Random Best Road Trip Cars (16 items)

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  (#2) Chevrolet Corvette

  • General Motors, Chevrolet

  If you're the lone gunslinger type, it's hard to beat Chevy's Corvette as a road trip car. True, you could take a second passenger, and the Vette's cavernous hatch is big enough to swallow all the luggage two people need. But realistically, nobody likes sitting in the passenger seat of a Corvette for long, and quarters are tight enough to make any passenger bigger than a Shih Tzu one serious personal space invader. Corvettes can get shockingly good highway fuel economy if you can keep your foot out of it. Which you won't. But 40 mpg isn't impossible with smart driving. 
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  (#15) Honda Insight

  • Honda

  Well, it's a mid-sized hatchback hybrid that isn't a Prius. That's the Insight's primary attribute: it isn't a Prius. Other than the not-Yoyota-ness of its being, the Insight offers great fuel economy, low cost of purchase, low insurance costs, availability at rental lots, and massive interior volume for your stuff and your front-seat passengers. The back seat is on the smallish side though, and while it is pretty good on the highway, the Insight's really best if your road trip consists of hopping from city to city. 
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  (#1) Dodge Charger

  • Dodge

  It's the fastest sedan in the world - did you really think Dodge's Charger wouldn't be on the list? Granted, you might not opt for the 207-mph Hellcat version, nor go cruising around at those velocities. But the fact that the Charger chassis can safely run that fast at all says loads about its high-speed stability and cruising manners. True, the "Vanishing Point" Challenger might be the more legendary road tripper, but Chargers have four doors, a decent back seat, plenty of storage space, and are rated at 31 mpg on the highway in base form. Kowalski you might not be happy, but you will be. 
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  (#13) Chrysler 200 Convertible

  The 200 was Chrysler's replacement for the old Sebring - that means it's not a particularly exceptional car in its own right. But it is the only four-seater convertible you're ever likely to see on rental lots in the United States. The 200 isn't a good or bad car; it's not fast or slow, cheap or luxurious, efficient or gas-guzzling, ugly or pretty. It's just a car. But it's got room for four, and could be one of the best cars ever built for trouble-free summer road trips. 
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  (#8) Cadillac CTS

  • General Motors, Cadillac

  Short of the psychotic CTS-V model, the 420 horsepower, 3.6-liter turbocharged CTS may be one of the best American sedans on the market today. Car and Driver said, "[The CTS] is the only car in this group that didn't just put up with hard driving, it indeed goaded its driver to go faster." Of course, it's a modern Cadillac, so luxury options abound, and interior and storage space are impressive. Fuel economy is in the mid-30s, and the CTS's excellent chassis can make detours down mountain switchbacks a tempting proposition.
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  (#14) Volkswagen Jetta

  • Volkswagen

  Volkswagen owns both Audi and Bentley, so you know they knows a thing or two about building long-distance cruisers. The Jetta is VW's basic three-box sedan - essentially a Golf hatchback with a trunk. These cars are easy and cheap to come by, and are rated at 40 mpg highway in TDI form. But that's deceptive, because VW diesels are known to top 70 mpg with good driving technique. And on top of all that, the Jetta benefits from the same chassis engineering that makes Audis such epic cruisers. Best of all, they're commonly available as rentals, so you don't have to actually own a Jetta to enjoy one on your road trip. 

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