USB can be equally as inefficient. And the poorer adaptors really not good, even unsafe, nor provide the correct output for my modern devices that expect far more sophisticated chargers than a crude 12V to 5V converter.
I prefer to use my devices with the power supplies that their manufacturers provided, which are designed for 110 to 230 V, having had one mobile phone, and at least one tablet destroyed by cheap cigar lighter socket adapters, which was an expensive lesson.
This also provides a measure of isolation between them, for example whilst my TV will accept a 12V input, when connected directly to the
battery bank it does not always work well. The voltage on that can vary hugely, and when connected to the aux-in socket of the radio to make use of the good sound system there was a ground loop that was quite dangerous. Turn on the internal lighting, fed from the same internal wiring, and there could be half a volt drop along the negative connection. When the water pump turned on and off it was worse.
The 3rd party adapter for my laptop kicked out so much EMC that it blocked FM and TV radio reception completely and disrupted my mobile and WiFi signals too.
I am not concerned about charging my toothbrush, nor operating a hairdrier, nor do I have large power demands. But anything that I connect directly to the van's basic 12V system is now designed for that job.
Are you aware of, for example, the realities of how a vehicle alternator can respond to changes in load ? Look up "load dump" for example. This sort of thing can happen when jump starting a vehicle, or just having a poor
battery terminal connection that you haven't noticed. Or just switching off a heavy load (such as a big
inverter) whilst the engine is running. Or every time a primitive voltage sensing relay disconnects the habitation batteries as you turn off the engine. Or just every time you turn off the engine, if the alternator has been working hard to charge a low
battery.
Anything connected to the starter
battery, such as things plugged into the lighter socket, could see that. The better ones pause a little to prevent this.
en.wikipedia.org
Well made automotive parts each have their own protective devices to guard against this. The components alone added about £2 to the cost of the things that I used to design for motorsport use. I've not found this inside any of the inexpensive stuff I have examined. Certainly not in a £50
inverter, but I could live with the
inverter being damaged, as long as the expensive equipment connected to it was not.