To be clear, the question here is not “What is the blandest car?” or “What is the most boring car?” While blandness and boringness may contribute to a car’s inconspicuousness, these traits are not essential to it. What makes a car inconspicuous is, uh, its being inconspicuous. Look, you know it when you see it – which is to say, you don’t remember seeing it.
Better still if the cops don’t see it, the true measure of an inconspicuous car. As a teenager in command of the family’s Toyota SR5 wagon, I was a regular speeder in the angular little thing. On more than a few occasions, I flew beneath an I-95 overpass only to see a statie staked out behind a pillar as I passed, and I would brace myself for the flashers to come on and then … nothing. I’d breathe a sigh of relief, ease off the gas (but never touch the brakes, which would be a confession), and continue on my way to Fall River or wherever.
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I’m sure more than a few of you will say some model years of the Toyota Camry are inconspicuous, and you’ll be right, but I think the XV40 might the most invisible of the line. I used to drive one for a couple of weeks every summer in Newport, RI while on vacation – it was my mother-in-law’s, she didn’t drive anymore – and I swear, I could never find it after I parked it. It was a slate grey color, and it was like my eyes couldn’t focus on it. I’d do two laps of the Shaw’s parking lot with a gallon of milk sweating in my hand, then realize I was standing right beside it.
I put the Autopian Asks question to the gang as I usually do, and when Matt offered his pick, I wasn’t even able to form a mental image of it. I give you the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder:
That may actually be a 2017 above, but it doesn’t matter. Says Matt, “I’m a professional automotive journalist and, even if I wasn’t, I’d still think about cars all day. I have never thought about this crossover. It has a roof. It has wheels. That’s all I’ve got.”
The Bishop also came through with an inconspicuous car, one I had forgotten existed: The Mazda 929.
“It was almost exotically bland,” said The Bish, a turn of phrase that I am now in love with. I do think it looks quite smart though, and even crisper than the similarly squared-off Maxima and Camry that were on the roads in far greater numbers at the time – which no doubt made it even harder for an untrained eye to spot a 929.
Your turn: What Is The Most Inconspicuous Car?
Top graphic image: Toyota
Impala- The generation before the final one
I think that would be the Toyota Corolla Cross or whatever it is called. It’s a car you probably see several times a day,but you would never remember.
Nah, I always do a double take at those things. “What the fuck is wrong with that Rav4?” always goes through my head, before I realize it’s a CC. If it’s bigger brother didn’t exist in vastly greater numbers, then maybe it would be more subtle but the fact that it just looks like a mutant runt of the litter counts against it.
My Kia Niro EV. It’s technically dark blue, but some think it is black. The logo looks like KN, not KIA. It’s even more forgettable looking than a Corolla. It’s like it was designed for one of those insurance ads where they remove the emblem for the car. So if I do something dumb in traffic, and someone asks “what kind of car was that” I think the answer will be “nobody knows.”
Also, it’s nearly silent because I added a button to turn off the pedestrian noisemaker. Was there even a car at all?
I would say Honda CR-V, any generation except the first gen. The 1st gen is pretty thin on the ground now days. And it had a certain spunk/weirdness to it that made it stand out. Looked a bit like the 80s Civic “wagovan” with a lift and on bigger tires. Combined with the spare tire on the back and high tail lamps, its rather unique. All the subsequent generations are pretty bland and since everybody drives an SUV now days it blends right in.
The reason I dont say Toyota Rav4 is I deliberately look for 3rd gen ones with the 2GR-FE v6. Combine that with AWD, it was the fastest Toyota branded vehicle you could buy for several years. I really wish I had hunted for one of those rather than my kinda impractical 2014 Lexus ES350 I bought 6 years ago. Yeah nicer interior, looks cool, but the driving position/seat comfort in the Rav4 along with more room and that same haul ass v6 appeals more to my vulcan side of logic now days
Mid size 4 door sedans, silver ones in particular have been invisible for years. Jettas or chevy Malibu generally come to mind first or me.
A white full-size van.
‘Round here in these parts of the upper gulf coast (mobile AL – Big Bend) I’d have to say a pretty plain ol white F150. They’re just background noise.
Agreed- plain white fleet special pickups blend in almost anywhere since pretty much any municipality, utility, and corporation with any real estate holdings in North America keeps at least a handful around.
This a question where context absolutely makes all the difference. For instance, over Thanksgiving when we visited my in-laws, who live in a expensive area full of BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche SUVs (even saw a couple Grenadiers), our Ioniq 5 definitely felt out of place, whereas a late model 3 series or X3 probably would have just blended into the background. I would also imagine a based on my last trip to Denver a Subaru Outback would basically be invisible around all the Wranglers, Broncos, and FJ Cruisers I saw driving around.
Buick LeSabre? Any year.
Where I live it would be a 3 way tie between a Crosstrek, RAV4, or Model Y. Hard to find a parking lot without several in every row. Not uncommon to see a row with 3 or 4 of these.
10 years ago instead of a Model Y it would be a Prius.
Any of the small Lexus SUVs are invisible to me, especially in white. They are rolling sedatives.
Dodge Caravan. It’s as unnoticeable as a Camry, but you can fit more people into one to sneak them past ICE.
It has to be the Nissan Rogue, particularly in black or silver. They’re everywhere. My wife has one and I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve come out of a store to find three identical Rogues parked within a few spaces of each other.
I would argue that the Subaru Crosstrek is the new super vanilla
A plain white panel van.
A black or dark blue Crown Victoria with spot lights, a push bar, dog dish hubcaps, and two guys in cheap suits sitting up front parked in front of my house for hours on end.
Yep, totally inconspicuous.
Subaru Outback. Driven sensibly by sensible people. Yet I have one now, with the turbo engine, and it’s easy and fun to drive a quick but invisible car.