This little button keeps your car cool – it's available even on older models

Do you dream of having a cold drink at your fingertips when it's 95 degrees in your car? Here's a tip every driver should know.

Have you ever read your car's manual? Or, like most users, after buying a new or used vehicle, you put it off until later, that is to say... forever. And that's a shame! Because while we can quickly get to grips with the main options to be able to drive as calmly as possible, each vehicle has many little gadgets that are not easy to discover without first reading the user manual, which is usually tucked away in the glove compartment.

The glove compartment, what is it for? This large drawer, most often located above the passenger's feet, is ideal for storage. Not always very tidy, it accommodates sunglasses, pens, mail, hairbrush, Doliprane... In short, a mishmash of more or less useful objects that we like to have within reach in the car.

But this deep drawer has another function, unknown to many drivers, yet very useful, especially in the summer. If you're used to carrying a bottle to refresh yourself on your short or long journeys, you've certainly already had to swallow a few sips of lukewarm, or even downright hot, water. It's a shame, because you could probably have had a cold drink, and without having to take a cooler, which can sometimes be bulky. How? Simply by putting your bottle in the glove compartment!

And yes, in most recent cars, the glove compartment can be transformed into a refrigerator (or almost). If you still don't want to check the manual to see if your vehicle is equipped with this option, then open your glove compartment and look for a small button, like a switch. It's usually located on the left side of the glove compartment. If you find it, it will allow you to turn on the air conditioning in the compartment.

Be careful, however, some users think that an air conditioner is built into the glove compartment and that all they have to do is turn on the car's air conditioning via the dashboard for the drawer to receive refrigerated air. This is not the case. The glove compartment is actually connected to the vehicle's air conditioner by a hose that will pump the cold air, which will then diffuse inside it. But for this to work, you must have activated the small latch located inside (often at the bottom) of the glove compartment. There you have it, if your car has this option, you can now always drink cold drinks in the car, even in scorching temperatures!