into the car

Under-inflation is the most common winter tyre problem, and a slow puncture in freezing weather is a slow walk home. A 12V inflator with a digital target pressure gets you to a garage. Cordless inflators are more convenient and need charging; either beats a foot pump you will not use.

1. A shovel you can actually hold

A compact telescopic snow shovel clears the plough berm the snowplough leaves at the end of your driveway and digs a car out of a drift. Buy the one with a metal edge; plastic folds in wet snow.

1. Light, and light that works with gloves

A head torch beats a hand torch because both hands stay free. Keep spare batteries in the kit rather than in the torch. A reflective vest costs little and makes you visible to traffic while you work.

1. Warmth that is not just a coat

A wool blanket, a spare pair of gloves and a hat. If you are waiting for a recovery truck for two hours, the car's heater is off because the engine is off. Add a couple of high-energy snacks and a bottle of water that will not freeze solid overnight.

1. A way to be found

A paper note with your insurer's and breakdown provider's numbers, because phones die. A power bank to keep the phone alive. Reflectors, or a triangle, if you have to leave the car.

What not to carry

Chains you have never fitted are useless in an emergency; practise once in daylight or leave them at home. Sand or cat litter helps in a slippery car park and takes up a lot of space for a job a shovel does better. A full toolkit is dead weight unless you can do the repair in the cold.

The five-minute autumn check

Inflate the tyres to the winter pressure in the door jamb, test the battery, replace wiper blades, top up the screen wash to the winter concentration, and put the kit back in the trunk. That routine costs nothing and removes most of what winter actually does to a car.