The Most Boring Car to Drive/Own

[BristolCavendish]

There are a lot of threads in Open Discussion about cool and expensive high-performance automobiles.

Now what in your opinion qualifies as the most mundane and/or dull car to drive or own?

'Back in the day' (pre-family obligations/responsibilities), Mrs. BC and I owned 3 cars. We had an 850i for weekend excursions + a Volvo 240 DL for everyday use and my F-250 4x4 work truck. We are now down to a Subaru Outback and my old truck (250,000+ miles).

Looking back, the 240 DL was an incredibly dull car to drive but very reliable. Underpowered yet built like a tank, one always felt safe in it and the chances were pretty good that no one would ever take the time or effort to steal it. Comparatively, the 850i was in a league of its own but expensive to maintain and insure + there was always some jackass handing out door dings in the parking lot.

Getting back to the most boring and mundane. My vote goes to the Honda Accord. They're ubiquitous and offer little within the realm of an exciting and/or invigorating driving experience. While it's a practical and reliable vehicle, one might have presumed that the Accord could/should have inherited some sort of performance pedigree from the Honda racing program. In retrospect, perhaps Honda opted to save that criteria for the Acura NSX.

There are probably other makes/models that would qualify as the most boring or dull automobile but the Honda Accord IMO takes first prize. Some of our acquaintances who drive them also seem to meet that particular characteristic.

[SDRider]

Toyota Prius... hands down.

[joeychitwood]

My wife's first car. A 1974 AMC Gremlin. It was embarrassing to be seen in that thing.

[SearChart]

My mom's 2012 Hyundai i20, it is quite dreadful.

[DJ TT 2002]

I had a 4 door low end Ford Escort when I was in grad school in Philadelphia
I think the word boring was on the title

But nobody stole it.
Nobody broke in to take the AM radio, either
All in all, a decent center city car.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by SDRider

Toyota Prius... hands down.

Yaris is worse. I’ve had both.

[gettocard]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Yaris is worse. I’ve had both.

Don’t tell me man ! Driving a Yaris hybrid now and wife won’t give me back my old Prius I gave her when the baby was born,think about how desperate I am. I am a big Toyota enthusiast but the Yaris is a total mess up. I should stop buying a new bicycle every year and get rid of that car...

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

Getting back to the most boring and mundane. My vote goes for the Honda Accord. They're ubiquitous and offer little within the realm of an exciting and/or invigorating driving experience. While it's a practical and reliable vehicle, one might have presumed that the Accord could/should have inherited some sort of performance pedigree from the Honda racing program.

I tell you what. If you took a ride with me in my 2013 Honda Accord 2.4L DOHC, iVTEC, 6MT, you'd eat those words.

It's the man behind the wheel that provides the excitement, although a little muscle under the hood doesn't hurt.

You really should stick to topics you have some experience with, but why start now, right?

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

I tell you what. If you took a ride with me in my 2013 Honda Accord 2.4L DOHC, iVTEC, 6MT, you'd eat those words.

It's the man behind the wheel that provides the excitement, although a little muscle under the hood doesn't hurt.

You really should stick to topics you have some experience with, but why start now, right?

I’ve rented a few Accords. They are not boring to drive. They might not be a Corvette, but are orders of magnitude more fun than a Yaris.

[Wcdhtwn]

My first car: AMC Concord. My second car: Ford Escort. My third car: Ford Escort( replacing the first Escort- wreck). I had to borrow a very base Toyota minivan the past week, ugh. Horrible to drive and not remotely cool to be seen in.

I’ll second the support for Accords. Had a V-6 VTEC, 2005-ish. Very good power, fully loaded, good combo of comfort and sporty ride, surprisingly nice car, especially for the $$. If you look deeper the Accord has benefitted from Honda’s racing pedigree. Of all he cars I’ve owned, Mercedes, Lexus, I’d be hard pressed not to buy another Accord if choosing between them. The 2018 is supposed to be terrific, if I remember correctly it has a turbo.


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[Wesley Crusher]

Anything Korean.

I rented a Hyundai SUV some years ago and not only was the design overly bland and the fit/finish was poor, the engine damn near imploded as I was driving up the grapevine.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

I tell you what. If you took a ride with me in my 2013 Honda Accord 2.4L DOHC, iVTEC, 6MT, you'd eat those words.

It's the man behind the wheel that provides the excitement, although a little muscle under the hood doesn't hurt.

You really should stick to topics you have some experience with, but why start now, right?

OK. I will take your insights and recommendation under advisement.

BTW, my frame of reference was in regards to the common Accord SE as I am not familiar with your particular model. On the other hand, I have driven an earlier V-6 model and it wasn't anything to write home about. The stock suspension was a bit on the soft side but then again, the Accord wasn't designed for grand touring. In all fairness, it does make for a decent vacation rental or 'about-town' car.

But hey, it's not just me. Here's a 'world view' opinion from an automotive journalist who also includes the Toyota Corolla in the same boring league. As a matter of fact, he has it tied with the 'basic' model Accord.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/nzl9mp3/

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Yaris is worse. I’ve had both.

Hmm, I haven't driven that model.

Camry is pretty boring too but it makes up for what it lacks in driving dynamics by being fairly well equipped and comfortable if you get the higher end models.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by SDRider

Camry is pretty boring too...

The Camry in some ways has replaced those mid-1980s era Oldsmobiles as full-size boring (except that Camrys are not strictly limited to elderly drivers).

Comparatively speaking, the Nissan Maxima is an enjoyable car to drive. We rented one last year.

[droptopman]

Wife had a nice series 5 Prius that actually was not bad to drive at all. Not much performance but with the upgraded wheel and tire package it rode relatively quiet and smooth for a smaller car and the interior was fairly comfortable. We drove that thing to So Cal and AZ several times and back for golf trips.

They gave me a Yaris for a courtesy car once when I took her Prius in for service. I was like courtersey....I am 6' 3" Total POS to drive. My staff laughed at me I looked like a cartoon character stuffed into a car 4 sizes to small.

[MrTwi]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

Now what in your opinion qualifies as the most mundane and/or dull car to drive or own?

Anything with an automatic transmission. Appliances.

[rfatm3f]

Fiat 500

[Valenciawatchrepair]

Originally Posted by MrTwi

Anything with an automatic transmission. Appliances.

Ouch, that rules out A LOT. Even modified automatics too? I've seen some pretty crazy 4 speed auto vehicles from the 90's that were far from boring. lol. Some even FWD.

[Canefan1]

My current car. 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid. The damn thing even cuts off when I come to a stop.

[Danny83]

Although they are good cars, everytime I have owned a Subaru I get bored real quick and flip it.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

The Camry in some ways has replaced those mid-1980s era Oldsmobiles as full-size boring (except that Camrys are not strictly limited to elderly drivers).

Damn. Did you just compare an Oldsmobile to a Toyota
I'm not gonna get all bent out of shape about it , but......damn.

[utc66]

Neon made by Plymouth or is it dodge.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by utc66

Neon made by Plymouth or is it dodge.

Those aren't boring, you get the excitement of replacing the head gasket every other oil change.

[cop414]

Used to own one of these, AMC Pacer, yep I admit it. Was like driving an aquarium on wheels.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by cop414

Used to own one of these, AMC Pacer, yep I admit it. Was like driving an aquarium on wheels.

Ohhhh... the shame. The shame.

[pyrostick]

Hand down, my wife's old 1996 chevy cavalier.

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[cop414]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Ohhhh... the shame. The shame.

Yep, only mine was a sweet 70’s powder blue.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

My wife's first car. A 1974 AMC Gremlin. It was embarrassing to be seen in that thing.

It's my understanding that Gremlin carburetors had restrictor plates installed for economy purposes during the time. With those restrictor plates removed, those Gremlins were rumoured to be hell on wheels. Though, you still didn't want to be seen in one.

[HogwldFLTR]

I was depressed when I owned a '94 Mustang 6. It was totally gutless and everyone wanted to race it. I replaced it with a '98 Cobra which was a bit more fun to drive.

[Abdullah71601]

For vintage, I’d vote for the Chrystler K car.