QOTD: What's the Best All-Around Car?

Doug DeMuro
by Doug DeMuro

When you talk to car enthusiasts, it’s clear that they spend a lot of energy trying to figure out the best car for every possible situation.

It’s only in a group of car enthusiasts, for instance, that you’ll hear the term “daily driver.” For normal people, they just have a “car,” and maybe a “second car” for their “wife.” But car enthusiasts separate their daily driver from their other car, or maybe their other cars, because each vehicle in a car enthusiast’s garage has a different purpose.

There’s a track car — a car only owned by enthusiasts dedicated solely to track use. And there might be a truck and a trailer to pull this track car. So now you have the daily driver, the track car, the truck, and the trailer.

Or maybe you have a winter beater. A car you use during the winter to keep the bad weather, road salt, potholes, and debris away from your pride and joy. This winter beater is usually an old Subaru, or a truck, or something you wouldn’t be caught dead driving in normal circumstances. But alas, it’s another car that fills another purpose.

Some car enthusiasts have a commuter car; a car that sucks miles, that keeps their fun car away from the daily grind; a car that they can use for fuel economy and hauling kids while keeping their “fun car” safe for weekend use. I know a guy who once had an E60 BMW M5 in the garage and a Toyota Prius as a commuter car.

And it goes, on and on and on. Some people have an off-roader. A truck for hauling. A classic they keep in the garage. A drag racer. Car enthusiasts like cars, so they have a lot of them. It only makes sense.

But what if you could only have one?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’m asking the question: what’s the best all-around car if you had to have only one single car? What if you couldn’t have the track car, and the winter beater, and the commuter cars, and the off-roader? What if you had to stop and choose only one specific vehicle that does it all?

For me, this question is impossibly hard to answer. Your mind immediately goes to high-performance SUVs like the BMW X5 M or the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, because they combine sports car performance with SUV practicality. But in doing so, they kind of lose the best aspects of both: the X5 M and Grand Cherokee SRT8 have such thin performance tires that they’re hardly capable off-roaders. And they’re so bulky and heavy that they don’t really go around corners. They’re good all-rounders, but not great ones; better in theory than in reality.

So then you start thinking of practical sports cars, like the Porsche 911 or the BMW 6 Series. But these things aren’t really family cars: both have back seats that could barely be comfortable for a notecard. And by offering back seats at all, they kind of compromise the true “sports car” nature of the sports car that’s honed so effectively by cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Honda S2000.

So what’s the answer?

I nominate the Volvo V60 T6, which seems to combine good things about every possible type of vehicle. Under the hood, there’s a 3.0-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder engine that makes 325 horsepower. Performance, check. It’s also a wagon, or at least a long hatchback, so there’s some room in back for both people and luggage. Interior space, check. And there’s standard all-wheel drive in the T6 model, along with an insane amount of typical Volvo safety features. All-weather capability, check. Safety, check.

But of course, there are many fine answers to this question, and I’m sure that not all of them will be the Ford Crown Victoria. So I say to you, what exactly do you think is the best all-around car?

Doug DeMuro
Doug DeMuro

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  • CincyDavid CincyDavid on Sep 05, 2015

    While I really like my Volvo V90 wagon, my perfect ride would be a Volvo 740 wagon, normally aspirated red block 4 cylinder, automatic or manual trans, no sunroof, no roof rack, cloth seats, manual heat and A/C, not the crazy climate control I have now, limited slip rear end which I have now and it helps tremendously in slippery conditions. Basically a base model so there is less to go wrong with it...drive that sucker until it just can't be fixed any more then go looking for another just like it.

  • Gearhead77 Gearhead77 on Sep 08, 2015

    E63 AMG Estate is probably the answer here or the E39 540 wagon. Sadly, I'll never be able to afford the former and the ones that are left of the latter are 150+k basketcases by now or absurdly priced. For me, since there's no track day involved, the minivan in most forms is the best all around vehicle if you have family. Our 2014 Odyssey EX-L has the goodies I like, the space we occasionally need and returns acceptable economy for its purpose. If I had to be honest, for commuting purposes, simply back and forth to work alone, the Smart car is probably what we all should drive. It's just such a poor car and bad trade-off in many regards(in US form) that it doesn't make sense or cents.

    • See 4 previous
    • Vulpine Vulpine on Sep 09, 2015

      @NMGOM "What about the Mini?" Depending on the need, the Mini might be a good choice. It's quick. It's agile. And of course, it's fun. People like to claim it drives like a go-kart. On the other hand, the average price is double that of either the Smart or the Fiat 500, which both have similar advantages to the Mini. The Mini also has a reputation for expensive repairs with some claiming poor reliability (I can't speak to that as I simply do not know for myself.) What I can say is that the Smart has a 'hidden' feature that can offer a surprising 'boost' of power when absolutely needed (it even surprised the owner of one the first time he used it) while my own Fiat 500 has so far been a little gem as a daily driver with reasonable comfort even with two 'plus-sized' people in the seats.

  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
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