What’s the ultimate road trip car?

[1uz_4me]

My 99 GS400 is a comfy cruiser. Roomy, large trunk, silky smooth 1uz v8 just jogs along whether on traffic or zipping along the interstate.

My parents looked comfy in their supercharged 96 Buick Riviera when we went from San Diego to Seattle & then Vancouver, BC & back years ago. Took the same car from San Diego to Omaha, NE & back a year later. I was in my warmed over foxbody work a stroker, T56 & suspension work. Bilstein coilovers helped but the springs were firm. Being 21 at the time I loved it.

Plenty of passing power in any of the cars

 

[GSCJR]

2007 Nissan Maxima

Avg of 21MPG with plenty of power to go up the mountains and amazing engine brakes thanks to the CVT going down them. Excellent A/C and the most comfortable seats ever. Toronto to SoFlo over 2 days, without any back pain.

 

[xgmad]

has lots of torque.

 

[fsdork]

My grandparents had a Sidewinder converted GMC van in the early-mid 90s. I never got a chance to go on a long trip in it, but it sure was comfortable to ride in. I don't know that I'd be particularly excited about driving it, but life in the second and third-row captains chairs would be pretty good.

 

[pghvolvo]

Personally in my opinion it has to be rear wheel drive. I've driven a number of cars with FWD on a few trips and I wasn't that thrilled.
I love my Volvo 960 with it's 2.9 liter 24V, I6, motor that gets me 28.2 mpg at 65 mph. As far as seats go, there isn't much offered out there better than a Volvo seat for long distance driving.

There are a few cars that I think would be great highway cars but not much that is new. The 94-96 Impala's as well as the last generation of Crown Vics would fit the bill. A larger Mercedes like an E or S class sedan, or a Lexas LS would also make great highway cars. BMW, I'd go with a 540i with the 3.0 liter motor, the 3 series is too small. You want a 6 cylinder or 8 cylinder for the highway because the fours can be a little noisy at higher speeds.

Here's the thing about road trip cars especially if you plan on driving distance and spending more that a couple days on the road, you need space for your luggage and trip supplies. That means a trunk is a necessity. I've owned wagons and cars with hatches and I would always wish I had a trunk when I took them on a trip.

The one thing you need to think about is a balance between size, comfort and fuel economy. With the cost of fuel today any vehicle choosen for long highway trips has to get in the high twenties, low thirties with gas mileage.

I did rent a 2020 Impala for a trip close to 2500 miles back in March when my Volvo decided to puke power steering fluid from almost every seal. Considering it was a GM I have to admit it was a nice car for the highway. The 305hp V6 was more than adequate for my needs but again I'm not a real fan of FWD for long highway drives. It did get 35-36 mpg at 65 mph and I wasn't running anywhere close to those speeds, more like 75-80 mph and I got 30-31 mpg. If I needed to rent another car for a long trip my first choice would be another V6 Impala.

 

[jagdriver727]

X350 series Jaguar. I owned a 2006 XJ8 Vanden Plas in college. A true full-size sedan, massive trunk, V8, air suspension, decent stereo. Double pane glass and lots of sound deadening, was very quiet even at 100+. >30 MPG highway (premium) if you kept your foot out of it.

 

[avacado11]

The Subaru Outback is comfortable enough(for the money), but mainly a pretty big fuel tank and efficient. Has the ground clearance incase you’re off pavement or get hit with a snow storm. Only issue was that Subaru could never figure out my fuel gauge issue and it sometimes got stuck at 1/3 so I was rarely ever able to use the full 500 mile range.

any compact luxury sport sedan(c class, 3 series, A4, IS) is a no go for me. Those things are uncomfortable and cramped for long distances.

if I had to do it again(and had excessive money) I’d road trip in a new Bentley Continental GT. Nothing like rocketing down the interstate surrounded by leather in a car that can handle triple digit speeds for hours at a time.

 

[Pew]

For one or two people I'd say a fully loaded CX-30-size or Explorer-size. They're larger with a lot of stretching room, lots of tech, sun/moon roof, and enough space in the back to lay down and sleep with luggage.

I've actually been eyeballing a fully loaded RegalX Tour or Mazda 3 hatch as my kinda-realistic-but-mainly-fantasy solo roadtrip car too. All the tech and space I need and a moonroof.

But my ultimate-ultimate roadtrip car, I'd say a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S.

 

[chemman]

1976 Buick Electra 225 Limited 4 door. Plenty of room, nice ride, and plenty of get up and go!

 

[2EHA]

X350 series Jaguar. I owned a 2006 XJ8 Vanden Plas in college. A true full-size sedan, massive trunk, V8, air suspension, decent stereo. Double pane glass and lots of sound deadening, was very quiet even at 100+. >30 MPG highway (premium) if you kept your foot out of it.
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these cars ride better when you take the coilover struts out of a V6 S-Type and drill out the mounting holes. not kidding

 

[TumblrDucks]

I'd take a Lexus Hybrid. LS500h or RX450h. Smooth ride, comfort seats, big space, excellent noise isolation, stable acceleration, just like a comfy train ride...

 

[Lyman]

I actually owned one a long time ago.

 

[Kurtatron]

Any old 70s American car that had the cushy sofas

 

[Nick1994]

Anything so clapped out that it makes you wonder if you will make it. Then you are all the more grateful when you do!

You know, I did think about "what if something happens to the Genesis right before the trip, what would I take last minute?" either my Jeep or the Camry. It would have been the Camry. I couldn't park my Jeep on the street in LA and walk away.

 

[Falcon_LS]

From personal experience over several West Coast to East Coast drives, the GMTK2YG GMC Yukon XL (or its Chevrolet Suburban sibling) for me. Comfortable, lots of room, good to drive. The 5.3L and the 6.2L on two different vehicles handled hills, etc. with ease, the Android Auto compatible ICE made the drive even more enjoyable.

 

[Voq]

2009 VW Touareg V6 diesel automatic. We drove 1.000s of miles on tar and gravel roads in South Africa. Even some 4x4 trails.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

In your opinion, what’s the ultimate road trip car?

Just got back from the longest trip I’ve taken my Genesis on so far. Previously the longest I had done was a trip to Vegas. I drove up to Monterey, CA to take Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway down to Long Beach, then back to Phoenix. Also drove around the LA/Hollywood area.

To me, it’s the ultimate road trip car. Extremely comfortable seats and effortless high speed interstate cruising made it a joy through the boring parts of the trip.

The handling is as good as a big heavy car can get, and the Pacific Coast Highway is full of twists and turns.

The V8 has all the power you need/want and will rip it’s way merging from the shoulder or into/out of a turn.

It also has all the tech I want, with Apple CarPlay for Waze, ventilated 14 way adjustable seats, radar cruise control, and automatic climate control.

1,698 miles and 81.39 gallons turned out to be 20.86 mpg. I’m not an easy going driver at all. Most of one tank was sitting in traffic in LA. riving back to Phoenix was almost entirely with the cruise set at 85, with some areas at 90 to keep up with traffic. My best tank was 23.1 mpg. I also only run it on 87 octane, not sure if that makes a difference.

Although it turns out it isn’t too good in the sand, as I got stuck in the parking lot at Pismo Beach by trying to create my own parking spot. But I dug with my hands for about 5 minutes and was able to back up, threw off some good rooster tails onto some people, I apologized but they were laughing so all was well.

So what’s the ultimate road trip car to you?

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1976 Oldsmobile 98

 

[doublebase]

Prius.

Hear me out.

500 miles to a tank. Radar cruise, decent climate control. Non intrusive powertrain.

And it's so cheap to run you can do a spontaneous road trip and pay for it with pocket lint. A road trip should be about the trip, not the car.

I know this is going to sound strange, but I think there definitely is something about a road trip that is not just the trip itself, but the car...that connection, the experience of it, how it made it more enjoyable (or less enjoyable). Especially if it’s your car and not a rental. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to people about a long road trip and they’ll talk more about the car they did it in, than the actual trip. Or people that rented a car for a week long vacation and told stories about the car they were in.

I don’t know what it is with cars, but there’s a connection there.

 

[doublebase]

Ya know, our 2013 Lexus GS350 F Sport ain't bad. Except the TPMS is kinda whack.

I came really close to buying a GS350 last year until the carfax revealed an accident. The only thing I didn’t like about the car was the drivers side left arm rest (on the door). It was short. My elbow kept slipping off it and I was like...why did they do this? Can I get used to this? Which I definitely thought I could (as I made an offer and was set to buy until I read the report).

 

[Trav]

In your opinion, what’s the ultimate road trip car?

Just got back from the longest trip I’ve taken my Genesis on so far. Previously the longest I had done was a trip to Vegas. I drove up to Monterey, CA to take Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway down to Long Beach, then back to Phoenix. Also drove around the LA/Hollywood area.

To me, it’s the ultimate road trip car. Extremely comfortable seats and effortless high speed interstate cruising made it a joy through the boring parts of the trip.

The handling is as good as a big heavy car can get, and the Pacific Coast Highway is full of twists and turns.

The V8 has all the power you need/want and will rip it’s way merging from the shoulder or into/out of a turn.

It also has all the tech I want, with Apple CarPlay for Waze, ventilated 14 way adjustable seats, radar cruise control, and automatic climate control.

1,698 miles and 81.39 gallons turned out to be 20.86 mpg. I’m not an easy going driver at all. Most of one tank was sitting in traffic in LA. riving back to Phoenix was almost entirely with the cruise set at 85, with some areas at 90 to keep up with traffic. My best tank was 23.1 mpg. I also only run it on 87 octane, not sure if that makes a difference.

Although it turns out it isn’t too good in the sand, as I got stuck in the parking lot at Pismo Beach by trying to create my own parking spot. But I dug with my hands for about 5 minutes and was able to back up, threw off some good rooster tails onto some people, I apologized but they were laughing so all was well.

So what’s the ultimate road trip car to you?

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I really like that car, it seems like it would be a good long distance driver.
The best long distance car I ever owned or drove for matter is a Citroën CX Pallas, the DS were great but the CX was so much better in some ways, the ride had no comparison, no other car made rode like they did, the suspension was so good RR/Bently, Some large MB, Audi for the A8 all used it under license.

The seats were high end Recaro made to spec, the RR and MB seats were IMO more comfortable for the first 50 miles than felt like a old knackered out lawn chair in comparison (a little exaggeration). The mechanical features were equally impressive, the pump that powered the suspension and steering also powered the brakes when the car was at higher speed, the steering firmed up and the extra power was diverted to the brakes making them true boat anchors. The brakes were full power brakes not power assist.
The self centering steering was very precise and firm, the car was a delight to drive, no nanny state stuff just pure mechanical systems that worked flawlessly.