Say you need a daily driver and times are hard, or you’re cheap frugal, and really don’t want to spend a lot on a car – but you want some fun, some style, and self-respect on the road. What do you do? What would I do? CarMax has 1,548 cars for sale nationwide priced under $10,000. Filter that by my self-imposed unicorn ceiling of 60,000 miles, and that number dwindles to 183 prospects. Most of those are Chevrolet Sparks and Sonics, Nissan Versas, Smart cars, and Mitsubishi i-MIEV’s (looks like that applicance that sweeps your living room floor when you’re not home). All fine commuter cars but no soul, no individuality on the interstate.
My choice would be this 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Really. While it’s not a 160hp Fiat 500 Abarth (that’ll run you $12,000!) it’s also not the 101hp base Fiat 500. It’s a 135hp, 2,500 pound car that rides good enough, quick enough (for $10,000), gets over 30mpg, and has that Italian style and flair. Here’s a cute review from Car and Driver back in 2013. I would definitely drop some lire on MaxCare – it is an Italian car after all!
But mostly, I’d pick this Fiat 500 Turbo for my selfish nostalgic reasons – in the summer of 2010 before these came to the US and I lived in Europe, I rented one in Norway for a bucket list solo drive from Oslo to the Artic Circle. I drove 25 hours – 14 hours up in a day, and 11 hours back (different route) in a day, and almost 1,500 miles round trip – and not once was I uncomfortable or disappointed in that little car. Loved it. If you really, really want to read the whole story, here’s my write-up in Trip Advisor after I returned. So yeah, I have an emotional enthusiasm for this little Fiat and could easily daily drive it. And tempting – this single-owner Fiat 500 Turbo is here at my local CarMax dealer!
HONORABLE MENTION
The 2008 Buick Lucerne isn’t retro – it’s just dated. But there aren’t too many out there after 11 years and you’d have a style of your own? Sub-200hp six cylinder is a drawback. The car has no photos posted yet it’s so new to CarMax, so I had to poach one from the internet.
Limited cargo space, notoriously bad reliability – doesn’t sound like a good choice for a daily driver. Maybe as an extra, fun car, if you really enjoy the driving experience, but as a daily driver? No.
Hey Roger. I don’t factor reliability in too much and hope (pray!) Maxcare will compensate for that – although I am tested when reliability means stranded. Cargo space for a DD for me is room for coffee, breakfast, a jacket and a satchel. Agree with you that’s about all this thing will hold. My Arctic Circle trip I had a gym bag and groceries only. Also, as semi-retired/self-employed my daily driver is not a long distance commuter car. so maybe not a fair offering on my part. Curious what (if anything) you’d pick from the honorable mentions?
Hi Chuck. I guess I would go with the C300. I too am semi-retired, so my daily driver needs to provide for occasional business transportation, local errands, and weekend cruises with my wife. My current DD is a 1997 Mercedes SL500 40th Anniversary Edition (not a standout for reliability or cargo carrying, I admit). When I was working more, my DD was a 2008 Infiniti G37 coupe (red over black, a sweet ride). Certainly, the choice of a DD is very person-specific, depending on intended uses and personal taste.