What car do you drive?

Do you drive a car where software is front and center such as in a Tesla or do you go for a more analogue feel like you get with a classic car? Prefer analog (I spend all day fiddling with tech that works when it wants to; I want my car to just work).

Do you have a manual or automatic transmission? Automatic (Manual is fun on a dream drive through the countryside; auto is more practical for every day driving).

Or do you perhaps drive an electric vehicle (EV)? I am still waiting on the EV I want to purchase.

Is miles per gallon (MPG) a concern? I live in the USA where petrol is ridiculously cheap and people thinking nothing of taking 1 hour trips each way. When my son was younger, I would take him to school and then drive to the office in the morning. I kid you not, my morning commute was 2+ hours in the car. Without traffic congestion, it would have taken 45 minutes. Where I live public transportation is sparse and dangerous. It took an incident where a homeless man stabbed a police officer on the train, before the city cracked down.

These are the cars I have bought in lifetime. I purchased all of them new. - 1993 Acura Integra. Good car until the electronics fell apart after about 150K miles. - 2003 Hyundai Sonata. Good car which I gave to a family member who is still driving this beast. It has 100K miles on it now. - 2005 Toyota Sienna. Wife loved the minivan until the engine self destructed at 160K miles. Multiple issues with CV joints. - 2011 Toyota Prius. Wife is still driving this car. The most trouble free car I ever had. - 2018 Toyota Highlander. I love how smooth and quiet this SUV is on the highway. It feels like a luxury car.

2022 Subaru Forrester. Gets decent gas mileage and I wanted a new car that would be reliable because I’ve been traveling a lot around the US these past months. It’s big enough that my wife and I can car camp in the back, which we’ve done a lot when visiting national parks.

The 2023 Subaru hybrid looks pretty sweet as well, I’d definitely consider that in the future.

2006 Subaru Outback. We put more annual mileage on our bikes so I probably wouldn’t replace it if it broke but since we already paid for it before leaving suburban California we’ve kept it. 30mpg is lower than I’d like but still higher than most of the new vehicles affluent people are buying around here and since roughly half of the total CO2 is manufacturing I don’t think it makes sense replace a perfectly good car.

If we were buying a new one, I wouldn’t buy an ICE or anything which uses a touchscreen for anything I need to use quickly while driving.

Infotainment systems are another potential deal breaker. I’ve had half a dozen rentals where simply plugging my phone in via USB broke their software (too many tracks in my music collection and some with non-ASCII characters, too many contacts) so I don’t want to pay for anything more than Car Play.

Mercedes GLC250 SUV - 5 seater, auto transmission.

This is poetic justice for me, as I have denigrated urban drivers of SUVs for literally decades.

I prefer smaller, more manoevrable cars such as my previous Mercedes C Class vehicles, though even they were getting larger turning-circles and being more unwieldy towards the end.

My wife uses a mobility-scooter that is able to be disassembled into four pieces. That took up so much space in the trunk/boot and back-seat of our C-Class car that we were reduced to a two-seater in practical terms. That meant we had to enlarge our storage and thus the unwanted SUV.

Back in the 80s-90s I used to drive a manual SAAB 900i Combi-Coupe. Loved it. Had that car for 14 years.

I drive a Ford Mondeo (diesel estate 50MPG) in the UK. I bought it because it has very large cabin space for loading bikes/kayaks, I also have 2 children. I can sleep in it if I need to while away from home. I previously had this car for 10 years and then it needed replacing, so I bought another one, which I've now also had for about 10 years. I might buy a petrol car next (probably skoda superb) but electric cars aren't really ready in the uk for people who like to travel around in countryside areas with a lot of stuff. If they are they cost a huge amount of money. Both of these cars cost around 10K pounds at 2-3 years old.

I drive a 2002 truck for its utility and lack of tech. The "infotainment" systems are what keep me from wanting to trade it in, that and that many vehicles now phone home and I don't trust the auto companies with that data

Kia Niro hybrid (2019)- i got it mainly because i wanted a hybrid and hatchback, and it was a little cheaper than other brands. My previous car was a ten year old Ford focus, so pretty much anything was going to be a step up in the tech department.

I've had it for almost a year and i like it a lot. I kept my last car for about ten years and i plan to do the same with this one. I'm not sure if I'll go with Kia again, considering how different things will be by the time I'm getting another car.

Anyway, i think the best thing is the hatchback design being so open and big for such a small car.

2015 honda accord, manual. drove my old mazda 3 until it was on its last legs. then a junkie stole someone else's car and crashed it into mine while it was parked outside of a friend's house. totaled my car + the stolen one.

blessing in disguise, got solid insurance payment for a car that was basically falling apart. had enough cash and a reason to buy new so i did. probably wouldn't by new again again but it's a decent enough car.

ideally, my last ICE car before electric, though I plan on making this thing work for at least a decade more.

2011 Hyundai Elantra, low tech and automatic transmission. I've been looking at buying a new plug-in hybrid Lexus NX 450h+ for my wife, and maybe the upcoming Lexus RX 450h+ for myself.

We both mostly work from home, so a the battery powertrain will cover most of our daily driving like school runs and errands. Occasionally for longer trips, the gas engine is there as needed and has great fuel economy on it's own. And the Lexus balances premium look and feel with Toyota reliability and low cost maintenance.

2008 Toyota Tundra with 208k miles. I needed a truck to tow a toy hauler and also to take my dirt bike to the track. I also race down in Mexico and the truck is old enough that I'm not worried what happens to it, but it's still reliable not to leave me stranded.

My wife drives a 1967 Chevy Nova with an 525hp LS3. We sold her BMW 435i because used car prices were ridiculous and we got an offer for only $2k less then we bought it for 5 years earlier.

We both work from home so MPG of our cars were not a concern.

Audi TT mk1 1.8T/180hp

Fantastic little car and surprisingly practical - roof bars on top have seen kayaks, bikes and surfboards.

It's the second mk1 I've owned.

2004 Dodge Dakota pickup. 230k miles. Perhaps the last individual v8 + manual transmission paired configuration of the model ever made, they changed the design the following year. manual everything; no radio anymore, been crushed by a tree and repaired once, which was one of the 8 wind shields its needed over its life so far.

Washed 3 times.

2017 Volkswagen Golf R. It has about 35k miles on it. I didn't drive it for a full 2 years when I lived in New York and it was here in California. Now that I'm back in California, I drive it a few times a week but on less than 10 mile trips. The mpg isn't great but not bad either.

2015 Volkswagen Jetta. Had a 2005 Jetta before that. Build quality is excellent, not too much software (has basic Bluetooth connectivity but that's about it). Was also affordable since I bought it used pre-COVID.

Got it for reliability and I'd say I'm somewhat of a brand loyalist. Good purchase.

2010 Acura TL. About 120K miles so far. Runs like a butter. Some cosmetic issues but I am planning to run it to the ground (at least 200K miles if not more). Heated seats: standard (looking at you BMW)

2012 Honda CRV, that I probably put <4k miles on a year over the last few years. Mostly used for a few long trips, and trips <4 miles to the grocery store.