I Need A Quirky California Commuter Car! What Should I Buy?

Michael and his wife just moved out of the Bay Area to better beaches in Santa Cruz. However, he still has to hike out to San Francisco a few days a week, and his 2010 Civic is reaching the end of its usability. He wants something fuel-efficient, but kind of funky for the drive. What car should he buy?

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Here is the scenario.

My wife and I just bailed on San Francisco to buy our first home in sunny Santa Cruz, but I still need to get back up to the Bay a couple days a week for work. She’s got a Mini, and I’m driving a hand-me-down 2010 Civic pushing 160,000 miles, and we’re getting tired of dumping lots of cash into maintenance and repairs. I’m an architect and a green building consultant, so I feel guilty burning all that gas – we want to replace it with something that gets better mileage that’s comfortable for the 80 minute drive each way, and for fairly frequent weekend road trips with our two dogs. I’d also like something interesting and / or presentable to arrive to site meetings with clients who have good taste.

As for budget we are looking to spend up to $20,000. I am generally open to anything, but ideally I want Good mileage, maybe a hybrid, comfortable for road trips. Bonus points if I can fit a full sheet of plywood in or on it for home improvement projects on our first home.

Bonus points for a car in a flat color – our Mini is the Ice Blue edition, and I love it.

Quick Facts:

Budget: up to $20,000

Location: Santa Cruz, California

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: Comfort, lower fuel costs, kinda funky

Doesn’t want: Something too thirsty

Michael, you are an architect with a focus on sustainable building. Let’s stop, collaborate, and listen. An electric vehicle will accomplish your mission.  After all, why just save money on gas when you can not fill up at all? Since you own your home, I imagine installing a charger wouldn’t be too difficult. Also, it’s much easier to find something reliable in the EV market under $20,000. As for it being “funky,” well, I guess it depends on how you look at things.

My go-to would be the Chevy Bolt or Bolt EUV. These are very well built, come with great features and are surprisingly roomy given their size. They have a maximum range of 247 miles, so they can handle the commute just fine. And the Bolts even come in some interesting colors. Here is a 2022 Bolt EUV LT with 31,000 miles in “ice blue” for less than $16,000. Do you really need two ice blue cars in the driveway? Hard to say, but since you have a vehicle problem….this car will solve it.

When I read this What Car Should I Buy submission my brain instantly went to one place: A Lexus hybrid. You want something comfortable and nice, with good gas mileage, that can fit your dogs and look presentable to clients? Yeah, you need a hybrid Lexus. I’m sure one of Lexus’ crossovers might be a better fit, but I’m going with the ES sedan. 

This is, no joke, one of the nicest all-around cars you can currently buy. The current seventh-gen ES looks great even in base trim, it has a lovely interior (if you can put up with the crappy infotainment), it’s good to drive, the back seat is big enough for two dogs, and it’ll get well over 40 mpg. Lexus even sold them in real colors like blue and red, though they’ll be hard to find, especially within your budget. Alternatively, try and find one of the rarer Lexus GS hybrids.

An eighty-mile commute, and you’re looking at hybrids? My friend, you can get yourself a perfectly comfortable highway-cruising dog-hauling machine that won’t burn a single hydrocarbon: The Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Let’s run down the list. Under $20,000? Easy, check. Cheaper to maintain than your Civic? Few cars are cheaper to run than EVs, check. Space for dogs? That squared-off rear ought to give your pups plenty of head room, especially if you fold the seats down to let them stretch out. Fits a full sheet of plywood? I admit, we’re missing that one here, but there’s enough room in your budget to grab a trailer hitch and plenty of UHaul trailers full of lumber.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find a satin-colored car within your price range. Fortunately, though, I did find a pale blue — hopefully that’s the next-best thing. This Ioniq 5 is up for grabs at a Chevy dealer nearby for just $17,000, and it meets your needs perfectly. You don’t need to burn gas, you can go fully electric here.