I've got fancy flashlights and not-so-fancy flashlights. I've left things in my car that were stolen, or corroded internal wires/springs because of the fluctuating temperatures. Additionally, the person you gift your flashlight to might not use it well, might use it too much (non-emergencies), lose, or not want to worry about tracking down batteries that aren't available at the local gas station at 3 am when needed.
Personally I want something that has decent run time in case I'm stranded 10+ miles from the nearest station or whatever, and I want a seperate light that can stay with the car and flash so that I can find it if I have to venture far away, or if it's dark and there's no street lights where cars might hit it if it didn't make it's way to a safe spot. I also want a magnet so I can do a little work under the hood or change my tire without holding the light. Therefore I have a $15 Coast zoomie and $5 Big Larry knockoff which has a magnet, COB, and flashing red option. $20 altogether from Wmt.
Since I usually have an EDC light on me, I have a few bases covered. So far it's been a couple years and those cheap flashlights still work, and the Li AA's do OK through the cold seasons in my car. I do change the batteries every couple years and test the lights to make sure they work.
If I could only have one do-it-all flashlight in my glove compartment, it would be a headlamp. However, many of the decent but inexpensive headlamp options look like they have electric on switches that will slowly drain the batteries over time if installed.
If you want to go with a mid range flashlight, Steramlight has both a normal and a 90 degree flashlight that take a CR123, AA, or even a AAA (Streamlight Protac 1L-1AA and Protac 90 Everyday Carry). No magnet though. You can often find these locally.
