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
I never knew there could be a “perfect” car until I found the B9 Audi S5 Sportback. It’s absolutely amazing at everything. Fast. Comfortable. It has buttons! Also, a screen that is actually helpful and not clunky. Good tech when you want it, but also unobtrusive when you don’t. Looks great. Sounds great. Lots of cargo space. AWD with rear bias. Incredible handling. I could go on for days.
Buick Reatta.
The most competent car I’ve driven is a BMW e38 740iL. It’s quick, surprisingly nimble, rides supremely well, comfortable on long journeys, perfectly designed from an aesthetic standpoint, has the right amount of technology, and even gets alright fuel mileage. It’s as close to perfection as I’ve experienced. That’s saying a lot from someone that only owns manual cars, the five speed auto in an e38 is the perfect automatic transmission. It’s tuned to do exactly what you want it to do, no gear hunting, no bogging, no hard shifts, just smooth effortless performance.
Perfection has been achieved many times. Sometimes in design, sometimes construction, sometimes performance, sometimes reliability, rarely all four.
* MB’s final R107 (560SL) and W126 S class
* Citroen 2CV, SM, XM, DS, Traction Avant (15)
* Most Camrys
* Miata NA
* Ferrari F40
* Renault 5 Turbo 2
* BMW 635CSi
* Genesis G90
* Volvo 850 Estate
* Toyota Land Cruiser
* Lexus LC500
Having spent the past two years attempting to get an R107 560SL to not misfire, I struggle with this, but I’m sure a well sorted one would be incredible. My impression driving it is it feels like a German take on a C3 Corvette.
That’s too bad about your SL. A good running one is really something.
Have you checked your timing chain?
If Toyota made an all-electric Prius, that would likely be the perfect car… at least for me.
In terms of cars I could buy, the Tesla Model S could be, except for the expensive parts, expensive insurance and negative image.
Or the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6… except for the ICCU issues, expensive insurance (but not as expensive as the Model S) and expensive service costs.
Similar deal with the Ford Mach E.
The 3rd gen Camry is the best car ever made (92-96)
Every 90s Toyota was awesome and well-made.
Clearly Citroen SM.
Citroen deux chevaux!
Yes yes but I like actual padded seats
VW Golf – any trim, any fuel.
VW Golf indeed! I’m on my third. First was a 1982 “Rabbit” Diesel that got 52 mpg highway at a time when I traveled 120+ miles per day to and from work. Second was a 2018 Golf R, APR stage 1 tune. Third is a 2024 Golf R, IE stage 1 tune to which I am currently fitting a FlexFuel system so I can run E85. All of them have well suited my needs for carrying passengers and cargo. The ’18 and ’24 also satisfy my desire for power and get excellent fuel mileage, and with the spike in fuel cost the ability to run less expensive corn juice is welcome.
Acura NSX
first gen has overly long steering, NA1 has overly long gearing.
My submission: the 2013-17 Honda Accord Sport. Reasonably priced, all the features you need, fuel efficient AND reasonably quick, available with a stick, durable, plenty of room for plus-sized folks and their kids, and its handling was best-in-class.
And: inoffensive (I would even say handsome) styling.
It had the total package.
The fifth-generation Honda Civic, specifically the hatchback (EG6) SiR. The platonic ideal of a hot-hatch.