The best car cabin air filters in India right now

We bought twelve cabin filters at retail and ran each one for 2,000 km on a mix of city and highway routes, logging blower airflow and cabin PM2.5.

Overall winner — TerraPleat Carbon X1 (Rs 1,249). 97% PM2.5 capture with only a 6% airflow drop at full blower. The 240 g carbon layer was the only one that fully killed diesel smell in stop-go traffic.

Best for pollen — AeroSieve HEPA-92 (Rs 980). Slightly more airflow loss, but nothing else came close on fine pollen during a Pune spring test.

Best value — KlarAir Particulate P3 (Rs 640). No carbon, no odour control, but 84% PM2.5 for the price of two coffees. If your current filter is grey, this is still a big upgrade.

Avoid unbranded filters sold loose without a moulded frame. Three of them deformed inside the housing and let unfiltered air bypass the media completely.