The 3 Driving Sunglasses We Actually Wear

Why This Matters

There's a moment on every open-top drive. usually about forty minutes in, when the sun drops to that perfect angle just above the horizon. where the wrong sunglasses will ruin everything. Squinting through a canyon road isn't just uncomfortable, it's unsafe. And cheap polarized lenses that distort your depth perception on a switchback? That's a problem.

We've driven thousands of miles in convertibles, targas, and speedsters along the Pacific Coast Highway, through the red rock canyons of Utah, and over the Blue Ridge Parkway. Along the way, we've tried dozens of sunglasses. from $30 gas station specials to $600 designer frames. These three pairs are the ones that stayed in the glovebox.

Persol 714SM. Steve McQueen Edition

There's a reason Steve McQueen wore these in The Thomas Crown Affair. The folding design means they slip into a jacket pocket without a bulky case, and the crystal lenses are genuinely the sharpest optics we've tested at any price. The meflecto temples flex to grip your head without pressure. critical when you're in a car with no roof and the wind is doing its thing.

On the road, the brown polarized lenses are extraordinary. They enhance contrast without shifting colors, which means the golden hour glow of California wine country looks exactly as it should. The folding mechanism feels overengineered in the best way. no wobble, no looseness, even after two years of daily use.

The only downside is coverage. These are a classic pilot shape, not a wraparound, so peripheral wind can be an issue at highway speeds in a fully open car. For a targa or a car with a decent windscreen, they're perfect.

Ray-Ban RB3025 Classic Aviator

The default. The one everyone knows. And honestly? There's a reason they've been the go-to driving sunglasses since the 1930s. The G-15 lens is the gold standard for natural color rendering. it cuts glare without making the world look like a sepia Instagram filter.

We keep a pair of these in every car. At $163, they're the most accessible option here, and the optical quality punches well above the price. The gold frame with green lens is the classic combination, but the polarized version in the same colorway is worth the $30 premium for driving.

They're not perfect for high-speed open-top driving. the flat lens design catches wind, and they can lift off your face in a roofless car at speed. But for top-up cruising, targa driving, or any situation where you're not fighting a full-force headwind, they're unbeatable for the money.

Randolph Engineering Aviator

The military-spec option. Randolph has been making sunglasses for the US Air Force since 1978, and the build quality reflects it. The bayonet temples (straight arms that hook behind your ears) are the single best temple design for driving. they work with every helmet, headrest, and headband, and they never, ever slip.

The SkyForce lenses are the real story. They're glass (not polycarbonate), with a proprietary anti-reflective coating that virtually eliminates the dashboard reflection that plagues every other pair of sunglasses. If you've ever been annoyed by seeing your dashboard reflected in your lenses, these solve that problem completely.

At $279, they sit between the Ray-Bans and the Persols, and in terms of pure driving performance, they might be the best of the three. The matte chrome frame is subtle enough for a wine country lunch but tough enough for a dusty desert road.