These Are The Totally Normal, Average Cars You Absolutely Adore

First Gen Kia Soul.

No, really. I swear. Stop laughing and Hear me out.

They’re like 2500 bucks for a decently clean example, actually pretty damned reliable(NON GDI ones), the tail will slide out on gravel roads in a playful way. They handle well enough, good visibility, plenty of room even for a bigger build. Radio works better than most cheap bailout era shitboxes. Heater cranks. Stock headlights are pretty good. Brakes feel like they’re unasissted but light as a feather, and work suprisingly well. They use the 5x4.5 bolt pattern. But the BEST part is the 5 speed manual is a gem of a transmission. Clutch is perfect, has a short final drive and is geared PERFECTLY.

The engine isn’t strong, but has a very balanced powerband.

5th gear at 55 mph has the engine humming along happily at 2500 rpm, completely erasing the need to downshift for any hills. If you never go below 30 mph, 5th gear is set it and forget it.

1st gear and reverse are so low that you don’t need any throttle, just let the clutch out and it goes. It’s like a lawn tractor. It’s the PERFECT car to teach someone how to drive a manual.

You can start off in 2nd gear, and skip straight to 5th. It’s hilarious.

In a lot of ways, they feel like a good 90's-2000's honda or toyota product, but without the crazy pricing to pick one up.

I slept on these the whole time, and then we took in a 2010 manual on trade, and just for giggles I took it to lunch. I was completely blown away at how much it didn’t suck, and for $2000 bucks all in I immediately bought it.

I don’t like Kia/Hyundais as a general rule, but dammit if I don’t love this little shitbox!

From H4llelujah and others

GJ/GL generation Mazda 6. Comfortable, spacious, communicative steering, and perhaps some of the most fluid controls and driving behavior you’ve experienced in a car. There is a reason automotive journalists loved that car until the very end, because it drove and handled like nothing else in the segment. By comparison even newer Mazdas are somewhat lacking.

and

I’ve had my 2017 Mazda6 Touring since new and it has been very good - just short of great. It is a real treat on a windy road and easily passes the “look back” test. In addition to the driving character, Mazda also did an outstanding job with the lines and Soul Red paint color (but no the paint durability...!). If I could change anything it would be a more refined suspension and more torque. After 7 years / 75k miles, I’ve had issues with the touch screen delaminating and driver’s seat fraying. Other than that, just normal maintenance.

In 2017 If you wanted a sporty mid-sized family sedan with stick shift for a reasonable price, you were limited to the Accord Sport, Jetta GLI, and Mazda6 Touring or Sport (the options were a little broader going down to the Mazda3, Civic or Golf class). Compared to the Honda and VW, the Mazda6 was clearly a step ahead on design and was comparatively a great value. The Accord was getting long in the tooth and the Sport trim was somewhat sparse on features. While fun and punchy, the GLI felt like a child’s toy inside.

From featherlite and Stephen

Escort ZX2, not an empirically good car by any stretch, but I have always liked them, even now when I see a survivor I admire it. I know it isn’t a “good” car but I just love them for no good reason aside from they make me smile.

From CitronC

First and Second Gen Acura TSX.
Extremely comfortable. Great to drive. Excellent 6-speed manual. Can get the second-gen in a wagon. Basic, clean styling that holds up today. Pinnacle of what made Honda/Acura famous for reliability (especially first gen). You can find them today dirt cheap, even in good shape.

I was the third owner of a beat up early-model first gen TSX that I bought for $5,500. It burned a little bit of oil at 150k miles and the AC went out once- the clutch was soft from it being abused but still going strong, I replaced it for fun but other than those it never needed a single other thing. Regularly drove it overnight solo from northern Colorado to Phoenix- you could sit in those perfectly bolstered seats for twelve hours like its nothing. Then, when I moved down to Phoenix it was filled to the absolute gills with all of my stuff (rear suspension nearly bottomed out) and took the I70 pass like an absolute champ.

My friend bought a second gen and I rode in it often and drove it a handful of times and I feel strongly that they only improved on the formula the second time around. Truly the ultimate peak of Acura, they’ve done nothing but fall since IMHO.

From Tycho13, others

This, with the V6 (2010 MY?) ... or a little more upscale, but the 3rd gen TL (UA6/UA7, 2004-2008).

From nanxun

A normal car to see around my neck of the woods is a CUV. And one model in one color stands out.

That Red.

Mazda has the best red I’ve ever seen for a factory color. It’s amazing. A generic SUV with slightly better styling than normal looks really special with that color.

Would I buy one? Unlikely. But several neighbors have Mazda CX-5s and CX-50s (which I’m guessing is an updated CX-5) with that color and It’s the only newer normal vehicle I see that I like the looks of.

From hoser68, others

Alfa Romeo Giulia’s particularly the Quadrifoglios. They usually come an a great color (Verde Fangio metallic, Misano blue metallic, and Alfa Rosso specifically), they sound great, and the five hole wheels are just the chef’s kiss.

That said I wouldn’t want to own one. My comment is usually “I need to be friends with that guy because he obviously makes bad decisions.”

From Theoretics, others

92-95 Honda Civic. I love all body styles but I have a special affinity for the hatchback in teal. I had a ‘93 Si and it was wonderful. They are super easy to work on, cheap to maintain, get amazing fuel economy, and are really fun to drive.

From klone121

This is easy. My 2015 Fit, Elroy. 10 plus years and I absolutely love it.

Too bad Kinja won’t attach a photo. Maybe this will work.

and

Honestly surprised I had to scroll this far to find one mentioned. Such a damn good car.

From XL500, You’llBeSleepingWithTheFilet-O-Fishes and others

100% Agree with the Honda Element. It’s versatility is underrated. It’s easy to clean (I opened all the doors and used my leaf blower to empty my kids’ crumbs and goldfish) and then a quick wipe down of interior surfaces with a damp cloth and she’s ready. It also has a shocking amount of storage space with the seats folded out of the way. I regretfully sold my 2004 Element to my sister for $1K to be a good brother and uncle because my nephews needed something to drive that was reliable. I didn’t need that money, but I sure wish I still had that car.

My 2nd choice would be an old Volvo 240 wagon. It felt luxurious, it was practical as hell, damn near bulletproof. Also, I could drive it like a maniac and I got completely overlooked by the police because they assumed I was a panicked soccer mom rushing to pick up their kids. Mine was brown so it got even less attention, but I sold the Volvo with 280K miles and it ran like a top, and I sold the Honda with 265K miles and all it’s ever needed besides general maintenance and tires was an AC repair. Both are still going strong, and that is hard to beat.

From Stephen Shivers

Early Fiat Panda 4x4

From towman

Easy. Two door mk5 Rabbit.

I’d trade the three GTIs we’ve had since to have it back. It wasn’t fast but the chassis was excellent, it was light, shifter was perfect, and it didn’t give me any headaches.

Honorable mention to the ‘99 Saturn SL, also just the little sedan that could.

From icrashbikes

Others have already called out the Kia Soul, so I’ll drop the other car for “regular people” that I’ve always liked:

Lexus CT200h Fsport

I had a coworker who used one of these to make the drive from Costa Mesa to San Diego, 4-5 days a week. Dude was putting like 37k miles a year on that thing, and it just took it.

All of the practicality of a hatchback, and fuel economy of a Prius, without the tinny sound and feeling of driving a soda can.

I mean, you’re still driving a Prius, but it doesn’t feel like a Prius.

From MikeHerbst

2023 Chevy Bolt EUV

Wife and I have 5 cars but the Bolt EUV is our default. It’s small but fits 4 adults comfortably, has great power for a small car (vs its gas counterparts), has good range and costs $7 to fill up at home. It costs about 3 cents a mile to drive.

It has wireless Android Auto. We bought it lightly used in the mid $20's. These are such great little cars. Definitely an appliance car to use up, throw away and replace, but if you’ve been looking for a cheap usable EV buying a 2023 lightly used is a pretty good bargain.

From jimmy-buffett

I just love a solid warm hatch. It doesn’t have to be the crazy version either. Integra, Wrx, and the GTI. Personally I favor the MK VII. They are fast but not unusable fast. Fun to drive! Easy to park. They tend to get decent gas mileage still. They have as much utility as some SUVs.

From WayDude