I’m not sure I have just 1…. Maybe someday. Out of the ones I’ve owned so far would probably either be my 2018 Audi A3 or a 2008 Saab 9-3 wagon. Both were fun enough to drive, got decent mileage, and I was happy to drive. The Saab my wife and then baby daughter got side swiped by a work truck (Chevy Avalanche) and while it twisted the frame the walked away without even a bruise. My wife's choice would be the Infiniti FX we had, I think it was a 2008.

 

My 2008 Porsche Carrera S. It has extreme handling capabilities, is quick and quite reliable. It only weighs about 3100 lbs and the interior is basic and high quality, as it should be. It gets about 29 mpg on the highway but I generally drive it on windy secondary roads in 4th gear out of 6 so only about 22 mpg.

Still love it.

 

I had my 86 Camry for 19+ years and 300k. It just had normal maintenance and a clutch at 250k. I also had a 98 Camry (a very rare V6 stick) for 15 years and 200k. Both were solid, reliable cars.

 

1977 VW Rabbit Diesel, ran forever with little to no maintenance.

 

I've posted it here previously, but here we go anyway:

 

I had a 2006 Camry that ran flawlessly for 13 years before I traded it in for my first EV (a Chevrolet Volt). It required basically nothing beyond oil changes. It was definitely the most low maintenance car I’ve ever had. But the best? Eh, I’d take my ID4 10 times out of 10 over the Camry.

 

I had the below smiley face Mazda 3 in red. Top of the line Grand Touring with a 6 speed manual.

Total hoot to drive although the 2.5 MZR was not the zoom zoom high revving beast you would expect it to be, it was kinda mehhh the last couple thousand RPM on the rev-o-meter but nothing objectionable. Manual trans did not like the 2nd gear shift at redline and it was routinely a crunchy shift if you wound it out and tried to get into 2nd too quickly. Fuel economy was horrific compared to competitors but nothing else really offered a big 4 banger in a compact car at the time.

Super solid build and ok interior materials, it was the generation after this where they matched VW for interior quality.

Reliability was good. I only had to take it in once for an HVAC recirculate door actuator replacement which was covered under warranty. Other than that just routine maintenance.

I still miss that car just because it was so much fun and was quite reliable.

 

I'm going to let my '05 and '98 Subaru Legacy wagons stand in as "one" favorite car.

Proper low wagon body style, low easy to access roof height, 3 bikes and even my mountain tandem mounted up top, great in the snow, long enough and flat enough to sleep in more nights than I could count over a few seasons as a mid-week Tahoe ski bum (I made myself some nice curtains), towed small U-Haul trailers with ease, carried drywall and lumber on top and a water heater and a 60 gallon air compressor inside, plenty of room in back for the dogs and had a proper dog gate, 5-speed manual FTW, and for the most part both super-reliable 100k mile+ cars (my '98 I sold to a friend who took it up to, maybe past, 200k).

My needs were different then (pre-kids, for one) and I asked a lot more of these wagons than I do now of the ID.4 or my other recent whips, but for obvious reasons the Subaru wagon has claimed a special place in my soul.

 

Oh, by the way... the 308... the babe in the passenger seat? We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. That picture was taken two years prior. We had some fun and interesting times tooling around the Deep South in that car.

 

For long haul driving comfort my 2013 Audi allroad. Planted long wheelbase with Audi-typical exceptional interior appointments.

For ease of maintenance/repair my daughter's 2003 Mazda 6 (inaugural year). I did all the work on that car from 37k miles until sold with over 100k. Very reliable.

For just plain fun and reliability driving the El Toro area canyons my 1977 Toyota Celica GT liftback. Did much of my own work at the base hobby shop. Broke the stick shift yoke (my own too heavy handed?) but easily removed & welded.

Particularly interesting thread trend here of Toyota, Mazda and Audi.

 

My 2003 Audi A8L was the best car I've ever owned and will probably be the best car I ever will have owned. Aside from the fact that it became difficult to maintain (owing to the difficulty of sourcing parts) at the end of its 17 year life with us, it was practically perfect in every way. If I could transport a brand new one from 2003 to now, I'd gladly be driving it again.

 

1. 2023 VW ID.4 - best vehicle I've ever owned. It's also the nicest. EVs are just better vehicles. I also have way more fun driving it. However...in terms of tried and true.

2. 2010 Prius (still own it) I've had since 2018 and depending on the type of road I'm driving on and how little acceleration I need throughout, I can get 61 mpg. I was once covering for work at a city 30.5 miles away (not the furthest distance I've had to go) but I consistently managed to drive to and from work those times on 1 singular gallon of gas. Amazing. However, at the same time, I normally work about 2 miles from home and I consistently get about 30 mpg. So...give and take. I'll be selling it in 2 years for a Rivian R2, however. It will have had a great run!

3. 2002 VW New Beetle. I had it for 11 years and it moved me from AZ to OR to KS to MD before selling it and getting the Prius noted above. Never had a better vehicle for parking in tiny places. I really appreciated it when I was on a road trip in San Francisco and no trouble parking anywhere. Fun car...but had too much maintenance needed at the end. Also, it oddly smelled like crayons...not a negative or a positive haha.

 

1. 2023 VW ID.4 - best vehicle I've ever owned. It's also the nicest. EVs are just better vehicles. I also have way more fun driving it. However...in terms of tried and true.

It's funny: If my ID4 didn't have 1) weird choices everywhere in the User Experience, 2) the worst software in the world, and 3) VW's awwsome* service network behind it, I'd rate it right behind the Audi in my long history of cars. When you're just driving it and not trying to interact with it, it's a lovely car.

* Awwsome, as in, a lot of people (including me) here seem to say “Aww...” or even “Aww $#¡†!” when they need service.

 

I had a 2010 Prius IV with the Solar roof package. I hated that thing. However, it was a wonderful commuter (~100 miles a day) that gets excellent gas mileage and had a pretty good JBL system to drown out all the road and wind noise.

Anyways, the best car I've ever owned was my 1996 Acura 3.2TL Premium in Juniper Green Pearl and Parchment leather interior. The engine was from the Acura Legend. It was quick enough and it was quiet and comfortable. I really miss that car.

 

Every vehicle that I have ever owned had its problems, some minor and some major. I think that I will separate it into personal and work vehicles. For personal vehicles I loved my six on the stick VW TDI Jetta Sportwagen the most . Other than that little lying to my face bit and constant monitoring to avoid polluted diesel, it was great. My dogs especially loved the room behind the front seats. I loved the torque , great seats, and highway mpg.
my favorite work vehicle was a 2004 GMC pickup. It was comfortable riding, gave good mpg for a pickup, never had any mechanical trouble. I turned down a vehicle upgrade twice( I had seniority). I would have retired with it , just like my duct taped office chair, except a teenage girl decided to turn left into my road without looking left. At least she and the two passengers weren’t hurt, but my replacement vehicle was a short bed FORD. It rode rough as a corn cob and was ridiculously high off of the ground.

 

I loved a lot of the vehicles I owned but I guess my favorite would have to be my red 1997 Acura Integra GS-R. It wasn’t the best at anything but was good at everything and a blast to drive, especially with the 8,000 rpm rev limit. With the hatchback I treated it like a small truck, hauling bags of mulch, etc. It was my first and so far only experience getting service at a premium dealership.

 

It's hard to come up with my favorite. The car that I owned the longest (14 years) was the 1990 VW Fox, 4 speed stick. Really fun to drive and very reliable. But I can never get over how much I liked my 2010 VW Jetta, TDI. It got 45 mi. per gallon and the TSG transmission was very intuitive. The only AWD vehicle I've owned was Subaru. It had great stability but the automatic transmission was horrible.

Most cars I've owned held the most favorite car title at least for awhile. So, now my most favorite car is my ID.4.

 

Let's take a trip down memory lane and share a picture of the best car you've ever owned. Whether it's a classic beauty, a sleek sports car, or a reliable daily driver, we want to see it! Share a photo and tell us a bit about what made that car so special to you. Can't wait to see all the amazing rides that our members have had the pleasure of owning.

My 2003 Toyota Camry was hands down the best car I've ever owned. Its reliability, durability, and comfort made every drive a joy. I wouldn't trade that car for anything.
View attachment 35121

Let's take a trip down memory lane and share a picture of the best car you've ever owned. Whether it's a classic beauty, a sleek sports car, or a reliable daily driver, we want to see it! Share a photo and tell us a bit about what made that car so special to you. Can't wait to see all the amazing rides that our members have had the pleasure of owning.

My 2003 Toyota Camry was hands down the best car I've ever owned. Its reliability, durability, and comfort made every drive a joy. I wouldn't trade that car for anything.
View attachment 35121

 

1960 Austin Healy and my 1967 Ford Fairlane GT

 

View attachment 35142
1960 Austin Healy and my 1967 Ford Fairlane GT

Wow! Wire wheels and all!

 

Probably my 1998 Nissan Maxima that I bought new is the best car. It's a tank. Really bad rust but still runs great and nothing breaks. 200k miles plus and it's still used by the kid who won't get a job.

My favorite car was the '70 Camaro I had when I was just out of highschool.

 

My favorite was a cherry red 1985 Saab 900 3 door, base model, no radio, bought new, given away to a friend in Anchorage in 2000. Second place goes to the current 2022 grey ID. 4 pro.

 

I don't have a photo, but a 2007 Nissan Maxima. I only had it 2 years on a business lease, but it was fast, fun and I don't think I had it in the shop for anything but oil changes. I put 40,000 miles on it in 2 years.

My wife has a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe V6 that has been a great car with very few issues. It has on 65,000 miles (I put the first 30,000 in 2 years), has a great ride and super reliable.

My 2023 ID.4 is right up there too!

 

The best car I owned was a 2008 BMW 328i with manual transmission and active steering. That thing drove much nicer than more expensive cars I have owned since then. Unfortunately BMW doesn't make cars like that anymore.

For those whose best car was a Toyota Camry, well I am sorry. I hope you have better chance in the future!

 

For those whose best car was a Toyota Camry, well I am sorry. I hope you have better chance in the future!

I once tried to convince my wife to get a fully loaded Camry instead of a lesser-optioned Lexus, as 1st gen was the same basic body. But she held firm and I was subsequently glad she did as when traded for the 2nd gen it made all the difference, as by then a superbly styled discrete design. The service waiting room was also much nicer with excellent coffee/pastries.

There's no doubt that any Toyota has excellent reliability. However I agree that one owes it to themselves to at least once take it up a notch.

The turn of the century BMW 328i was indeed outstanding. Alas now given computers on wheels most any brand seems the same. 🤷‍♂️

 

I think just the opposite. To me best means most memorable and fun especially in a forum full of enthusiasts like this forum. Many cars can be reasonably reliable and I would not put them in the “best” category. Reliable is a nice to have but not best. It’s not the Camrys that make this an interesting thread, it’s the other cars that do.

 

I completely disagree. You are welcome to start a thread titled "Most fun car" but to me the best is the car that gave me the best service and reliability over it's lifetime. My Camry was the best in that regard, but if you start a fun car thread I'll post with another vehicle.

 

Porsche. I've owned 6 including 911's, a 912, a 928GTS, a 944, and a Mecan. I currently drive the VW ID4 AWD ProS and plan on replacing it with the Macan EV when it's available next year.

 

As a young man I only bought cars I thought were interesting and fun.
My first "fun" car was a 69 Alfa GTV 1750. I worked a fair amount on it but it was a lot of fun.

But I am a little different than most in that a lot of cars were interesting to me.
I had a 64 Malibu 4dr "plain Brown wrapper", A 64 Corvair convertible, a 60 Bonneville Coupe, Peugeot 504 diesel and a 69 Mercedes 250.
The most all round useful car was the Mercedes. Solid , dead reliable, easy to work on and would cruise at 80 with ease. The trunk was enormous and the interior seemed gigantic, a feeling created by large windows, a high roof and wide seats. The fact that the steering wheel was 30% larger than any other car made one feel like a third grader at the wheel.

But the 60 Bonneville was hard to beat for boulevard swagger.

 

I had a 64 Malibu 4dr "plain Brown wrapper", A 64 Corvair convertible, a 60 Bonneville Coupe, Peugeot 504 diesel and a 69 Mercedes 250.

Fun factoid of the day:

Does everyone know how the Porsche 911 came to be the 911 and not the 901 as was originally intended (and was still marked on many of the parts in the car)?

Answer: Peugeot had already trademarked all the possible model numbers with a zero in the middle!