Remember 26 years ago? If you’re over 33 or so, you should have pretty good memories of the world not ending when the ol’ odometer rolled over for those of us following the Gregorian calendar, which was literally invented by a Greg. And as a car person, you probably also have solid car memories of the 2000s era, as that first decade of the aughts had some real bangers. Some may have stayed with you as dream cars, or even dreams you’ve managed to make come true; others may have faded with time as mere kid stuff, or just no longer your thing.
I’m sure many of you, like me, thought the Subaru WRX STI (as depicted in the top pic) was one helluva machine, and I’d still love to hoon one even though I’d surely look like Grandpa grabbed the wrong keys. See also the Volkswagen Golf R32 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution for cars I dug then and still dig now, like so many of us do/did.
As for poster cars, put me down for a two-car garage with a Porsche Carrera GT in there, alongside a Ferrari Enzo. Supercars aren’t much of a thing for me, but these two classics still hit for being purposeful, cutting-edge machines of their era, and much classier than, say, a Murcielago.
But of course, we’re probably all thinking exactly the same thing when it comes to 2000s greatness, as Antti has neatly pinpointed:
My serious answer: the 2000-2007 Volvo P2 generation is one of the best real world cars that does most things well, especially in lifted XC70 wagon form. Comfortable, spacious, reliable, durable, in turbodiesel form even frugal. Great seats and really good stereos and a very sensibly laid out dashboard.
My unserious answer: PT Cruiser, for the exact same reasons
Everyone loves an XC70.
Your turn:
What 2000s Cars Are You Totally Into?
Top graphic image: Subaru
I always liked the small car options of the day. The ones I still love to see (but rarely do) are:
Neon SRT-4
PT Cruiser GT
Volvo C30
Audi A3 Sportback
Just about everything except most sedans. 00- 09 have some of the most reliable platforms that are just modern enough. Might be one of the best era of trucks except I would rather have a gen 4 over a gen 3 ram but a gen 2 ram is a wonderful thing. GMT800 is hard to beat as well as the Ford’s from the era. Even the stupid 3v 5.2l are ok enough as long as they have been fixed. I love a 6.0 ps. 7.3 is fine great trusty but gutless.Very decent and good looking Nissian and Toyota trucks and suvs. Nissan might only have 00-06. I have a fleet of 1st gen Highlander hybrids. I’m restarting my fleet of 2nd gen Prius now their prices have come back down to earth. I’ve always loved the first and second gen focus. First gen genisis is up there. 05- 09 mustang is a great looking car. C5 and C6 vette are good. The last of the Saturn wagons and the quad coupes. Plus the sky. Even the first gen vue something ok. Two excellent gens of civic and Accord. The eclipse of that era what a great looking car. The first gen xb. The last good bmws in the early part. Avalon and Lexus that keep going.
P2 T5 M56. The R is fine, but much more complex and expensive to maintain, and only barely faster than the T5. The AWD and the fuel mileage in the R is pretty good, though. 4C feels lovely for a car of this age, when it is working properly
Volvo V70 R with the spaceball shifter
E38 BMW (7 series). Handsome as a car could ever be.
E39 wagon, because also achingly handsome.
Subaru SVX, weird in the best way (I know it’s 90s, but I don’t care)
2005-2009 Mustang GT, I now own one and enjoy it very much. Parts are cheap, looks good, sounds good, not much more you can ask for (maybe a bigger gas tank).
I have a 2011 GT and yeah, the gas tank is comically small.
The Aussie Pontiacs (GTO, G8) and Solstice.
The first gen Chrysler 300 was also really cool when it came out. I got one as a rental in Reno and felt like gangster. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley also just came out and the local pop radio station played it all the time, which really contributed to the vibe. It’s a shame most of those full size Dodges turned to shit, but I wouldn’t think twice if I found a grampa spec 300c.
I’ve owned 2 Saab 9-5 wagons, and I was up close to one last weekend. I miss those cars.
I know the EP3 and FD2 Civic Type Rs don’t have the rawness of the original, but they kinda hit the sweet spot for usable performance and handsome styling. Plus they’re still n/a as god intended
I recently started daily driving my 2005 CTS-V. What a great car.
I don’t know about ‘totally into,’ but I was recently in a friend’s ’05 Highlander, and I was reminded how good 2000s Toyota was. Those 3.5l V6s were smooth and had enough power to get out of their own way. Good stuff that is still really pleasant to drive.
Otherwise, give me that R35 GT-R.
I haven’t driven either but I, in theory, like the Evos and the SRT4s of the era. I’d love a Caliber SRT4.
BMW Z8 and Alfa Romeo 8c Comp. Both gorgeous!
I’m going to bracket both ends of the decade here with two cars that show where we started from, and where we were headed.
I’ll start with the final F-bodies, especially the last Firebirds. Born in the ’90s, they were an evolution of the 3rd generation boxes, but a dramatic interpretation, with sleek, Chrysleresque cabin-forward greenhouses, the back glass hatch giving off an almost group-C-esque flair, pointed powerboat-esque prows, and a low, mean street presence. The facelift wasn’t kind to the Camaro, transitioning it to something that ended up looking like a Chrysler Concorde crossed with a Dodge Stealth, but the Firebird of that period gained a huge step up, with the added grille, 4-bulb pop-ups, and menacing looks. It was the perfect swansong for the F-body, and in some way to the ’90s it came from. Also it was the second car to feature the LS, an engine which would come to define the aftermarket scene the way the gen 1 SBC had. Definitely the car the cool kid had in the high school parking lot when I was that age.
At the other end of the decade would be the car that would define the next decade in performance: The 2008 Nissan GT-R. It was a shock on introduction, the kind of thing that had an Audi RS/R8 fan fuming. A true Japanese exotic that wasn’t just a one-off GT1 race car. And something with staying power as well. A highly advanced all-wheel drive system, a shape that only an aerodynamics engineer could love, and dynamics that hid its curb weight incredibly well, it showed what the 2010s had in store: numbers went up, and electronics covered for it. It had so much grip it hurt Jeremy Clarkson. And it only ended production a couple years ago, its price well inflated from a sub-six-figure tag, but its power well up too. Truly fitting of the title “Godzilla,” and worthy of its place in the supercar canon.
Honorable mentions:
Honda S2000
C5/C6 Corvette
That damn R8
That damn R8, but it’s the LMP900 race car this time.
The 996
Any compact/subcompact with power and AWD. (The Rally Twins, R32, mazdaspeed 6, et.al)
Loved my ’01 2.5RS Imprezza that I rallycrossed, but I remember an article about the WRX when it was still Japan only. I drove a coworker’s at an AX and decided I wanted the turbo & bought an ’02 WRX.
Sunk too much $$ into it, then sold it in 2020 when an expensive roof repair happened. Ended up buying it back a few years ago for a bit until I decided I was done putting $$ into it regularly. And I was never going to get back into RX on that level again.
This era of cars is one of my favorites, and I have A LOT of nostalgia for it right now.
Back then, I owned a 2002 WRX Wagon, and I spent a lot of time modding it and making it better. It was quick, it handled fantastic, and it had tons of room in it. I was a drummer in a gigging band at the time, and I could fit my entire kit, the bass player’s rig, AND the bass player in the car, and we’d always be first to arrive. I wish I kept that one. As much as I’d love to get another, I know better. They tend to rot in half and by now they are probably on their 5th engine and at least 3rd transmission. But if I ever found a clean one….
I also loved the Mitsubishi Evo VII and VIII (had a friend with a SPICY VIII at the time) and the 2004-06 Pontiac GTO, which everyone hated on because it looked like a big Cavalier, but I loved it anyway. I think a lot of the GTO hate happened because of the popularity of “Retro” trends at the time (Look at the 2005-09 Mustang, New Beetle, etc.), and the GTO was anything but.
I also have had that same weird desire lately for a lifted Volvo XC70. Volvo had a lifted concept XC70 on the show circuit back then, and I always thought that would be a cool commuter/urban assault vehicle.
Audi TT. I know it usually gets lambasted for not delivering on its looks. But the styling was so, so great and special and fascinating at the time. Every later generation just watered it down more and more.
I think these aged really well. They are dirt cheap right now, and I think they are poised to become collector cars in the near future. I always liked that weird optional “baseball glove” stitched interior.
Perfect garage!!
OG Honda Insight. I’ve owned a ‘00 Citrus and ‘01 silver model, both with moon mileage when I got them, and both fun to drive and easy to work on. Hybrid with a stick, slow car fast, and extremely well-built. Honda back when they were on their A game and not afraid to go for it.
Mazda’s third-gen Protege. Yes, I know it came out in 1999, but it hit its stride in 2001. I owned a 2002 DX model for four years, but I always wanted a Protege5 or the Mazdaspeed. Too bad they ended up being so rust-prone.
I had a 00 ES sedan and a 02 P5. Noisy bastards, but good cars.
I mulled putting the Protégé5 on my list, but the Mazda3 seemed/seems better in nearly every way.
In general I think some of my favorite cars come from the 2000s, like the 2005 Ford GT, the 2004 WRX STI, the E46 and E92 BMW M3, the Pontiac G8 (Holden Commodore), and the S197 Mustang. As far as the more mundane cars go, these were both introduced for the 1999 model year, but I love the first generation Ford Super Duty and everything on the GMT800 platform. I’m also a fan of basically every Subaru of the early 2000’s but to get specific I’d have to say the Baja.
I’m biased because I own a 2001 F250 and a 2004 Subaru Legacy sedan.
I’d still love an Impreza or a Vauxhall Monaro but I’m ok with my lightly used 2005 Hyundai Coupe, which is getting harder to source parts for and seems to rust for the fun of it. It’s not used daily and the insurance on it now is ridiculously cheap… maybe because I’ve got old!
I remember those second gen Coupes. Back in the time they were one the first seriously nice Hyundais.
It still is a lovely bit of design, I’ve had it for 11 years now. I’ve done a trip round France and Belgium in it with my son and got over 40mpg which isn’t bad for a 2.0. The only issue is that it’s a bit tight inside for anyone over 6ft
Very happy with my ’06 Z4MR, started with ’05 2.5 5mt was great until it was killed by a deer. E85/6 are great very underrated cars.
00s cars rule.
My daily drive is a 2004 Rover 75. I lusted after them when they were first released, and I’ve been living the dream since 2011. The headlining fell down last week.
Last year I bought an 2006 Citroen Berlingo Multispace for $1,200 or so a trip to eastern Europe. I had to move an entire loftful of stuff that a friend of mine had left with his parents for a decade, and I needed an extremely cheap cube on wheels to put it all in. Brilliant car, and it almost made it all the way home again.
I‘m into the MR 2 Spyder. Literally, as I have been regularly for the last 22 years and hopefully will continue to do so as long as my body cooperates.
2nd gen Toyota Avalon and Neon SRT 4.