Best Car Doorsteps (SUV and other) UK Reviews of 2024

Car doorsteps are simple little attachments that provide you easy access to the roof of your vehicle, especially if it’s a larger one such as an SUV, truck or campervan. They are easy to hook onto the latch of your door, cause no damage to the vehicle and act as a great way to access your rooftop for things such as roof boxes, bike racks etc., without having to stand on your seats with wet or muddy boots.

A good doorstep should be high enough quality so as not to break when you stand on it, aswell as causing no damage or scratching to the vehicle paintwork, although some models do need a tiny bit of DIY to stop them causing marking of the paintwork.

Best Car Doorsteps in the UK Reviews

#1. PHATRIP Car Doorstep

This is our top car doorstep pick as it is the best quality step overall in terms of sturdiness and reliability when compared with other models out there.

It’s a very robust and strong step that’s large enough to step on with your 2 feet comfortably and safely. It supports up to 400 lbs of weight which is nearly a 30 stone weight capacity, and should certainly cover everyone that wants to use one.

It also has some important soft rubber feet that avoid any scratching or marking of the vehicle paint.

It is slightly bigger and heavier than the other picks, but that adds to the strength and sturdiness of the platform when standing on it. It does, however, have a foldaway design, so that you can store it away in your car.

The adjustable attachment leg is unique and allows you to adjust the angle of the step to ensure it’s straight and for stepping on.

Overall it is definitely one of the most expensive doorsteps you’ll find, but you can tell that it’s of better quality than the other steps out there when you hold it and isn’t just some cheap Chinese metal.

Pros

• Sturdy, strong and stable to stand on
• Big enough to use 2 feet on comfortably
• Great weight capacity – 400 lbs
• Soft rubber shoes prevent any paint damage
• Adjustable leg ensures a level platform

Cons

• Expensive
• Slightly bigger, does fold down aswell though
• Heavier step – ‎862g

Verdict: Strong and Reliable

#2. ‎Cartaoo Doorstep

Although our runner up pick is fairly common in terms of design, it’s a very popular model that’s slightly more compact and lighter than our first choice, weighing just 280g.

Even though it’s slightly smaller, it’s still extremely strong and can easily withstand up to 510lbs of weight. The material quality of the step is excellent, as can be seen by the many reviews, with the chances of it breaking being very low.

We love the design overall, especially the folding hook part that’s sturdy, low profile and turns it into a compact size doorstep that’s small enough to be placed in your glove compartment.

It also sports an anti-slip design that helps add stability and an element of safety when standing on the doorstep. It does give a good grip when standing on, however, you still need to be careful if you’re using wet footwear to stand on it.

A nice little addition to the design is the stainless steel safety hammer attached to the end. This acts as an escape tool and can be used to smash the window in case of an emergency.

There is a rubber pad at the back of the step where it sits against the car paint to avoid any marks or scratches. Generally there shouldn’t be any damage to paintwork because of the pad, however, there have been some instances where it has left marks on the paintwork. Our recommendation if you’re concerned, is to remove the rubber pad and replace it with something with a little more padding.

Overall, a great all-round footstep for your vehicle that’s compact, strong and comes in at a reasonable price.

Pros

• Compact enough to fold and put in glove compartment
• Lightweight – 280g
• Strong enough to last – holds up to 510lbs
• Fairly priced
• Handy additional safety hammer tool
• Different selection of colours
• 1 year warranty provided

Cons

• Rubber pad can sometimes leave damage to paintwork
• No adjustable angle

Verdict: Great Overall

#3. Semoic

Our last pick is very similar to the previously reviewed step, with the main difference being the shape of the design and the added rubber particles for extra grip.

It’s another sturdy, strong, aluminium design that won’t break on you with a great weight capacity of 510lbs.

It is slightly different in shape from the other picks with a slight curve to it. We prefer the straight design over this, not that this shape design is bad, just if you want to use 2 feet, we think it would be more secure without the reduced sides.

Even though we mentioned the above stability concern, the highlight of this model is still the unique grip design. It has lots of rubber particles that create a strong enough grip to avoid any slipping.

It’s another compact, folding design where the hook easily folds down, allowing you to store it in a glove compartment or somewhere else out of sight.

Again, like the above step, there’s rubber pads attached to the back of it to prevent any scratching when pressed against the paintwork. Like the above choice also, we would advise putting your own protective measures on it.

Like the previous pick, there’s also an attached safety hammer on the end that acts as an escape tool in case of an emergency.

Overall an ok design which we feel could be improved slightly, though it’s still compact and has excellent stability thanks to the extra anti-slip rubber grips on it.

Pros

• Great rubber anti-slip design
• Solid aluminium all around – feels quality to hold
• Folding, compact design
• Great weight capacity – 510lbs
• Has a hammer escape tool on the end
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Design would be better off being completely straight
• Might need a bit of DIY to avoid any paintwork marks
• No adjustable angle

Verdict: Best Grip

Vehicle Doorstep Buying Considerations

Material Quality and Design

Most steps are made from stainless steel or aluminium, making them robust enough to withstand a fair bit of weight being applied over and over.

Ideally, you want a sturdy metal design which all of our reviewed picks above are made of. You don’t want anything mainly made of plastic as it simply won’t be strong enough when you stand on it, with a slip being the last thing you want.

Anti-Slip

Speaking of slipping, any model you purchase should have some sort of anti-slip design as you need a good grip for enhanced stability. All our choices have some anti-slip grip of some sort, with some of them having better grips than others. That being said, even if it has a good grip, you always have to be careful when standing on one with wet boots or shoes as they can easily become slippery in such circumstances.

Weight Capacity

Weight capacity is fairly important as any step attached needs to comfortably handle various adult weights applied over and over again, however, you’ll find that most steps out there generally have an adequate weight capacity of 400-500lbs.

Folding Design

A folding design is fairly common with most car doorsteps typically having the attachment hook fold down. Compactness is important as these steps are meant to replace the need for having to store and transport a set of ladders in your vehicle or something similar.

Being lightweight is also important, as if you want to fold it away and store it discreetly in a glove compartment, then it should be light enough to hold in one hand comfortably.

Rubber Stopper

Because of the nature of these steps and the fact that they are tight against the inside of your vehicle door, you need something protective and soft to avoid any scratching or marking of the paintwork. Most models come with a rubber stopper at the edge of the step to avoid this, although the majority of them aren’t that great and probably should be replaced with something more protective.

Escape Tool Edge

Some models you’ll find have an emergency escape tool attached to the end. These models replicate escape tools that help break the glass of the vehicle in an emergency situation. Typically it’s just a metal style spike on the end that you hit off the window glass to shatter it, although the step should be compact enough so that you can hold it in one hand easy enough, otherwise it’s pointless for emergency use.

Fit and Size

Nearly every footstep you’ll find on the market has a universal size and should fit all vehicles that have a standard door hook. There will be a few instances where the hook might not fit correctly, or the design doesn’t side against the inside of your door properly. Most manufacturers state that their model is a standard, universal size, although there are probably a few exceptions, in which case you should contact them first and ask.

Doorstep Uses for A Vehicle

Some of the uses for attaching a doorstep to your vehicle:

• Attaching/detaching a roof box, roof rack, roof bar, kayak, bike, tent, skis, ladders etc.
• Washing or cleaning the roof of your vehicle
• Securing straps around whatever you want to transport on your roof

Final Word

Doorsteps are perfect for reaching the roof of your vehicle, especially if it’s larger in size, with the good thing about every model being that they should pretty much clip into the door hook of any vehicle. They are simple in design, and there isn’t much to compare when it comes to models. They are relatively inexpensive to buy overall and should last you forever, even when stepping on them regularly. Our best vehicle doorstep overall is PHATRIP model, which hands down has the best build quality out of all our top choices above.