your utilitarian Daily Driver!?

[fenixguy]

The most practical car we own is the CR-V. Decent gas mileage, AWD, comfy, roomy, and easy to access. The truck can pull the occasional utility trailer and is even more comfortable than the CR-V. The '01 Civic was bought specifically for travelling long distances for music. Now it and the '00 Civic switch between my go-to-work-and-back dailies. When one dies, I'm not replacing it; we have too many cars the way it is.

Originally Posted By: Alex_V
Cruze is utilitarian enough for a small car - folding rear seats and a big trunk will fit a bass fiddle.

I see you're from Kentucky, do you perhaps play bluegrass? Fun fact: I can get a bass fiddle, amp, amp stand, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle in my short little truck bed with a tonneau cover. Can fit the whole band in the cab but they're not happy for very long. I didn't think it was possible, but we did it. That's pretty utilitarian if you ask me.

 

[zzyzzx]

1995 Ford Escort LX Sport.

 

[mazdamonky]

A 2001 Mazda MPV. This vehicle also works great for road trips and is a great small to medium size furniture mover.

 

[SatinSilver]

Thread should be titled, Name Your Favorite Hoopty

 

[Dorian]

Utilitarian? My 99 Camry has carried three hockey players with their bags and sticks. Numerous family trips to the lake with the car loaded. It has "hauled" 8 bags of gardening soil, although looked lowered, and most importantly carried me around from school and work without any major issues. It doesn't haul [censored], but it certainly has lived up to its purpose of carrying passengers comfortably and reliably without being too horrible to look at.
Before we owned the Prizm, my grandmother had to bring a new washer home in it one day. I still have no clue how they were able to get it in the car, but they did and she drove it home with no issues. This car was used as a mobile office and carried more junk than you would believe. No wonder the struts are shot.

 

[HorseThief]

Grand marquis with a class 3 hitch.... Living in "Boat Town, USA", its just insane to see the things people are pulling with panthers. Mine gets my double jetski trailer around just fine. I've even used it to move an unloaded dual axel boat trailer, but I wouldn't do it again.
I also used to draw a small crowd at the local restaurant supply depot when they'd watch me pack 2 pull carts of goods into my old 96. It all fit every time.

 

[BrianF]

My new 1993 GMC 1500. Reg cab, long box, 305ci tbi powerhouse. I am hoping that when I get the rough running engine fixed that the fuel use will decline. Other wise, this ride does dump runs and gets me to work every week. I do not care if it hits a deer, coyote or anything else on the road, who cares if it gets damage from gravel roads or general farm abuse.

We now are putting way less miles on our 3500 and using the Trailblazer much more for daily family use. Win win.

 

[ls1mike]

The Caprice.

 

[TheKracken]

Prius is my absolute favorite utilitarian vehicle for my needs. My wife and I used to travel a lot when we were dating. We would go to dancing events all over the place and the prius easily folds the front seats backwards and if you take off the head rest you can make it flush with the back seats and it becomes a comfy bed. Get 50 mpg and travel. I also really liked it for all the storage it had for our dancing cloths shoes and such. We used to do this with a 98 chevy metro and we converted that to be able to sleep in as well. Prius required no conversion

 

[TheKracken]

Now that I have a child and we have a dog, my idea of utilitarian is slightly different. The prius holds us all easily but the Sienna makes loading up everything a breeze and our dog has tons of space.

If my wife and I didn't plan on having a large family (more than 2) we would invest in a prius V...but it can't hold a family of 7 so that is a no go.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I carried a trunk full of bagged mulch. Not sure if that makes it utilitarian...

 

[slug_bug]

Utilitarian= Dodge Grand Caravan. Hauls 7 people easily. Moves a whole dorm room worth of "stuff" in one trip. Hauls drywall/plywood from Home Depot without a sweat. Drags a pop up camper from time to time. Throw a tarp in back to haul the bushes I pulled out with it to the dump. Annual Christmas tree cut fits inside when "wrapped". Can serve as a camper when you fold down the "stow n' go" seats and inflate an air mattress. It started rusting way too early and looks like a POS now, but man, it sure is useful.

 

[exranger06]

Accord - gets me back and forth to work economically, it's fun to drive, I can put the baby in the backseat, and it has a large trunk for groceries. It's terrible in the snow though, so I bought the CR-V which can also do all those things in the winter.
Ranger - can haul over 1,200 lbs in the bed, can tow up to 5,000 pounds, excellent in the snow, not a monstrously large pickup so it's still a practical daily driver.
Escalade - family road trip vehicle. Tons of space to haul the whole family as well as a bunch of stuff in luxurious comfort. Can tow up to 7,800 lbs.
Bronco- although it's a utility vehicle that has good cargo room and good towing capacity (6,000 lbs), and it's an unstoppable winter snow/off-road beast, it's really just a toy for me.

 

[dlundblad]

My blazer. Bought it cheap to rack miles on as opposed to my Jeep that has turned into my "toy."

Easy to work on and very reliable. Pretty comfy for longer trips too. If it doesn't start or is down for maintenance, I have the Jeep. Right now, the Jeep is down for a bit of PM. I just work on it when I feel like it/ have time. Very therapeutic since I don't have to rush huge repairs in 1 weekend.

 

[gman2304]

My Chevy Avalanche. Fold the rear seats and mid gate forward and I have hauled 16 foot sheets of sheet rock. With the bed covers off, it’s a 1/2 ton pickup. With bed covers on I can haul anything I want protected from the weather. With the front arm rest up I have had 6 adults fit comfortably in the cabin. It’s basically a Suburban with a truck bed. And my wife isn’t ashamed to ride in it.

 

[EdwardC]

Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
My Element does everything. Hauls everything and wipes down easily since the interior is all plastic. We've slept in it comfortably when camping (usually when we get there late on the first night and are to tired to setup). I put on a trailer hitch and have a HF rack for holding even more stuff.

How is the Leaf treating you?


It's great as well. Just under 2,000mi with it and we've spent $7 in electricity since we charge where it's free whenever we can. No major range anxiety issues as well. It's funny, I baby my Element, but since we got the Leaf, I've loosened up a little bit. I won't call it a beater, but it's definitely the workhorse. I haven't pumped gas in the Element in exactly a month...

 

[FlyPenFly]

2014 E350 Coupe

It's rare that I get to stretch her legs though. San Diego 805 traffic is an absolute clustered combined nightmare.

At least the seats are comfortable and the sound system is Teutonic excellence.

 

[toneydoc]

1994 Jeep GC 4WD
Dont tow with it but it can haul anything I need to and it does not matter if it gets dinged or not
Hope she lasts another 10-15 years

 

[simple_gifts]

What would John Stuart Mill drive?

 

[PandaBear]

97 Integra hatchback. I literally moved 2/3 of my kitchen's ikea cabinet in one load, also fit a twin mattress in there once with a box spring, and a few furnitures, TV, etc, etc.