Here’s the thing. We’re car enthusiasts. We pick and choose our cars on emotional whims, and spend aching hours obsessing over the cars we desperately want to own. Often, the cars we choose are neither cheap nor practical, and many of us will admit our fleets are not always in the best mechanical shape. That raises a question: What car should you be driving, instead of whatever impractical/unreliable/suboptimal machine is sitting in your driveway?
I’ll openly admit I’m guilty of some folly in this regard. I drive an Audi TT – a drop-top roadster, of course – in one of the rainiest cities in Australia. I live deep in the inner city, so I barely ever actually drive the thing, and its ride height is so low that it’s getting beat up every time I go over a speed bump. Of course, it’s my dream car, so I hold on to it for dear life.
Basically, I should be driving something else. And I know exactly what that car is. See, on the day I bought the worst car I’ve ever owned, I had actually test-driven something else. It was a first-generation Honda HR-V. This vehicle ticked a lot of boxes for me. It was all-wheel-drive, with a good ride height, so I could totally blast it around on the beach in the summer. Plus, it had a manual transmission. Ultimately, though, it felt cheap and a bit janky, so I passed it over for that hateful BMW.
Now that I’m living in the city, I realize this Honda would have been perfect for me. It had a nice high driving position, and absolutely wouldn’t fuss over any of the bumps, grates, or kerb ramps that plague the city. With no turbo, it would have been a touch better on gas than the Audi, plus it ran on regular instead of premium. It also had tons of cargo space, and was so cheap, I could hardly make it worse even if I drank four liters of Mountain Dew and spewed all over the interior. I could have found parts for it all over the world. Plus, it was still manual, so it’d satiate that part of my enthusiast brain.
This would have been an altogether better car for the kinds of driving I do these days—infrequent, on clogged city roads. Plus, its just-barely-off-roadable ability would have served me well on the occasional jaunt to the out-of-doors. Still, I love my Audi, and I’m not complaining. I just realize that there was a better, cheaper option for me.
Now, since this is Autopian Asks, I throw this over to you. What should you be driving, instead of the brown diesel Cadillac coupe you’re so addicted to?
Whatever gets me from Point A to Point B as cheaply, as safely, as cleanly, as comfortably and as quickly as speed limits and other conditions permit.
Yeah no shit that was the question. “I should be driving the car that I should be driving.”
What year, make, and model best fits those criteria?
A bus.
Like a 10 year old Civic which would be just as big as my 2002 IS300 (probably bigger rear seat), not much slower, but would burn regular fuel at half the rate the IS burns premium.
Or maybe, since 98% of the time I am driving by myself, an early 2000s Honda Insight and 55-60 mpg.
I should be driving a Leaf or maybe a Tesla Model 3 instead of my German sedan. It’s really a waste. I’m retired and I only put perhaps 7,500 miles a year on my daily driver. I live in a suburban-semi-urban area and there’s no place I need to go regularly that wouldn’t be in a 60 mile RT range. I also have a garage I could pop a charger in easily enough. We do travel, but we either fly and rent something or just rent something and drive. So, yeah, an EV would fill the daily driver role nicely.
However, I don’t drive enough miles to really get any worthwhile savings from an EV, and so it would purely be a virtue/vanity purchase. So, I think about it but it will probably never happen.
I should have a hybrid Maverick. I adore my Mazda 3, but a month ago it became abundantly clear to me that it will be too small for some of the road trips with my partner. My lead foot and the manual mode also cripple the fuel economy. I debated putting down a reservation for a Maverick with the bed and roof rails and camping package when they were announced. I didn’t realize several years later how perfect that would end up being. My partner loves camping and road trips and I see many national parks in our future.
A full size, V8, body on frame sedan that’s still slower than my Fiat. May have just bought one to replace the Saturn 🙂
I drive 1st gen Audi A3 1.8 Turbo and it fills my needs 99,9 % of the time very well. But if I would be completely sensible and frugal I should have something a bit more economical and something with a bit more cargo room and ground clearance. I’d say Toyota Yaris or Corolla wagon in the same price range.
But even though my car is basically old junk I love my Recaro seats, optional sport suspension and the universal niceness of my little Audi too much to consider a cheap Toyota.
I’m already driving a Prius…if I were even more reasonable I might be in a Corolla for even better reliability, but that’s a tough sacrifice of the hatch space and back seat legroom.
We need a Corolla wagon option. Sigh…
It might just surprise the big automakers by being as successful as the Maverick pickup.
Dare to dream…
I mean, in my list of priorities, the rear legroom is a bigger issue than the hatch/wagon angle. I just say “Corolla” rather than “Camry” since the Corolla still gets superior fuel economy.
Mazda5
As someone who DD a 5, I agree.
Kia Ray EV Single Seat.
I wouldn’t change my 2015 Fit EX for anything else on the market short of a Ferrari or Porsche, and maybe not even then.
I honestly don’t have that problem.. my daily is an ‘06 TSX manual with low miles. I have an old BMW airhead and my ‘94 F150 straight 6 in fleet white is a perfect wheelbarrow. My wife drives a newer Highlander that handles family duty like a champ and is dead-reliable. I often think about getting a newer sportier car, but my wife is adamant about getting an automatic so I’ll just hang onto the Acura.
I live in a northern city, and most of where I need to go can be done without requiring getting on a freeway, so… Daihatsu Midget II Cargo. That said, the extra space and power of a third Honda CRX might be nice.
Most Americans probably should be driving Nissan Rogues or Toyota RAV4s.
Hey I get we’re not exactly the best but there’s no reason to hate on America like that.
Nissan Rogues?!?
Did an American flip your mom the bird or something?
Besides, too many Americans are already driving Nissan products.
Any chance you can explain why most Americans should be driving horrible automobiles?
I should be driving a hybrid AWD Maverick. I am driving a kei truck, a miata, and a motorcycle.
Living your best life!
Based on what else is in the parking garage here at work I suppose I should be driving a 2CV instead of my Austin Allegro. I’m just not sure I want something quite so ubiquitous, though:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50495287042_b02623abc2_c.jpg
I should be driving a McLaren F1, but somehow my lottery ticket keeps getting mixed up with someone else’s.
Hey! That’s MY lottery ticket!!
I drive a minivan. Solo, back and forth to work everyday. I love the van but it often feels wasteful.
I should be driving a Prius back and forth. But the heart wants what it wants. And apparently the heart wants a van.
So get a hybrid Sienna, the Prius of Minivans.
45k and a non-removable 2nd row are both issues to me right now.
I should probably be driving a new Integra Type S with a manual. I live in the city and commute to the suburbs three times a week. I sit in a lot of traffic so something efficient is ideal but it should be fun when I get out of gridlock. 4 seats and a hatchback is the right amount of practicality.
Instead, I drive an MX-5 which is fun, efficient and practical for commuting. However, I really need to think twice about that Menard’s trip or take the wife’s Polestar.
I should be driving a two door JK Wrangler with a soft top.
I love trail riding on forest service roads and my Ford Flex is really not the best vehicle for that. Some I cannot go on unless I am in my son’s 4runner.
I love driving with the sunroof open and windows down. And would love half doors in the summer.
The Jeep will fulfill both wants for me and with my family becoming smaller with my son moving to Portland, a Jeep will fulfill my wants perfectly.
These are the dreams. Now is the time. Buy the Jeep.
I’m a fairly average wife with one kid and one small dog living well within city limits. It snows maybe 8 or so times a year here, nothing a decent set of snow tires can’t handle. I occasionally need to schlep wheels and tires or the odd transaxle, so I’d probably be set with a low-powered, 4 cylinder wagon of some sort. Which is exactly what I’m buying in a month. Then importing to the US a month after that. Just your average 25 year old mom wagon. Except nobody else in the US will have one.
Spill it, what are you getting??
I should be driving a Crew Cab full-sized pickup. I tow 2-4 times a month, take the whole family places, and use the outlet in the back of the bed pretty regularly.
So, while it may not SHOULD be the Nissan Titan I drive, it would be pretty close.
I’m about to transition to being a stay at home Dad and last year I sold my Volvo V70 to my Dad so I could buy a BRZ. I really like manuals and the Volvo was an auto and I was just tired of it. I probably should have got a manual V70 R or really just a clean stick Acura TSX or something like that, but I’m keeping the BRZ. With just one kid it actually toddlers quite well (thanks for the FRS “Will it Baby” review forever ago Torch!).
As a middle aged, white, southern American male, I guess I SHOULD be driving some variation of automatic transmission equipped C5 or C6 Corvette that I insist is 1-of-5 ever made in this color combo on a Friday in this particular year.
Instead, I ride a Honda Magna 750 while I hunt around for something fun and interesting to replace the slightly boring but nice Pontiac G6 convertible that I let my son talk me into letting him drive.
.
Eh, it’s just kind of a stereotype, y’know? Jorts and New Balance shoes and stuff.
I have new balances, and know folks who wear jorts.
So i guess I do!
As a middle aged, white, southern American male, I guess I SHOULD be driving some variation of automatic transmission equipped C5 or C6 Corvette that I insist is 1-of-5 ever made in this color combo on a Friday in this particular year.
Not an older, carbureted dented and rusty ‘Murican pickup truck?
Um, that’s pretty much what I’m shopping for.
My company sets very strict rules on what employees are allowed to own/use as personal cars, as a condition of receiving reimbursement for business use.
I do ca 2,000 reimburseable business miles per month, the car I should be driving would be what actually own in real life for my actual personal driving – a used Crown Victoria – but, I can’t use that for work, because my company won’t allow cars older than 4 years, and we also have a $37,700 minimum MSRP requirement (which my car doesn’t actually meet, but it met the old price requirement in place when I bought it, they raised it a few months after and fortunately haven’t made me buy another new car).
I bought a Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, because it was one of the cheapest cars I could get that met the minimum MSRP cut off in place at the time I bought it (which was $25k), and I figured 60mpg would make it cheap enough to operate that I should come close to turning a profit on our reimbursement.
But, I’ve learned that isn’t really the case, it’s a 2022 that I’ve got 93,000 miles on, and I’ve learned that Hyundais are really not built for the long haul, it’s got creaks and groans and rattles I’m used to hearing from decades older vehicles, has intermittent electric parking break failures, had had some sensors go bad (including passenger seat occupant), and now needs 4 new shocks, because they’re all blown. Plus, a cheap 2 year old Hyundai with that mileage means I’m under water on the loan, but am going to be required to trade it in on a new one in less than 2 years
In a perfect world, I’d be able to buy a cheap, comfortable, durable used car and just run the damn thing into the ground until the wheels fall off. A 5-10 year old Camry or Avalon would also work for this, but I can’t.
Where tf to you work?
Building materials company
That is a load of bureaucratic nonsense. If they want to keep you from jumping to the competition, they had better renegotiate the automobile policy. I would imagine that the competition would pay you better and not micromanage every aspect of your life.
Easier said than done, probably wouldn’t have taken this job in the first place if I had known, but the hiring manager actually didn’t really understand how it worked and couldn’t explain it, didn’t find out until I started. Been here over 3 years now, would not be opposed to switching, but that’s not exactly the easiest thing to do right now, especially since I’ll be 40 in 6 months, the age at which getting hired anywhere becomes exponentially more difficult.
In my experience labor “shortages” are either grossly exaggerated or an outright lie.
wow! great explainer. realness.
The 2018 Accord Sport I should have bought instead of my Hyundai. Me and my stupid cheap ways….