Dead handy – that’s what these neat vices are. There are loads of simple car jobs that would be a great deal easier if you had an extra pair of hands – and with one of these products clamped to the shelf or workbench in your garage, it can do all the necessary holding, leaving you free to do the cleaning, painting, drilling or whatever.

A vice is ideal for today’s garages and any jobs you need to do on your car. Designs have improved in recent years, with many models now including protective jaw covers and clamps, plus swivelling bases to provide all-round access. But which is best? We looked at seven top-sellers to find out.

You are not going to get much joy out of these vices if they are difficult to use, so we wanted easy moving parts, a good spread from the jaws and secure clamps. We then tightened a bolt in the vice and used a torque wrench to see how each responded to a bit of force.

This test exposed any weaknesses in the jaws, clamp and swivelling or ball-joint base. Extra points were then awarded for jaw protectors and padded clamps – which will help prevent any damage to surfaces or kit being held. Price was also taken into account.

Verdict

The Screwfix 16894 combines solid performance with several desirable features, such as ball-joint mounting, jaw protectors and a padded clamp. All this made it tempting enough – but then add a price of less than £11, and it was an easy winner.The Kennedy KEN-516-2000K is virtually identical to our Best Buy, and was slightly more user-friendly. Yet it fell down on price; it costs nearly twice as much as our champion, and dropped into second place as a result. Finally, Screwfix’s fairly basic 49861 was among the toughest vices, making it the one best suited to heavier work.