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The Best Car Mini Fridges For On-The-Go Drinks

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Last Updated: May 3, 2024, 1:14 p.m.

Unless you drive an RV or some fancy vehicle, you probably don’t have a fridge in your car. And why would you? You can bring drinks without fridges, and it’s not like you’re going to be bringing around frozen meat on road trips. If you’re the type of person who loves a cold drink no matter the occasion, investing in a car mini fridge may not be such a bad idea.

Car mini fridges can be used in your vehicle if they support car charger outlets. They’re not nearly as large as conventional mini fridges, but they don’t have to be. With some of the top car mini fridges of 2024, you can pack a whole 6-pack of soft drinks, juice, and more.

Car Mini Fridge Buyer’s Guide

Need to bring a few cold drinks with you? This guide will cover what you need to know about car mini fridges.

What Is a Car Mini Fridge?

A car mini fridge is a device that works like a home refrigerator. But instead of taking up tons of space, car mini fridges are no more than a few feet tall. They have limited capacity, only holding a few liters’ worths of drinks at a time, but they’re great if you want to keep some bottles or cans of drink nice and cold throughout the day. They’re particularly useful for road trips or when heading to parties, keeping your drinks ready for enjoyment.

Reasons To Get a Car Mini Fridge

They cool your drinks

The reason why you’d want a car mini fridge is the same reason why you’d want a fridge in general — to keep things cool. For car mini fridges, in particular, you’ll likely use them for cans or bottles of various drinks. Without a mini fridge in your car, the only way you can drink something cold in your vehicle is by buying a drink from a store and cracking it open before it warms up. With a mini fridge on hand, however, you can guarantee that it stays cold as long as the car runs.

They remove the need for ice boxes

Ice boxes are the go-to choice for a lot of people when they want to bring along cold drinks and food. The problem is that they can only stay cool for so long, and they require a lot of ice that you need to obtain and then dispose of when finished. With car mini fridges, it’s as easy as sliding the drink into the fridge and taking it out once it’s ready to go.

Cooler vs. Refrigerator vs. Freezer

The term “cooler” and “refrigerator” is often used interchangeably, and while they are for the most part identical, there are some differences. Many people consider a cooling device a cooler if it’s used exclusively for drinks, whereas refrigerators are devices used for food and drink. However, they are used for the same purpose, and you can use coolers for food and fridges for drinks if needed. Freezers work differently, as they freeze the things inside instead of just cooling them. This requires more power than a typical fridge, but there are usable mini freezers that you can place inside cars if you need them.

Find a Good Place To Install Your Fridge

Since there’s no dedicated place in most cars for mini fridges, you’ll need to find a good place to install them. You can place them in the middle of the back seats or remove one of the seats entirely to make room for your fridges. No matter how you set it up, ensure that it doesn’t move around no matter how rough you may be while driving.

Top Picks

Best Overall: Chefman Car Mini Fridge
Best Pick: Crownful Mini Fridge
Best Freezer: Alpicool Cf55 Portable Refrigerator
Best With View: Frigidaire Red Efmis129
With Handle: Astroai Mini Fridge
Decent Size: Nxone Mini Fridge

Reviews

Best Overall

Chefman Car Mini Fridge

Pros	Cons
Perfect portability for various settings Cooling and warming functionality Compact size with 4-liter capacity	Doesn’t cool like a real fridge

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Best Pick

Crownful Mini Fridge

Pros	Cons
Available in many different colors Very compact design Can both cool and warm drinks	Build quality isn’t the best

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Best Freezer

Alpicool Cf55 Portable Refrigerator

Pros	Cons
Can cool or freeze as needed Safe for car batteries Plenty of space for food and drink	Require a lot of room

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Best With View

Frigidaire Red Efmis129

Pros	Cons
Comes with a transparent view of inside The retro mini fridge design may appeal to some folk Plugs included for home and car outlets	Only a cooler, not a fridge

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With Handle

Astroai Mini Fridge

Pros	Cons
Easy to carry with a handle Multiple adapters suited for any occasion Quiet cooling for little to no noise	Can’t store larger bottles

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Decent Size

Nxone Mini Fridge

Pros	Cons
More space than your typical mini fridge Holds up to 8 or 12 cans Toggleable hot/cold function	A bit difficult to carry around

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FAQs

Can mini fridges run even when the car is off?

This depends on the car model, but fridges will generally lose power when the car turns off. While keeping your fridge running even if you turn off your car is possible, this is not always a good idea as it drains your car’s battery.

Should I leave my drinks in the fridge when leaving the car?

As long as the fridge is kept in a shaded area of the car, your drinks should be more or less fine even if you turn the vehicle off and leave it. Turning the vehicle back on will start the cooling process again anyway, so you can wait a bit before the drinks become ready again.

Can car mini fridges freeze drinks?

While there are some models with the ability to freeze drinks, not all car mini fridges are able to do so.