- Jan. 13th 2021 1:01 am PT

Tesla models S and X offer HEPA air filtration, and some Model Ys in China are featuring it, too. But as a whole, electric vehicles don’t come equipped with HEPA – high-efficiency particulate air – filters. That’s where Scosche’s new FrescheAir Portable HEPA Air Purifier comes in, as it’s made especially for cars.

HEPA filters work by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps 99.95% of harmful particles such as pollen, dust, smoke, and pathogens. And that includes COVID-19. As Wirecutter verifies, “Air purifiers with HEPA filtration efficiently capture particles the size of (and far smaller than) the virus that causes COVID-19.”

So Scosche (pronounced skohsh) introduced the FrescheAir at CES this year. It’s designed to fit in a vehicle cup holder, as pictured above, and is motion activated, with two fan speeds. You can plug it in and forget about it. It has a digital display on the top that tells you about air quality, temperature, and humidity at quick glance. It can purify up to 43 square feet (4 square meters) of space.

The FrescheAir is available now at Scosche.com and at select retailers including Amazon for $99.99. It’s made of heavy-duty aluminum, and comes with one replaceable HEPA Filter and a dual 12-W USB Car Charger and Charging Cable.

I honestly can’t think of a better time for this product to come out. Between pollution coming from gas-powered cars in traffic to the COVID-19 virus, who wouldn’t want this HEPA air filter in their car to protect their lungs, especially if you have to do a lot of driving, or with more than one person? If the traffic is bad, or it’s freezing out, opening the windows might not be an option.

HEPA filter systems are employed on airplanes, and as National Geographic explains, “The quality of indoor air — which way it flows, how much it does or doesn’t allow for pathogens to disperse or disappear — can make the difference between staying well or getting infected.”

And if you have to drive someone who isn’t in your immediate household in an even smaller space, or have to travel with work colleagues, then you plug in the FrescheAir, put on your masks, and voila. Further, it can be used in other spaces too beside your car, so if you’re required to work in an office or other shared space, have air filter, will travel. Staying healthy is certainly worth $99.99.

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Michelle Lewis is a writer and editor on Electrek and an editor on DroneDJ, 9to5Mac, and 9to5Google. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. She has previously worked for Fast Company, the Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. Message Michelle on Twitter or at michelle@9to5mac.com. Check out her personal blog.

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