Good roadtrip car?

[Crono]

Ever watch Top Gear? They touch on this idea on a regular basis...could give you tons of ideas.

If he wants a $1,000 car that is bound to fall apart 30+ times during the trip he should

I like my car as a roadtrip vehicle (2012 Mustang V6). I'm thinking about doing one across the country early next year. It's comfortable for hours of driving, trunk is decent (though can't compete with a hatchback or SUV, obviously) and MPG isn't too bad as I can do over 30 on the highway.

The Mustang GT should be same, albeit with lower fuel economy.

 

[foghorn67]

I think fatigue factors in to what people agree on as a good roadtrip car.
Roadsters, convertibles and small sports cars can be noisy, which can tire people out.

Cars that can have a good driving feel, yet are quiet can make thousands of miles tick by effortlessly. As always, YMMV.

 

[RbSX]

If he wants a $1,000 car that is bound to fall apart 30+ times during the trip he should

I like my car as a roadtrip vehicle (2012 Mustang V6). I'm thinking about doing one across the country early next year. It's comfortable for hours of driving, trunk is decent (though can't compete with a hatchback or SUV, obviously) and MPG isn't too bad as I can do over 30 on the highway.

The Mustang GT should be same, albeit with lower fuel economy.

Uhhhhh no. They touch on this with luxury cars all the time as well.

 

[_Rick_]

BMW 3-series convertible, z3m coupé....650Ci? (scary expensive to maintain...)
Audi S5 convertible?

I assume you don't get hot hatches except the mushy Golf GTI. That one is probably too heavy to still be able to dole out fun, for a front wheel drive. If you get current Golf R's or old R32s / VR6s those might be fun - and should be just about big enough.

Seeing as you don't get French or Italian cars, I won't be able to recommend those.
If you find a Maserati Quattroporte at a reasonable price - don't even think about hesitating. That thing is probably the perfect compromise between drama and comfort. So yes, new it's a 130k, but it's been on the market for 8 years with only minor changes, so there should be some used models around that should have depreciated into more reasonable regions. In Germany at least (where the used car market does tend to be rather saturated, but also plentiful, so one of the better indicators for the European market) you can get medium mileage (30-50k) 2004-2006 models for less than 30k euros.

Or, if you like the adventure, a Merc 450 SEL 6.9.
Can get good ones for cheap, but have to deal with the hydro-pneumatic suspension, and a three-gear auto box. You do get ABS though! Still, that car is a classic, classy, and still goes pretty reasonably fast...

 

[nerp]

Holds a cooler or three. One person can sleep in back while the other drives. Super comfy front seats. Roof rack for grandma. Smooth and quiet sailing. One finger steering.

I want an 80s wagon like this. Buick Roadmaster or Chevy Caprice. A Buick Century Wagon 80-83 would work nice too.

 

[DeviousTrap]

Easy, BMW 550i

<--- slightly biased

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Mercedes CLK or CL or SL

Ultimate road trip cars.

SL has plenty of extra room behind the seats so while its trunk is tiny you can still pack a lot behind the seats.

 

[ballmode]

anybody got experience with the Lexus SC430?

 

[ballmode]

Easy, BMW 550i

<--- slightly biased

Hey devious how can I tell if that 550i has a sport package or not?

Thicker seat bolsters? Those wheels?
My neighbor has one and the wheels look more like a base 3 series... less sharpness to the spokes

 

[manimal]

sc430s are nice cars but not sporting in the least. Really heavy because of the stow away top. Good wife car lol

 

[ballmode]

True, forgot about the weight

 

[ViviTheMage]

335i or xi
first gen V

 

[ballmode]

looking for 135/335's, the new 5.0 stangs, Z4M coupe is the prized car if I can find one within 4-5 hours of driving

 

[DeviousTrap]

Hey devious how can I tell if that 550i has a sport package or not?

Thicker seat bolsters? Those wheels?
My neighbor has one and the wheels look more like a base 3 series... less sharpness to the spokes

Wheels and ride height are the easiest. If it's post 2008 it will have those. 2006 and 2007 will have these:

If you're seriously considering a road-trip car that's fun to drive, it's definitely worth checking it out. Sports package is an absolute must. You'll get those wheels, 20-way position "comfort seats", sports suspension and Active Roll Stabilization.

 

[Saint Nick]

SpatiallyAware... is that your house? O_O

 

[ballmode]

quit stalking nick

 

[ballmode]

Wheels and ride height are the easiest. If it's post 2008 it will have those. 2006 and 2007 will have these:

If you're seriously considering a road-trip car that's fun to drive, it's definitely worth checking it out. Sports package is an absolute must. You'll get those wheels, 20-way position "comfort seats", sports suspension and Active Roll Stabilization.

NOW thanks to you YOU, I know!

SCREW YOU Google

 

[sdifox]

Picked up 06 E350 4Matic in Peoria, IL and drove it back to Toronto, Canada back in Dec 08. Best road trip car I have ever been in.

 

[power_hour]

Convertible Mustang GT. Blasting through Palm Springs and Las Vegas in mine was the best experience I ever had. Being from the East, I was not prepared for the freedom and openness of those areas. Unforgettable fun.

 

[Demo24]

Volvo s60r has some amazing seats in it, plus it should drive decently.

 

[T2urtle]

took my g35x sedan from Chicago to Toronto straight. Car was solid but the seat kicked my butt. Need a better seat for the sedan, maybe the coupe seat would of been better

 

[hans007]

i currently drive an 2010 A4 quattro with sport pack.

best car i've ever had for doing long road trips. the sport pack seats have thigh supports that extend out (bmws have this on their sport seats too).

i've owned a 2005 G35 coupe (noisy as hell on the freeway tire roar / wind noise like a mofo, but really fun to drive, seats were not exactly great either) and a 2005 acura tsx also (buzzy gutless vtec, seats were meh) and well the A4 is infinitely better for a long road trip car. I haven't quite found a japanese car in this range that balances sporty with still being refined on the freeway in this class though a friend of mine has a 2008 G35 (the current body style) and it is significantly better than my old G35 was. That said im sure like an M37 or something would be great... Friend of mine actually had a used E46 m3 for a while, and i'd probably rather do a road trip than that than the TSX or that G35. It just had better noise isolation and a smoother engine note.


anyway I used to live in the bay area and probably made the i-5 drive (380 miles each way) from socal to norcal 30 times roundtrip in the TSX and A4. and a car like an A4 + sirius radio probably makes a road trip pretty easy on you . i'd wouldn't even be tired, and i'd go out to a bar after making it to LA or san jose sometimes. plus I suppose depending on where you live the AWD helps when its raining so you dont have to worry about grip on a curvy road while going 80mph on said road trip. The TSX on the other hand, you had to beat on the poor engine to keep up at the speeds the I-5 in CA tends to get to, which made it well not as quiet, though it wasnt horrible , just the A4 i'd say was much more comfortable. significantly more comfortable seats too (not entirely a fair comparison since the TSX was much much less expensive)


also as much as i like BMWs, if you get one with low profile sport tires (like some of these peoples suggestions of 550is etc with like 19" rims) you might regret it if you make really long drives like this. runflats + low profile tires is not going to be as forgiving and probably makes a lot more tire roar. maybe newer runflats are better, but friends of mine with E90 3 series had sport pack + runflats on say only 17s and the ride was a lot worse than say normal tires and it might impact it as a roadtrip car. you could always just swap them out eventually i guess or maybe its not so big a deal. bmw has great seats at least.


I suppose for me if i cared about a long road trip and still wanted some sport in my car, and say had $50-55k i'd get an A6.

if i'm spending $35-40k i'd get an A4 or maybe an f30 3 series. possibly a G37.

If i'm spending say $20k -25k maybe a kia optima with the 2.0t, or a GTI depending on what you really want.

 

[NAC]

IMO, a VW TDI - any of the Golf, Jetta, Passat, or Audi A3.
Reasons: Great efficiency, comfortable seats, and nice to drive.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

<snip>

also as much as i like BMWs, if you get one with low profile sport tires (like some of these peoples suggestions of 550is etc with like 19" rims) you might regret it if you make really long drives like this. runflats + low profile tires is not going to be as forgiving and probably makes a lot more tire roar. maybe newer runflats are better, but friends of mine with E90 3 series had sport pack + runflats on say only 17s and the ride was a lot worse than say normal tires and it might impact it as a roadtrip car. you could always just swap them out eventually i guess or maybe its not so big a deal. bmw has great seats at least.

FWIW most people who care about performance change out the run flats... Also I've personally only tried the ~2010 iterations which are terrible but I've heard the new versions are much better.

 

[DeviousTrap]

FWIW most people who care about performance change out the run flats... Also I've personally only tried the ~2010 iterations which are terrible but I've heard the new versions are much better.

+1. Also the 550i (unlike the 3 series) has room for a full size spare and almost all cares came with them stock, so I had no hesitations about ditching the run flats at the first tire change.