What makes some cars more tiresome ?

Others have touched on this factor; and that is if anything about the vehicle is mentally fatiguing it adds up to overall fatigue from driving.

For example, my Mazda CX 5 is normally a very comfortable car to drive. But the other day I had to make a 75 mile drive in the rain with the last 35 miles being on a 2 lane mountain road. The rain conditions were constantly changing and none of the intermittentent windshield wiper settings seemed to match the rain conditions. So that required almost constant adjustments to the wiper controls. I was also going through some thick patches of fog which required intense concentration to see the road and also watch out for oncoming drivers. The windows would fog up inside and I needed to use the defogger function and then shut it off again.

So in other words besides having to make almost constant adjustments to the various vehicle settings, there was also a lot of concentration and stress involved in keeping safe and a lot of steering wheel movement on the winding roads. I was really exhausted by the time I got home.

If your car needs constant adjustments while driving, that will add up in a negative way. On the other hand you don't want the car to lull you into inattentiveness. I like to be engaged with my vehicle while driving but road, weather and traffic conditions can make a short drive seem like a marathon too.
This is why I absolutely despise any vehicle that makes you go through several touch screen menus to adjust HVAC controls.
 
This is why I absolutely despise any vehicle that makes you go through several touch screen menus to adjust HVAC controls.
This took me awhile to get used to on my GS. I can use the physical buttons for 'auto' AC, but I don't usually need that. Press the AC button to get to that screen, then select whatever vent blend & fan speed. I also didn't like having to push + or - in a BMW. I'd usually press 'auto', get set in the car & turn the fan down from there. Maybe I'm just a whiner 😂
 
I go against the grain on this. I get tired of driving trucks pretty quickly. They are so big to maneuver. Shift all the time when accelerating up grades etc. Pain to park. Not much extra space in a lane. I still prefer a car with a decent sized motor than can just cruise along at 80mph below 3500rpm and handle most hills without caring.
 
Rough ride, loose steering, road/wind noise, and a buzzy drivetrain. I also hate the trans programming on some cars where it never knows what gear to be in.

While my Jeep is loud on the highway it is actually comfortable to drive. The seats are supportive, the suspension is soft with the larger tires, and the engine has plenty of torque. My BMW is the ultimate road trip machine though. Comfy, stays planted on the road and doesn't get blown around by the wind, quiet, and a turbine smooth straight six. I've driven it 10 hours straight and wasn't tired afterward.
My BMW with 198,000 miles still drives better than a lot of rental cars I get. Took the BMW on about a 300 mile road trip this weekend. The only bad part was the crawling traffic for 30-40min with a manual does get old but not the worst thing ever.
 
As I get older, fatigue after long trips is more noticeable. The most comfortable vehicle I use for trips now is the 2011 Ford Ranger Supercab pickup I bought this year.

The seats make a big difference. In some vehicles my rear will actually start hurting because of the seat bottom cushion, seating position, or something.

Also, bad weather, road, and traffic conditions can tire you.

So can not feeling well.

Noise level and adjusting controls have been mentioned. They're important too.
 
I used to have a work truck supplied by my employer (a Ford Ranger) and it was physically exhausting on long drives. There was no cruise control, so I had to maintain speed with my foot and for some reason, the pedal position at 60 MPH or higher required a lot more effort than at lower speeds. It was like trying to push the pedal down for the entire trip. In addition, the steering had a very large dead zone right in the middle; you could weave the wheel back and forth without causing any steering inputs to the front wheels but the downside was that the truck tended to drift and required frequent substantial corrections to keep it going straight down the road. I'd get back from a drive downstate and I'd be totally beat.

EDIT: Poster above me had a very different and much better experience with his Ranger. Like they say, your mileage may vary!
 
This took me awhile to get used to on my GS. I can use the physical buttons for 'auto' AC, but I don't usually need that. Press the AC button to get to that screen, then select whatever vent blend & fan speed. I also didn't like having to push + or - in a BMW. I'd usually press 'auto', get set in the car & turn the fan down from there. Maybe I'm just a whiner 😂
The 2020+ Highlander with the 12.3" screen has complete controls in the screen also. But it has the most often pushed redundant controls below has physical buttons. I do have to go into another layer of screen for the "S-flow" option.

2020-toyota-highlander-touch-screen.jpg


Heated/ventilated seat controls
Temperature up/down control
Auto and Off
Fan speed
Front and rear defrosters
 
I used to have a work truck supplied by my employer (a Ford Ranger) and it was physically exhausting on long drives. There was no cruise control, so I had to maintain speed with my foot and for some reason, the pedal position at 60 MPH or higher required a lot more effort than at lower speeds. It was like trying to push the pedal down for the entire trip. In addition, the steering had a very large dead zone right in the middle; you could weave the wheel back and forth without causing any steering inputs to the front wheels but the downside was that the truck tended to drift and required frequent substantial corrections to keep it going straight down the road. I'd get back from a drive downstate and I'd be totally beat.

EDIT: Poster above me had a very different and much better experience with his Ranger. Like they say, your mileage may vary!
Many employers buy base-level vehicles with as few options as possible and then don't maintain or repair them. So you end up driving a work truck with no cruise control and with sloppy steering. Yes, that's tiring.

My Ranger has cruise control. I wouldn't buy another vehicle without it. The steering is also tight and positive. I sit on the seat, not crunched down in it. This all makes a difference with fatigue.
 
I put on about 80,000 miles commuting to Chicago in my 335. Couldn’t imagine a better car to do it in. Ergonomics are perfect, transmission is happy to stay in top gear almost the entire time, perfect directional stability. With snow tires on I could drive half the width of Illinois in the left lane all alone, plowing it with my lowered bumper. (Now I need to repaint the bumper but it’s worth it). Also an amazing sound system, and ability to easily blip *well* into the triple digits to get around slow pokes.
Aside from the 8 hours blocks of time twice a weekend and the $100 per trip for fuel, I really miss those trips!
 
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