These are Your Favorite Mundane Cars

Let’s make one thing clear: SUVs / CUVs are useless. If you fancy a CUV, buy a station wagon. If you need an SUV, buy a minivan. My favorite mundane vehicle so far is my 2010 Honda Odyssey. It starts up no matter what, hauls ass with the 3.5 litre V6 (VTEC YO!), rides like a Benz on air, and I can throw two dirt bikes in the back of it in complete privacy. Lots of small storages and has all the technology you’d ever actually use. Finally, it’s a Honda. Which means it’ll run on Canola oil and maybe require less maintenance than an EV, without lighting itself on fire. Long live the minivan !

My commenter in Christ, even though the Odyssey is cool, there’s no need to take down SUVs and CUVs. You’re better than this. Anyway, the sound that 3.5-liter V6 makes is ridiculous considering the body wrapped around it.

Submitted by: Da Car Guru - Sporbikes are driver’s cars

When we got these Fusions in the fleet, I was like WOW! I absolutely loved them. Confortble, decent dynamics, really good variability. Heck, you could even find a manual or even a PHEV. This was my default fleet vehicle when I needed a car.

Sadly, folks wanted the “CUVs” hot-garbage Jouneys, Escapes, and worse, Explorer. All but one was eventually phased out. And yet, the difference in the Fusion and rest of the fleet was a wide.

This car is one of my favorite Aston Martins of all time. I remember finding myself falling in love with these cars when they first came out. That being said, every time I was in one, I was never overly-impressed, which is kind of a shame.

Submitted by: FutureDoc

I absolutely love that the Camry V6 still exists in our downsized and electrified world.

These things are so dumb. I love them - ESPECIALLY in TRD form. Every time I see one I become giddy.

Submitted by: V10omous

There’s a certain everyday dignity to the Golf. It’s not trying to be anything more than high-quality basic transportation for civilized human beings. You own a Golf because it fulfills your needs in a pleasant manner, not because you need to advertise or pose.

Yes, if you’re a Real Driver you feel obligated to go for the GTI, but even the basic Golf is a very well-considered and well-resolved machine.

It’s arguable that the Golf is the good-est normal car of all time. It certainly has a good case for itself.

Submitted by: Patrick Frawley

Oh, Oh, Oh, Pick me! Pick Me!

I own a 2004 Camry LE. Someone custom ordered it originally in 2004 with a single option. Gold Emblems. So it’s White with gold emblems and gold pin stripping. Not a single other option for that car was selected.

No CD player, no Side Air Bags, no ABS, not a single option was selected other than the gold stuck on stuff.

So what makes it special?

Did you know that in 2004, the Automatic Transmission was an Option for the Toyota Camry?

I call the car the “Unicow”. It’s one of something like 300-400 Camry’s sold in America with a 3rd pedal. So it’s super rare and sort of interesting to drive. But it’s still a Camry, with all that that implies.

I don’t care that there’s already been a Camry on this list. The energy in which you shared this story was enough to get it on here as well. Enjoy your boring car, hoser.

Submitted by: hoser68

I’d have to go with the original Beetle:

Ridiculously simple with that air-cooled engine and torsion-bar suspension...you want to point to a car that gets the job done with a minimum number of parts, that’s a Bug.

Special bonus clueless American points for the Bug’s counter-culture hippie image when it was Hitler and the Nazis who had the car built in the first place. So yeah, talk about major success in the rebranding department....

I don’t trust the original Beetle. Its smug aura mocks me.

Submitted by: the 1969 Dodge Charger Guy

1st gen 3dr Nissan Pathfinder. 80's boxy goodness with off road chops.

I honestly assumed these all just wasted away into a pile of rust sometime in the early 2000s. I suppose there are still a few left, though.

Suggested by: 89islander

Second Gen Honda Fit Sport - Why I love it:

Need to carry a bunch of crap covered - check

Need to carry a 1/2 ton of crap (Tow a class one trailer) - check

Autocross / Track day - check

Good resale value - check

Reliable - Check

Frugal - Check

City commuter - check

Cops ignore it - check

Does not make the top 10 stolen list - check (wheels are another story)

Third pedal - check

Aftermarket support - check

Micro car camping in a pinch - check

You should talk to our news editor, Erik. He’s a Fit guy, too.

Submitted by: Thumos

I’m always drawn to the Toyota C-HR. I know its really got no performance chops and doesn’t do anything particularly outstanding, but I like the funky shape and the fact that you could opt for different colored roofs. If they could punch up the HP and/or offer AWD it might be a funky option. I sat in one at a Toyota dealer and even liked the cabin, but then I read up on its specs and reviews and was let down on how meh the vehicle really is once you are past the skin.

Don’t let anyone tell you differently, the C-HR is actually good, I fear. It’s so funky looking. Just drop the ride hight a bit and you’re cooking.

Submitted by: Monsterajr

What I learned to drive in. ‘96 F-250 XL, crew cab, long bed. It was a gas engine, 2nd, and my dad put counterweights from our tractor to smooth out the ride, but damn I felt unstoppable when driving it. The attached pic is a 350 4x4, but it was this exact color. God I miss that truck

This would be cooler if it were actually a 1996 Dodge Ram 2500.

Submitted by: RedRaiderEducator

The Dodge Journey. I once sold cars at a Dodge lot. These vehicles are uninspiring, less than ergonomic, average fuel efficiency at best, fold away 3rd row that’s cramped for anyone older than a 4th grader, and ALL of them have a cog in the passenger side vent that will fail as soon as the comprehensive factory warranty expires and click for 5 seconds after every time you turn the car on. That said, they’re cheap and always had incentives for “credit rebuilding” customers. The power train will go for a long time while the rest of the car decays around it. But I respect this car. I personally sold many to families who were in serious need of reliable transportation. Whether they had credit issues, too many kids for their budget, trying to stretch their dollars, or were a single parent, this car was the right one for so many of the young families that came to us looking for affordable family car options. It’s blessed with better than average reliability (dependent upon owner’s consistency with maintenance) as its secret weapon. I never felt guilty selling one.

Sometimes people just need a way to get from one place to another, and few cars do it better for less than the Journey.

Submitted by: ceragan42

I’ve loved them since I was a kid. The headlights. The bi-plane spoiler. The turbo motor.

This isn’t mundane at all. C’mon now.

Submitted by: Unacceptably Dry Scones

I’m gonna go a little off brand here and say “2022 Mitsubishi Mirage”

It’s everything you dont want in a car..... tiny, cheap, underwhelming, and comes with double digit horsepower from the factory....

but here’s the thing..... all those flaws combined makes the car exciting again... 2100 lbs, under $15k, not a cop magnet, slow AF, but it comes with 3 pedals and a learning curve on how to drive a car with only 78hp (the key word is momentum).

I currently daily a car with 85hp, we took it thru the mountains last weekend too, and it’s got it’s own charm. quite simply the car’s inability to make power on demand makes for a whole new set of challenges in driving, and it makes it exciting.

Ah, now this is more like it. It’s a car that is truly boring and dreadful, but you like it nonetheless. I gotta respect it.

Submitted by: redneckrob and his flock of Volvos

I have an irrational attraction to the Dodge Spirit/Plymouth Acclaim. It’s a box on wheels. It is roomy front and back, but small enough to be easy to maneuver. Big trunk. Not a luxury car, but comfortable and relaxing. Straightforward dash and gauges, controls where they should be, column shift, great visibility. Solid build quality, pick the 2.5 4-cyl and old automatic for trouble-free motoring. For a “fancy” ride, pick a Buick Regal or LeSabre with the 3800.

God, this was a car built specifically to star in MotorWeek Retro Reviews. I love it.

Submitted by: spookiness

The American workhorse. We had two of these back to back (1994 and 2003) and despite my mom’s best effort, neither of them would die. Very few problems, but it drove like a waiting room chair. And that’s okay by me.

Oh my God. I forgot the Sable ever existed. Where did they all go? They used to be everywhere. I hope those little weird guys found good homes. Honestly, they probably didn’t, so let’s have a moment of silence for them.

Submitted by: FijiST

Pre-CVT Honda CRV AWD 100,000 mile problem free family hauler. Countless vintage VW projects brought home and the buy back of my 1st ride, a Big block 4 speed 1970 F-100. I always called it the Hardest working CRV in America. The F-100 clocked in at 4500 lbs at the scales at Memphis Motorsports park when i raced it there. CRV pulled it 3 hours home.

My friend, I fear you are pushing your CR-V too hard. But hey, if it works, it works. That F-100 is excellent as well.

Submitted by: NEA Dubhunter

Second generation Infiniti M45 (2002–2004)

The exterior is something I would draw in Mrs. Deal’s 3rd grade class. Simple and very mundane. I could park it in front of a bank, rob the bank, jump in the M45 and start reading a book and nobody would even acknowledge me. Boring but beautiful.

The 4.7 350hp V8 is the same used in the Super GT Nissan massaged up to 493hp.

I can’t tell you why, but there’s something about this car that really tickle’s my fancy. It is so good. I wish there were more of them still floating around.

Suggested by: 900turbo

Camry mechnicals, wagon body with styling in the sweet spot between butched-up SUV and soccer-mom minivan

Sure it’s kinda boring to drive, but the one I rented transported three adults and one surly 13 year old niece and their crap 600 miles while returning ~26 mpg. The perfect automotive appliance.

I had never sat in a Venza until three weeks ago. They are excellent and comfy machines. The new one still looks to carry that torch, I’d say.

Suggested by: Earthbound Misfit I