Over the years, I’ve seen a slew of car-related gadgets that do all kinds of things. Like a lot of people, I’m excited about the ones I buy for about two weeks, until it breaks or quits working.

That hasn’t been the case with the ZUS Car Finder, an interesting pairing of both what I could call a phone “super-charger” and technology that helps you find your car, all-in-one. I recently had a chance to try out the device.

First off, this sleek, German-designed device is a solid gadget in terms of build quality. I hate to call it a gadget, because it has a very elegant, premium feel to it that would complement the interior of a European luxury vehicle.

The ZUS Car Finder can charge up to two devices, and charge them quickly. Very quickly. If you have an iPhone 6 Plus or 6S Plus, it’s the difference between using the smaller 1 amp power adapter versus the larger 2.1 amp. If you’re charging a tablet, the difference in the charging speed of these power adapters is enormous. The same goes for the ZUS Car Finder. The company that produces the device, nonda, of Palo Alto, Calif., says it can charge tablets and smartphones twice as fast as a typical car charger. I found this to be the case. 

The second major feature of the ZUS Car Finder is the actual car-finding part. Finding my own car really has never been a problem, but consider the other obvious situation that many business travelers face: renting a car. If you find yourself in a rental that looks like a hundred other vehicles around town, this is where the ZUS Car Finder can shine. The device is portable and easy to move to a different vehicle.

I’ve tested the car-finding feature and it works very well. As soon as I park my vehicle and shut off the engine, I get an alert on my iPhone as well as my Apple Watch, asking me if I want to set the parking timer. And when I pull up the car-finder portion of the app, I’m able to track down my vehicle very accurately.

Among the device’s other capabilities are:
-share-your-location;