As a commuter, you spend untold hours in your car each week driving back and forth between your home and your work. While admittedly there’s nothing you can do about morning and evening rush hour traffic and the traffic jams they cause, you can, however, buy a car that makes your commute a little less stressful and a little more pleasant.
If you’re looking for a reliable car for long commutes, you’ll first want to think about which features are the most important to you, including the following:
*Comfort
*Fuel-efficiency
*Reasonable price
*Sufficient trunk and cargo space
*Appealing interior
Fortunately for you, two reliable organizations recently came out with Top 10 lists of the most reliable commuter cars. Each organization used different criteria, so, as you might expect, their lists vary substantially. In fact, only the Ford C-Max and the Toyota Prius showed up on both lists. But look at it this way: between the two lists you have 18 commuter-friendly cars to consider before starting your own search for the perfect one.
U.S. News
U.S. News tested numerous cars priced under $35,000 for their consumer appeal. Using such additional criteria as automatic transmission, good gas mileage, comfort, interior features, and cargo space, they came up with the following Top 10 list:
Consumer Reports
Instead of conducting tests, Consumer Reports surveyed car owners themselves — 230,000 of them — to find out how satisfied they were with their cars related to commuting. Here is their Top 10 list.
1. Tesla Model S – Hybrid with 180–225 miles per charge; fully charges in five hours using the dedicated Tesla connector; exceptional performance
2. Chevrolet Volt – 35-mile electric range; 99 mpg in electric mode; 32 mpg in gasoline mode; fully charges in four hours (240-volt) or 10 hours (120-volt)
3. Nissan Leaf – Electric with 75-mile range; 106 mpg; fully charges in six hours (240-volt); amenities include heated seats and steering wheel
4. Ford C-Max – Hybrid with 40 mph top electric speed; 37 mpg overall; fully charges in two hours (240-volt) or six hours (120-volt)
5. Lexus ES – Hybrid with 44 mpg highway with 36 mpg overall; amenities include blind spot monitoring
6. Mazda3 – Sedan or hatchback; most fuel-efficient compact not a hybrid or diesel; 33 mpg overall; amenities include blind spot monitoring
7. Subaru Legacy – Mid-size sedan; 26 mpg overall; amenities include blind spot warning, cross-traffic warning, lane-change warning, rear-view camera, rear radar system
8. Toyota Prius – Hybrid with 55 mpg highway and 44 mpg overall
9. Honda Accord – 4-cylinder model 30 mpg overall; V6 model 26 mpg overall; amenities include a roomy interior
10. Volkswagen Passat – Mid-sized sedan; 39 mpg highway; 28 mpg overall; amenities include extra-large rear seats and a huge trunk
Given the numerous makes and models of safe, reliable, and commuter-friendly cars available today, finding your dream commuter car shouldn’t be all that difficult. In fact, you’ll no doubt thoroughly enjoy taking all those test drives.
