I said it right there in the headline, but please allow me to reiterate: a boring car is not necessarily a bad car or a design failure, and while you are free to do whatever you like with your responses, the intention here is not to dump on cars for any inability to excite. We’re pro-car here, always. That said, and OK as it may be, some cars are boring.
Some of the cars I have the most affection for are boring. I doubt anyone thinks a Grandpa-spec Crown Victoria or Lincoln Town Car is exciting, but as very American expressions of restrained “classiness” and no-nonsense car design, I think they’re interesting and fun, and the growing scarcity of nice ones only makes them more appealing
Another boring beaut for me is the Toyota Camry, long despised by try-hard enthusiasts as the dullest, worst thing to drive for a real car person such as themselves (see also: minivans). I happen to like every iteration of Camry simply for being the comfortable, inoffensive, reliable “regular car” that gets one from A to B without fuss or temptation and frequent invisibility to law enforcement, particularly in shades of white, silver, and beige on the most basic wheels offered.
… Which is not to say a Camry cannot excite, as evidenced by its increasingly aggro styling (peaking, I think, with the XV70 version as seen below) and availability of 300+ horsepower trims. It’s also worth noting that new Camrys of any trim are an increasingly rare sight in the crossover-crazy era we live in (at least in my slice of North Texas), so I’m likely to point and say, “Look, a Camry,” when I see one, which makes them not-boring.
As for a car I will never point at, or be moved by in any way? A Tesla Model Y, specifically in white. It’s a perfectly good-looking car, but looking pretty tired even with its refresh, simply because this basic shape has been on roads for so long, and in great numbers. It’s just “an car” to me, though I completely understand it’s a fine automobile, remains a top choice among EVs, and depending on trim, can out-hustle many “exciting” cars. But it does nothing for me; it looks more generic to me than minimalist, and it’s just … blah. To me. In white.
A will say that, in black, it’s a different story. There’s a murdered-out Model Y Premium that I see on the regular (license plate: DRTH VDR) that I think looks downright sinister and not-boring.
Your turn:
What Is The Most Boring New Car? (Which Is Not Necessarily A Bad Thing)
Top graphic image: Tesla
This is a prime example of why you need to figure out how to let us put pictures in the comments. Who wouldn’t want to scroll through pages of boring car pics here?
BTW, Nissan Rogue – always.
I wouldn’t call it boring, getting Model3 lights right in my eyes, just annoying!
Most sold new car here. So that light thing happens pretty often. Hate it!
I don’t know about it as a car, but when I see a Nissan Altima I fall asleep a little bit inside.
I think the Equinox is the car you’re looking for. Just as anonymous as a Trax, but without the enticing price. A Trax is many people’s first new car, and that’s exciting for them, I suppose. No such luck for the Equinox. Maybe its Buick cousin whose name I can never remember is more boring, or the Cadillacs of the same size with equally unknowable names and imperceptible styling.
I feel like the mid-size unibody SUV is always the least memorable car from any brand though, be it the Edge, Highlander, Pilot, Ascent, they’re just consistently shrug-inducing.
It was the Chevy Malibu but that died last year (although I bet there’s still new 25s on lots)
I’m going with a base Ford Escape. It’s so boring that people won’t even know that you bought a new car when you drive to work the next day.
I think this really depends on where you live. A Tesla would be considered very exciting here as there are not very many of them.
On the other hand, a Chevy Onyx sedan might be exciting to some of this community because this kind of car is non-existent in the US and they’re mostly manual-transmission, small (read: tossable) cars. However, they’re everywhere here and are decent cars – but not exciting in any way. The engine is fine but not really exciting.
I also would say that a BAD car is not necessarily boring – so a car with a bunch of issues would not be desirable, but also not boring.
Toyota Corolla Cross.
I think Camry or regular Corolla would have been an apt response 20 years ago, but the Cross is a more accurate representation of today’s default automobile. I don’t think I’ve ever driven such an adequate yet mediocre vehicle. Just so mind-numbing dull in every conceivable metric.
I’m not crazy about the way Teslas (or most EVs) look & feel in general, but I have a hard time buying the “0-60 in 3 seconds isn’t actually that fun” mindset.
I think that’s cope for a lot of people who haven’t yet admitted that EVs are an objectively better experience than the boring ICE vehicles they actually chose to daily drive.
Sure, a Tesla isn’t going to be as engaging as an Acura NSX, (or whatever one holds up as the ‘holy grail’ of driving passion) but claiming a car that fast is less exciting than your average ICE appliance car is just ignorance or cognitive dissonance.
And before anyone comes at me with “My manual 2011 Jetta wagon isn’t any boring crossover!1!”, let me just say- I hear you, but respectfully it might as well be.
2009 prius.
My former car was a 2009 prius and it was exactly what people find so bad about them. Driving this was like having a butler. You imput what you want and it quitly goes about its buisness getting the result you asked for.
The power was OK. The handling was extremely predictable in all situations.Ownership was without financial surprises. Even the warranty and dealer experience was… OK.
It was very hard to give some interesting information about a 2009 prius. Unless you want me to talk about how this drivetrain works and how they keep its consumption low. Then I will talk untill you stop me.
I reckon that dogged reliability and good fuel economy stops modern Toyotas from actually being boring. a basic Hyundai or Kia sedan or hatch. Not that is boring.
My first trip since I was a lad to the USA earlier this year and I specified a boring Subaru Outback because I wanted something familiar due to it being the first time for a while in a LHD car and I had 20hours of flight and jetlag behind me straight onto the icey i-70 from Denver at night. I didn’t need any more stimulation but there were plenty of times I almost lost it in a carpark sometimes we were in a row of three or more in Boulder.
Man, getting straight off a plane into a car in an unfamiliar area is brutal. I had trouble even after having flown from Indiana to Oregon.
We’ve never done it overseas, we usually stay in a city or hop on a train. But that’s kind of hard to do in the US.
Then the Hire Car representative had to explain to us about the toll system in Colorado I was glad that the boring Subaru didn’t need a lot of time working out how to use. Wasn’t ready for driving 10% over the speed limit.
I would say any EV is boring really. They may have 5000 hp and blistering acceleration,but after a week or two its just an appliance. That last part can be said of any car i guess,but in an ice ICE car at least you should check on the engine from time to time and generally pay somewhat attention.
I have driven a few EVs though and wouldn’t mind having one so that I can but my wife in a reliable car I don’t have to worry about.
Yes and no.
From my own meandering experience. Our two EVs have totally different character.
The eNiro has more power than you would need in a boring family car. But what you notice most is the diesel like torque. It is just always there to shred tires. But it’s all down low. Once you hit 70 kph, it is just a fast-ish car.
I think of this car as a bear. It has real power, but it is not really built for speed.
The Cooper EV is far from boring to drive. It has less power than the eNiro, but it is lighter and faster. It also has somekind of power curve. It will not easily shred tires, but it feels like it builds power as the speed piles up. Like a high reving motorcycle engine. Not boring, not apliance at all.
I think of this car as a Jack Russel. It is not build for long distance or even for outright speed. It just wants to play and be happy.
I have only driven big-ish EVs this far,like the Mach E and the Bz4x or whatever,so I don’t have any experience with the smaller ones. I suppose the Mini and the Renault 5 and such can be pretty fun,but I imagine the weight holding them back.
I’ve heard that Porsches and BMW e-cars are some of the most engaging. They’re also not cheap.
As an ‘car person’ (well to my non car owning friends). Boring cars have a place in even our esteemed garages.
Need a car you don’t need to worry about when you lend to a mate? Go get parts when your project breaks down or the Lucas electrics are on the blink?
For instance one of Melbourne’s preeminent architect has a collection of Lancias. His holiday house ride? A trusty 1997 Tarago (Previa) Another mate collects BMW motorbikes around Australia using a trailer on the back of his 100 series Landcruiser.
A boring car can let you do interesting things. Sometimes it is about the destination.
I keep reading about Tesla drivers cruising down the interstate sound asleep, so i guess that counts.
I like boring to look at and fun to drive. Most of the not-boring-to-look-at cars are so incredibly ugly, The I-can’t-be-bothered-to-design-a-front-end-so-i’ll-just-fill-it with-black-plastic-that-looks-like-a-giant-kittylitter-poop-rake theme is really getting old.
All the cars with doors that look like they got T-boned in the parking lot. Why?
I miss my Volvo 750 Turbo wagon. Aparently it was so boring that I could drive 90mph, and every so often I would pass a Mustang or Camaro and a state trooper would give them a ticket. I never once got a ticket. My silver Prius is the same sort of boring. 89mph and nobody notices except for the truck bros that freak out. Sometimes there are three silver third-generation Priuses in convoy. If I were looking for a getaway car, a silver Prius would be my choice.
Just went from six years in grandpa’s 2004 Grand Marquis to a new kia k4. Now that I can see past the technology overdose, 140 hp and a cvt is the most boring modern powertrain ever. I am completely fine with that.
Not sure I could decide on one or even a few. We are living in quite the boring car era. Some of that is good in that cars are a whole lot more reliable then they used to be. And we are so used to relatively cheap performance that everything is pretty boring. Pretty much all Toyotas SUVs and most cars are boring now. But sure I’ll go with camery as the most boring followed by corrolla. Rav4 and 4runner along with taco is up there. I only really get excited to see the current gen Prius parly because there isnt a ton of them especially compared to previous gens. Anything from Subaru too. Maybe the BRZ is not super boring but not really exciting anymore either.
Teslas have gotten pretty boring too. They are around almost any metro area in large enough numbers and just look like a Hyundai now. Some markets are big into Nissian rouges those are pretty boring of course all the Nissian cars.
I haven’t had a car catch fire, loose a wheel, or have the hood open at 60mph in at least 20 years. That’s kind of boring.
I’m with you. It’s been a good 20 years for me to. I had a few 80s gms where the alternators used to catch fire and the real brakes would lock up and snoke. I’ve heard of a few flaming leafs so I bought a few. A lady did tell me she had a wheel fall off after new tires at Sam’s club so that could be an option for excitement.
Once on a cross country trip Sears had to remove all four wheels and put them on. They were Mickey Thompson mag wheels back when alloy wheels were kind of rare. Anyway all four fell off at the same time. And I was towing a U-Haul trailer with a convertible on I-70. That was exciting. Walking on the interstate looking for 12 out of 20 missing lug nuts was fun too.
When the right rear on the wagon started to Snoke I knew it had gone to the dark side. Les Schwab did the “forgot to tighten the lug nuts” to our old Honda, that would even make a model Y exciting.
“A Tesla Model Y, specifically in white. It’s a perfectly good-looking car”
You haven’t actually looked at one I assume. Or, perhaps, you need better glasses.
Really look at one. Squint. Step back. Take it all in. The bulbous forehead. The squat full-diaper fenders. The beady eyes. The snail/slug stance. The sneer face.
Nope, ain’t one thing perfectly good looking about it. Beaten hard with the ugly stick.
(Model S is Damned good looking)
The Model Why, er, uh, Y, is the official car of, “I don’t care about cars” car, driven by people who, shockingly, don’t care about cars.
I’ve yet to meet a owner, or operator, or, button presser, or whatever you’d call the person who invested cold hard credit into one who likes cars.
They always rhapsodize about how overjoyed they are to NEVER HAVE TO BUY GAS AGAIN!!
And that they’ll never have to change oil again!!
And that they’ll never have to have a brake job again!!
And no more water pump failures!!
And I just get in and it reads my mind and we go without any thought or care and I can watch my reels the whole way there.
Or…
They are a subset of “Car Enthusiasts” who go on and on about how it’s faster than greased lightening baby!!
“Blow the doors off any Hellcat!”
Yes, Yes, we know. That’s very impressive. Just like the street take over guys, so cool. There was a dude in the intersection in front of my place early Sunday AM doing brodies with his 98′ Bimmer 318.543/8c.#&!*$ and it was so impressive.
I nearly fainted with joy. Only thing could have made it better was for it to be a murdered out Model Y. I’d a pulled up a lawn chair to weep tears of happiness.
Anyway…
They ain’t purty cars.
As an owner of a white y, can confirm. It’s quick in a straight line but overall it’s an appliance. I had a white rwd 3 before this and that was more fun (worse build quality), more sporty and was a drift monster if you disconnect the abs sensor, but still an appliance.
Or the 2019 Sentra rental I had. That was somehow worse than the 91 Sentra coupe I had.
And I just looked. Holy shit, they are steelies, and not interesting ones
Where I live, it has to be the crew cab 4X4 Silverado, F150, RAM, or Sierra pickups. Drive down the street in my town and you’ll see one of these in almost every other driveway. There are so many of them that they’re all starting to look the same.
You know what you’re right. I think Porsche also fell into this same trap. There are so many trim packages with exclusive and gate kept options, graphics packages, etc. that are supposed to differentiate all the trims but all it has done is made my brain think is either “Oh, this guy overpayed 3X on the car rather than putting in a real locker / torsen diff themselves depending on the car and trail / track and make it way better for way cheaper” or they’re driving the base model. Most F150’s look like a 40K truck to me except for a handful, and I couldn’t tell the difference between any 911 unless you’re talking about the fancy GT models.
Most boring new car? Yes.
That base Model Y with the plastic wheel covers is truly offensively boring. The “white refrigerator” of cars.
I saw one the other day at the supercharger. I prefer the lightbar free front end but those wheel covers are poverty penalties. Even the older aero covers were better. I wonder what they look like pulled off, the old ones were pretty nice without the covers
when looking at like 90% of new cars, what isn’t boring?
I had a base model RAV4 as a rental last week. I needed a bland car for what I was renting it for, but man did it exceed expectations. At the same time it was pleasant highway cruiser
You needed a bland car? Were you robbing a bank or something?
Needed a bland car eh? Burying a body?
Don’t worry about it. Just remember snitches get stitches.
I mean, highway trip, bland car to blend in, makes a guy think…
I do blight studies for work, which entails driving slowly through residential areas staring at peoples houses.
Ah, yes. You want to blend in.
Around my somewhat questionable hood, which would be a good study project for you, you’d be seen as casing and a possible drive by guy.
A silver CUV. Brand doesn’t matter, they are all the same thing.