Half-price in-car Alexa: The Echo Auto has just dropped to an amazing price

The Echo Auto sits discreetly on your dashboard, ready to take commands | Amazon

You can now buy a truly hands-free solution for your in-car tech for just £30 thanks to this limited-time deal

Most of us use our smartphones as companions in the car. From navigation to music players, they just do a better job of entertaining and guiding us than our dashboard screens do.

And what if you haven't got a dashboard screen? If you're on a long journey, using Waze or Google Maps on your phone can be a godsend.

But even a securely clamped phone isn't a truly hands-free solution, and factory-fitted voice command systems in cars are notoriously rubbish.

There are, however, better ways to ensure you're staying safe and legal while listening to music or navigating to a new destination. One of which is to connect up a proprietary voice control device.

You can even use the Echo Auto to add items to a shopping list | Amazon

And perhaps the best one on the market is Amazon's Echo Auto. If you're accustomed to using Alexa at home, it's just the same thing, only it plays through your car's speakers.

And even if you're not au fait with home-based smart speakers, imagine being able to sit in your car and say something like: "Alexa: Play some relaxing music", or "Alexa: When will it stop raining", or even "Alexa, open my garage door".

Depending on what smart devices you have at home, Alexa can also help you get your house ready for your arrival. You could ask her to turn on your heating, or boil your smart kettle, or turn on your driveway lights.

Or you could just use her to load up your favourite podcast on Spotify, or call a loved one to let them know you're running late, or even navigate to a petrol station.

It's easy to turn off the microphone if you want to ensure privacy | Amazon

The Echo Auto is powered by your car's 12v system, either connecting through USB or from the cigarette lighter socket.

It connects to your car's existing audio system through either an aux input or wirelessly through Bluetooth, and it mounts to your dashboard, or it can tuck out of the way.

It really is that simple. You keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and bark orders at Alexa whenever you need to skip a track, change the volume, or even ask for directions.

Normally, these marvellous little devices cost £59.99, but we've seen an amazing deal on Amazon that makes them half-price. They're now just £29.99. And that's for the latest version.

This is a limited-time deal, so we don't know how long it will last, but next-day delivery is available for Prime members, so you could have it fitted in time for your Christmas break.