I maintain that one car is all anyone really needs, but I also maintain that everyone should have as many cars as they want, so don’t @ me. I can also assure you that I do not walk my talk, as I absolutely want at least two cars, need be damned. But what two cars? There are endless dream-garage permutations (which usually involve more than two cars), but when you’re talking sensible, real-worldable choices where you haven’t won Powerball, it gets a lot tougher to nail down just two choices.
When I announced the AA topic in Slack, Thomas piped up to say, “If we’re talking really sensible new car money, Mazda MX-5 Club plus Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid AWD with the 4K tow package,” to which Mark chimed in with “MX-5, yes, but make my second car a Chevy Express cargo van.”
I was thinking along the same “something + Maverick” lines myself, but as the vehicle I would drive most often would be the not-Maverick, I think I’d tire of always folding myself into a Miata for anything I didn’t need a truck for. And so, I’m going Volkswagen GTI and Ford Maverick – hybrid, but base or a click above is fine.
Now, I know there are hotter hatches than a GTI, but just under 300 horsepower is plenty for me, and the GTI keeps things sensible with its $35,000ish pricing. Plus it’s the quintessential “hot hatch” and I’ve always wanted one. And more importantly, it’s still a super-practical hatchback that my wife won’t mind driving, except she can’t drive stick, so she’ll be driving the Maverick.
Your turn:
What New Cars Would You Choose For A Sensible Two-Car Solution?
Top graphic images: Volkswagen; Ford
I have a miata and a crew cab half-ton. . .so I guess that is my answer.
But that does not include my wife’s SUV. . .so is that 3 cars? Or do I need to get that down to just 2?
If it is just 2 cars for the family it is going to be generic SUV and maybe a Maverick. With just 2, you need something that can do it all, and unfortunately generic SUV does that really well.
Kia EV6 for the DD
Genesis G80 for the long driving trips I take.
I’m ecstatic with my current one car that does it all. But I’m musing which convertible I might get when my RMD comes due next year. BMW 128?
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I already have a perfect 2-car combination for myself: a 2018 Fiesta ST and a 2007 Suburban. Thus I don’t really have a reason to replace them. I also have a 1988 Jaguar XJ6 but that’s strictly a low-mileage fun toy car and not strictly necessary.
I have come to the conclusion that Suburbans are my perfect sport/utility vehicles as they can carry eight passengers plus gear, they are fully enclosed for load protection when being used primarily as a cargo hauler, and they are more than adequate in the towing and four-wheeling departments for everything I need to do (i.e. 7000 pounds of towing capacity and noticeably beyond ordinary dirt road but less than Moab/Rubicon type wheeling). So that choice is easy.
Replacing the hatch is harder these days as there is no longer much in the way of cheap and good B-segment products to choose from – and no, I am NOT dropping the coin needed to buy a GR Corolla no matter how much I like the idea. Even if the GR Yaris came here it would be too expensive. A Trax or Bolt EV would serve my actual needs if we’re sticking to Chevys, or if I wanted a PHEV I could step up to a Prius Prime.
The ST is on my shortlist too.
It’s not modern cars, but I am very happy with my two car solution of a 2008 Lexus LS460 and 2002 Ford F250 .
The truck doesn’t get used a lot , but it’s big enough and powerful enough to pull/haul anything I will ever need, and the Lexus is an absolutely sublime daily driver/ highway cruiser.
This is tough! I have a new Kia Sportage PHEV, which is a good all-rounder, so for more fun and something the kids can drive … an older Mini Cooper S. No pick-up so the Kia would need to do the hauling. Maybe an IONIQ 5 or a Slate instead of a Mini?
The beauty of being married to a wife who is also a “car girl” is that I can comfortably be a 3 car family. While we each have a car we consider our “daily”, we enjoy the other car and swap often. She insists on a convertible. Currently a ’24 Mustang (red of course), my daily is a ’21 2-door Wrangler (my dream car). Unfortunately neither car is at all practical. So we also have a Fusion. I really want a pick up though, so I have been considering a smallish 4-door pickup to replace the Fusion.
I agree with Thomas so much that that’s what I own aside from up one trim package on both. 2019 Miata Grand Touring soft top(with the GT-S package that they seemed to have since basically rolled into the Grand Touring and 2025 Maverick Lariat Hybrid AWD with the 4K tow package.
If I could have anything I’d like for one of them (probably the Mav) to be full electric with a REX or at least plug-in hybrid.
I’m half way there with my Model Y Performance. The other half would be a Miata.
Ioniq 6 for comfortable riding and road tripping.
Slate truck for shorter-run fun and very occasional hauling.
I think.
And yes, I’m going to have to hire an electrician to make this work at Stately Gen3 Volt Manor.
Focus ST and F-150. Focus ST for commuting and road trips. Drives really well, gets good mileage, can carry 4 or 5 people, and a decent amount of cargo in the back. F-150 for carrying big/messy things like kayaks, trash, and furniture and appliances. And 4×4 for deep snow if needed.
Purely sensible: Pacifica AWD and Mustang Mach-E.
Easy: Mazda Miata RF and a Ford F-150 Lightning. It’s the two car solution that I am living every day!
Realistic: Honda Pilot Trailsport (for my wife) Toyota GR Corolla (for me)
If they’re both for me: Gen 1 Ford F150 Raptor, ND Miata
Currently have a GR Corolla and a 4Runner and aside from purchase price, fuel economy, consumable costs, insurance, and reg fees they make for a perfectly practical pair…
What I did do was a 2018 Mazda3 2.5L manual for me and a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica for my wife (and kids). I still have the manual and can do the odd drop off with my boys to school in the mornings on the way to work and we have the people/stuff hauler for all the other times.
If people get mad at the model years (I bought the cars new), I’d still just do a manual sedan/hatch for me and a minivan for the wife. It works great, but not a lot of choice these days…
I would choose zero new cars. The amount of unnecessary “tech” shoved into new cars over the last 15 years or so has made me actually deliberately oppose buying brand new cars.
The newer car in my existing “sensible two-car solution” is my 2012 Infiniti G37X. It’s a comfortable, sleek, quick way to get to work each day, while having one of my primary requirements for my next car when I bought it: four doors and comfortable seating for at least four full size adults. It represents the absolute maximum acceptable level of “car tech” I will ever want in my driveway for the rest of my driving life. The only option it does not have that I would add is ventilated seats. Most of its cockpit functions have actual buttons or switches, and it can absolutely never be “hacked into” – at least, not without being next to my car with a fire axe.
The other is my wife’s 2008 QX56 (we didn’t set out to become an Infiniti family, it just worked out that way), which hauls around the dogs and her sculpture/pottery supplies, brings home large items from the furniture store or Home Depot, hauls my drums to gigs, and also tows our camper.
If one or both of us is taking a long road trip, and fuel economy becomes a concern, we take my car. My wife’s preferred hair stylist is an hour away where my parents live, and she borrows my car for a day to go over and get her hair cut. If I need to stop by somewhere on my way home from work and pick up a large item, I borrow her SUV for the day. It works very well.
For our purposes, it would be hard to improve on this pair of vehicles. Especially brand new vehicles that have a long list of functions that I not only don’t want, but absolutely refuse to have intruding into my driving life.
I’ve been running the 12 passenger Nissan NV3500 and a Mini Cooper (two door hatch) for about 5 years now and … it’s pretty close to perfect. I have an EV to fill in for the van when there are few enough kids but – I could drop this car without issue.
Sienna Hybrid for the odd time I’d have to haul large/bulky things or do road trips.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 long range RWD for daily commuting and most other stuff.
Now in reality, I only have one vehicle. And if I had to pick between these two, it would be the Ioniq 5 because for the odd time I need to haul large/bulky things, I’ll just rent a van.
And the Ioniq 5 would be big enough and have long enough range for road trips for me as well.
Lucid Gravity and a Mazda Miata.
One comfy road trip machine with awesome range and a ton of space, and another fun car for cruising around on the weekends.
1. Miata RF for a fun vehicle. Fun to drive, handles well, easy to deal with and take care of. Runner up was a manual Mustang GT, but the Miata feels simpler and cheaper(ie more sensible), and if money was no issue I’d look for a Corvette Z06 or ZR1
2. Ford F-150 4×4 for everything else. Drive it during winter, on long trips, to farms for work, and any other place where a Miata doesn’t quite work. I’d personally go with an XLT or Lariat trim, 5.0 V8 or 3.5 Ecoboost.
Prius and Maverick, replace one of them with a minivan if you have sufficient kids.
Let’s assume my current 2 car garage is sensible, in which case the closest I can get to those cars new is:
GR86 (but they made the trunk opening even smaller than the GT86, so fitting bikes in will be even more annoying).
Lotus Emira (I guess the 2.0 turbo is the same size and type as my Europa, I’m not sure if the rules allow a V6 instead).
Any future four door Mustang with a V8 engine and some sort of hybrid / phev/ erev CUV of modest size for everything else