If you don't wnat to expend too much but are looking for a small light with a lot of power, you can not do better than with the Fenix L1 P or the L1T.
I have used these ( in the picture) as EDC for the last few years and the Fenix wins hands down, in portability and easy to feed.
It uses a AA battery, and in my case I use AA rechargeables, so I can use the light all I want without guilt.
I second Pete f on the Streamlight Polypro Luxeon, as a house light, it uses 4 batteries AA and if you also use rechargeables you don't have to spend an extra dime in batteries for a long long time.
However for the car, I want something that can throw a long way and put the maximum amount of lumens possible, to act as a deterrent if you find yourself in trouble in some dark road or even as a weapon of sort (club) for defense.
I have two lights of my manufacture in the car, in the glove compartment I have a Black Bear 678 (720 lumens) and in the floor under the seat a BOREALIS 1050 lumens.
Both lights are more powerful than a 1,000.000 candlepower spotlight, are rechargeable using Nimhs AA (so free to run) and can be used as a short club 10 " long for the Black Bear 678 and 12 1/2 " for the BOREALIS.
If used with the stainiless steel Crenellated bezel, a blow with it can take out a knee cap, elbow or clavicula, a very effective legal weapon.
In the trunk I keep a Cabela's head light LED that leaves two hands free to work under the hood or changing a tire.
And also a Maglite 6 D and a traffic cone, so a helper can control incoming traffic out of the way.
Regards
black bear