These Are The Worst Commuter Cars

For most buyers, a car that works well on a daily commute is probably its most important attribute. After all, commuting is where the vast majority of Americans spend their time behind the wheel. Because of that, automakers spend a lot of energy making their cars good at that sort of driving. Still, not every vehicle is up to that sort of mundane task, and that’s what led me to the question I asked you last week.

I wanted to know what you all thought was the worst commuter car of all time. What car was so ill-suited for getting you to and from work that you might as well just call out sick? We got a whole lot of outside-the-box answers, and for that I thank you. On this list is everything from regular vehicles that are genuinely impractical for this sort of duty and cars that lack creature comforts, to all-out race cars and stuff that’s so unreliable you probably won’t get to work at all.

This is, by all accounts, one of the sillier answers of the days we’ve had in quite a while, so have fun checking it out, friends, and happy Labor Day!

Most heavy duty pickups for people who don’t need them for work, even more so dually pickups. They usually can’t keep them in their lane, they always take up multiple spots because they are so wide and long and they are usually driven by the type of jerks that like to think they own the road since they have the bigger vehicle.

Submitted by: cintocrunch1

Ok, if we’re going with real answers: When I was in my mid-20s I bought a 4Cyl Jeep Wrangler 5-speed soft top. Loved. it. But then I got a job 45 minutes away (on a good day) on the other side of the DC beltway. That jeep was just plain misery — bouncy, loud, not a lot of fun in stop-and-go traffic, etc. Cold in the winter, hot in the summer, sometimes wet in the rain. And I had to unzip the window at toll booths and parking garages.

Not bashing Wranglers here — it was just the wrong tool for the job. 

Submitted by: BuddyS

if it doesn’t break down, you always arrive at the wrong time.

Submitted by: Winter Cat

Ok I see what we’re doing. Boeing 757(it taxis). Gas milage is terrible, especially with price. Maintenance is expensive, parking is limited and you can’t even think about sneaking off in one. 

Submitted by: Marcus C

Hummer H1. Your day starts getting soaked walking to the Hummer in your driveway or on the street because it doesn’t fit in your garage. You fire it up and listen to the mechanical clatter, grinding, and whirring because the engine is just to the right of your knee and sound deadening was a luxury that wasn’t installed. You’re hungry and thirsty, and have a strange desire for a lukewarm Egg McMuffin so you pull into the nearest McDonalds. But, bad news. Since they put in dual drive-thru lanes and menu boards, your Hummer is too wide for the drive-thru, so you take up 1.5 spaces and get even more wet walking into McDonalds. 20 minutes later (so much for the “fast” in “fast food”), you’re back into the H1, ready to merge onto I-95 and drive to work. But acceleration is badly lacking with the 30-70 speeds being measured with an hourglass, and the traffic behind you on the ramp, flashing their lights and middle finger extending, is more pissed off at the rolling roadblock you drive than anything else. Stability is lacking, especially in the pouring rain, and you have to rock the steering wheel all commute to prevent drifting into the next lane. But since you’re so wide, this is nearly impossible and you almost cause a wreck when a blast of wind hits you from the side. You finally arrive at work, but can’t use the covered garage. Too tall and wide. So, park far from the building, getting wet yet again and running late. All this and 8 mpg as well. No thanks…

Submitted by: Xavier96

I think this should be limited to vehicles that were actually intended as commuter cars. Maybe something like the Peel P1 (infamously driven by Jeremy Clarkson through the BBC studios). It was intended as a commuter, but it’s a slow and dangerous death trap if you actually tried to fault it (especially on North American roads). 

Submitted by: Neal Richards

Multi-step startup sequence that can cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage if you do it wrong, difficult to get in and out of, super loud, impractically low, and I’m sure it’s not comfortable either.

Submitted by: Frosteeman

Any car with a rotary engine. Rotaries absolutely hate typical commute conditions. Being stuck in traffic means a lot of driving at low RPMs. The engine can never fully warm up leading to carbon buildup that can reduce performance and eventually kill the engine.

Submitted by: Giantsgiants

It’s slow, there’s no roof, no radio, controls are complicated, seats are uncomfortable, no safety whatsoever, no cup holders, no climate control, and no outlets to charge your phone. Who would design such a thing?

Submitted by: Alf Enthusiast

Any Formula 1 car. You would have to have an entire pit crew just to pull out of your garage, and then they’re gonna have to be there at the office when it’s time to go home, too!

Also, you’d probably end up looking like an arm wrestler, only with your legs after working the clutch in traffic.

Submitted by: Stillnotatony

Wrangler aside, obvious answer is obvious. The monsters in my head already roast me daily, so I don’t also need to drive a car that makes strangers do it too.

I guess the silver lining would be if someone does approve of it, at least I’ll know who to avoid. Then again, let’s be honest… they’d probably find another way to let me know anyway.

Submitted by: disadvantage