I suppose we should firm up what a perfect car is before attempting to determine what cars come closest to achieving perfection, but I’ll leave the firmification process entirely to you. Does the perfect car balance comfort, power, and handling in equal and high measure? Or does it embody perfection in design and proportion, with other considerations scoring lower? Or is the perfect car the one best-built with precision tolerances and clever engineering to perform impeccably and reliably?
Probably all of the above, with different amounts of each ingredient, and I look forward to reading your criteria and most-perfect selections in the comments. As for me, my choice is a car that I suspect few would choose as the “perfect car” (spoiler alert: it’s the one in the topshot), but hear me out.
Spacer
My Dad was a big Beetle guy, and regularly extolled what he liked about them: they were cheap to purchase and operate, mechanically simple, and thus easy to fix and maintain. “There’s no cooling system to worry about, and you can set the points by the side of the road with a matchbook cover,” he would say. I don’t recall Dad ever actually performing the matchbook trick in the driveway or garage let alone by the side of the road, but I trust that it could be done. My Dad saw the Beetle was the platonic ideal of a car as basic transportation, and that vision stuck with me as well.
Certainly, many – most, even – cars could handily outperform the Beetle even when new examples were rolling off VW assembly lines, and today, a Beetle of any vintage is positively bronze-age compared to the technological miracles we take for granted as we go along our merry ways. But in it’s own way, to me, the Beetle is still very much a perfect car.
Top graphic image: DepositPhotos.com
Now that I own one, I have to give it to the 2CV. Its everything good about the Beetle, but with even fewer parts, a much much much better ride, and a warm design flare that the Germans just can’t emulate.
Did I mention how much better the ride is?
Miata obviously. But a shooting brake version for more cargo capacity.
Finally!
I’m torn between Volvo 240 and AMC Eagle. Practicality dictates that I go with the 240; with a limited slip differential aboard you almost might never miss AWD.
AMC Eagles are awesome
In my past the answer is 1968 Ford Cortina GT. Great engine, transmission even better, good handling and brakes. It was a sedan with great storage space.
1987-2001 4.0L Jeep Cherokee. As reliable as a rock, as comfortable as a full size SUV, as off road capable as any Jeep, and relatively easy on fuel with good power. I miss the ones I had horribly.
99-04 Buick Regal or Lesabre. Ride, comfort, large and great MPG
Road trip heroes. If you have endless miles to inhale, it’s either this or a 757.
1986 Chevy Caprice. As complicated as an anvil and just as reliable. I owned one with the 4.3 V6. Twenty five mpg with a 25 gallon fuel tank. Right sized family hauler.
I had a 78 Caprice Classic. 305 … What a nice car. When the transmission quit at 195,000 I had to say goodbye.
My Mom & Dad had a 1977, ‘80, ‘84, and ‘89. I learned to drive on the ‘89. Great cars.
Listen, and understand!
That Altima is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. (… or somebody steals it)
Porsche 911
Less so each generation, but until about the 997? Yes.
Usable comfortable daily driver, weekend canyon carver, then hit the track.
And I just hauled two full wheels in mine to the tire shop.
It does everything well.
Yes and no.
Parts are stupid $. Service is stupid $. I have a 77. Love it but it’s not perfection.
That’s why I work on mine. My service is cheap, and parts can be reasonable, but it does take research.
For example, a Porsche spark plug may be $25 ea., but the identical Bosch costs $8 or something; That’s still more than a Chevy, but it’s manageable.
The 996 alternator is expensive , but the 997 Bosch one is cheaper, higher capacity, and fits perfectly.
So, unless it’s something unique, then at least for my 996, there’s lots of reasonable, affordable OE, OEM parts options.
That said, rebuilding the engine is stupid expensive, and I dread an engine issue. … So maybe you’re right.
2nd gen Toyota Prius. They just keep going, and refuse to die. They wound up being more reliable than the 3rd or 4th gen Prii, and they have to be the cheapest operating cost/mile possible. You can buy a nice one for $3500-5k, use it for years, and sell it and it will be worth… 3-5k.
Chrysler Minivans, IF the owners aren’t lazy and actually do the suggested maintenance on replacing the internal filter/ATF in the trans on a regular basis.
About the Prius, you ain’t wrong but I’m getting the impression that Gen IV is comparable, while being larger, more powerful, and even thriftier and occasionally borderline fun to drive.
Third generation had some issues (as did second gen, if you never lost any electronic functions to the capacitor plague (look it up, it’s fascinating and weird) then count yourself lucky; when I sold my Prius on it wasn’t the drivetrain that let it down, but brakes and electronics) but I haven’t been hearing as much about fourth-gen examples. A last-year example of the fourth generation Prius would be an extremely tempting choice.
I tried a fifth-gen Prius and while it is gorgeous to look at, it’s just too damn small. When I’m taking my geriatric parents somewhere, I can’t have them struggling to fold themselves under that limbo-low roofline.
Original Plymouth Voyager. The perfect solution to an efficient family hauler in a reasonable size.
A regular-cab, 5-speed, 2WD S-10, Ranger, Toyota, (the ’80s one) Mazda, or any of those honest little trucks.
Nothing today even comes close, other than the Slate, which is electric, and not out yet.
2020 BMW 340i touring
A perfect car would be the car that does car things perfectly. So of course reliability is at the top. Maybe when very little was asked of cars the Beetle would be considered. However there have been too many new car things that the Beetle can’t do or does them horribly. Toyota Camry or Corolla does everything asked and does them in such a fashion that non-car people recognize it and buy them in the millions.
2004 Forester XT – Sleeper, Good in snow, lots of space… 5.3 Seconds to 60
10-15 years old, near mint condition, private local seller, asking 1/4 or less of OPP, under 75k miles., best year of model (do research,know what to look for).
MO
Honda Fit/Jazz (Gen1)
I will also accept the Honda Element.
No explanations required.
The Element is an incredible piece of machinery.
Came here to recommend the Fit, but any generation.
My pick is the Ford Ranger Super Duty. Strong enough for hard work and nimble.
3725931-RMTM-296d1d3f-799d-5850-bc02-56c591dfa404.jpg (700×394)
No one said Miata yet? Wow!
I guess no one wanted to be correct
I believe you.
That is the answer.
Or so I’ve heard.
Funny. I hear that somewhere too. Hmm
E39 M5. In Lemans Blue with a Caramel interior, of course.
All cars are a compromise. Durability vs efficiency, and efficiency can be taken as power of economy which are themselves at cross purposes. No car is more efficient than a race car but in the words of Colin Chapman the perfect race car falls apart as it crosses the finish line. Good looks and comfort engament etc. can conflict.
I’m kind of fond of Mercedes Benz W123s but I’d also be happy with a Lamborghini Espada.
Lotus 7s, Unimogs, and Checker Cabs were all perfect for their purpose.
The Toyota T-100 was, in my opinion, the best vehicle ever made. It was rugged, practical, comfortable, spacious, easy to work on, fun, and above all else: gorgeous. It had clean lines, excellent proportions and a face that looked like a truck and not like an angry fish.
Look upon the Toyota T-100, and weep at what they’ve taken from you.
Volvo wagons back in the brick-on-wheels era (200/700/900).
Odd choice I know, but Porsche 911.
Perhaps not as much now as it once was, but it was probably the best all-around attempt (that mostly succeeded) at offering near supercar performance in an everyday package you can live with. That’s the (original) reason why you’d see a ton on the road.
Even its liabilities speak to that – the unusual engine placement was done to help it be able to operate on snowy roads.
There is no substitute.
Well a 911 and the Beetle are pretty much the same car so you and Jason mostly agree.
I should have read first. I made about the same comment above.
Second vote for 911.
The cheaper something is the more it can get away with. Or something that owns it’s utilitarian roots. Any generation of jimney or Daihatsu rocky might be at that intersection. Just about any kei truck and vans too. They do what you ask for a low price.
Something with too much tech might be close to perfect at the time for won’t last as tech develops. Gen 2 Prius is up there but so many people wish it had a bigger battery with charging now they wish it had a different chem battery. So many bev have been described as best or perfect only to be not to be a few years later.
I could see something like a diesel excursion be considered perfect because there isn’t anything else like it. It does what it does well and no one has bothered to challenge it.