Top 8 Cars for Dads | Edmunds.com

Edmunds.com

Top 8 Cars for Dads | Edmunds.com

What's the best car for the dad in your life? We roll out the roles dads often play and offer a car match for each one.

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marcos9

I've said it before - E63 AMG wagon. I can't think of a better all around versatile vehicle that will beat almost any other car on the road with exclusivity to boot. Seating for five (for seven with the w211 variants) and plenty of cargo space. I find it laughable that so many guys who become a dad (with one child) and they run to a minivan lol.

chrisb23

Does anyone sell a "beer wagon"?

500rwhp

I don't know what is so wrong about a simple Hellcat Challenger. You have a Subaru on this list, and a minivan on this list, and no Hellcat. That's messed up. Nobody WANTS to drive a minivan. They just need to.

stever

Um, there's been a minivan here since '89. We're on our third one -- no kids, just like to camp out of it and haul junk. We lived out of our '99 Quest for a year touring North America, with a canoe on top and two bikes inside with all our tenting gear.

A muscle car is way down on my list, although it is fun renting one now and then.

fintail

I like when some run to a dull bloated SUV/CUV when they'd be just as well off with a more attractive wagon or more practical minivan, but ego issues prevent it.

E63 is a heck of a choice, I agree.

roadburner

The only two I'd have would be the Miata and the Wrangler.
Everything else? Meh.

fordescortgt

Wow was this list sponsored? Some of the choices seem odd? I agree with the MIata and Wrangler as they cover engaging driving and off road chops (sorry kids) at extreme ends. While the Merc is nice there are tons of other luxury options Yukon XL denali/Cadillac , that offer more utility and ability to haul your whole brood 3-4 kids and your Yacht. The ridgeline is not a bad idea, I mean you really need to decide if you need the open back as the Pilot can accomplish most tasks, but then why the Ram? The Toyota Sienna feels very old at this point and Toyota infotainment center is at the back of the pack with Nissan Chrysler/honda and Kia all do it better. I would understand the Chrysler they are selling it hard as the dad brand and almost got my wife one, very nice. lets face it the Q7 is redundant with the Merc. The last generation was like the american boats of the 60's and 70's huge on the outside hard to park and smaller on the inside then you would expect.... Actually american cars were so huge they never felt small inside (I know they did their best japanese impression in this one to maximize size). I actually like the forester its CVT was a deal breaker for me but otherwise a great package for multiple tasks.

I have to agree with the rest that I would love a E63 wagon Big enough for the wife and kids when needed. Plenty of room for a weekend trip, and although I might get looks loading it up with some 2x4 for a project. plus when I need to make the commute monday morning I will enjoy my stop light and on ramps in sport mode then enjoy some cruising in comfort mode. Man... now I am bummed Purchase price is way too high for me to ever rationalize (even if I had a shot of affording it)....

clachnit

Not a sponsored list...just the imagination & value judgements of the author. Other great minds may differ!
~Carroll Lachnit, Edmunds

500rwhp

stever said:

Um, there's been a minivan here since '89. We're on our third one -- no kids, just like to camp out of it and haul junk. We lived out of our '99 Quest for a year touring North America, with a canoe on top and two bikes inside with all our tenting gear.

A muscle car is way down on my list, although it is fun renting one now and then.

Well I stand corrected. There are at least 2 men who would choose to drive a minivan. I'll note minivan sales have been falling for over a decade. I have owned 2 of them and while they were decent for hauling little kids and the gobs of crap one needs to support them like strollers, diaper bags . I was just as happy to leave the minivan behind as the stroller.

But hey that's just me and the other people who are ordering hellcats at such a high rate that Dodge can't sell them all due to CAFE rules.Also the people paying over MSRP for a used one, a pretty good sign that these are "wanted" rather than "needed". Because nobody needs 700HP, but a lot of enthusiasts sure want it.

stever

The new Pacifica may create a little boomlet, but yeah, their time is mostly past. We plan to downsize to a wagon/hatch and likely will just keep the van for our "pickup".

Different strokes.

explorerx4

Thanks for the laugh!

metalmania

The "just get a wagon" comments are a little harder to embrace when for the most part the only (cool) wagons sold in the US now are from Mercedes and BMW. Audi doesn't sell the A4 wagon here anymore, except the jacked up "Allroad" version. I'm sure a 3-series or E63 wagon would be great, but they're out of my price range. I really wish more of the mainstream brands would bring wagons available elsewhere over here. The Mazda6 wagon is gorgeous, I'd be all over a Ford Fusion wagon if all the same drivetrain options as the sedan were available, the Buick Regal wagon (whatever it's Opel name is in Europe) is pretty cool too. Give me those, the ones I can probably afford please. Otherwise the only one really out there for this "average dad" is an Outback - which as a practical tool is great - but there's just not a lot of fun or cool factor to it. Instead we just keep getting more SUVs/CUVs added to the market.

Maybe I could find a used CTS-V wagon - but that's not the greatest year round choice either since snow and ice are a regular occurrence for me, and it's a prodigious fuel swiller. But, oh so awesome.