What Car Would You Buy For Your Parents? Autopian Asks

Aa Parents Gift Car Ts
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One automotive dream that’s surprisingly relatable is buying your parents a car. Whether it’s the dream of reuniting your Dad with his old Corvette or simply gifting your parents a nicer daily driver, that aspiration of handing over a set of keys goes far and beyond the reach of automotive nerdery. I’d like to think many of us who have good relationships with our parents hold a dream to work hard enough that one day, we can give back.

But what to give? Let’s assume you’ve got a blank check for this, all the funds will appear out of the ether, no strings attached. In other words, pick anything you like.

My parents have a decade-old Hyundai Sonata and although it served its purpose well at the time of purchase, it’s worn out its welcome. Between the blind spots and awkward entry and egress, something a little more upright would be a quality-of-life improvement. At the same time, fuel economy matters, and a hybrid sounds ideal for their situation. I know my parents well enough to know that they wouldn’t put up with German complexity, so that’s several marques I can cross off the list right away. My parents also like red cars and airy interiors, so a Lexus RX 350h in red would be a solid pick– but there’s a problem. In Canada, Lexus won’t sell you one in Matador Red with a light interior. It’s the same deal with the NX 350h, so it looks like Lexus’ nice but sensible crossovers aren’t going to work here. Oh well.

2023 Rx 350h Premium Awd Matadorredmica 8 1500x999 Copy

Maybe it’s for the best. For the longest time, my mum has wanted a small pickup truck. An old Ranger, original Tacoma, or Nissan Hardbody would be brilliant for my parents’ renovations and hobbies, but old small trucks give up a lot of safety, fuel economy, and comfort over what’s currently out there. Since I have a blank check in today’s Autopian Asks scenario, my choice would be a 2024 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid in Hot Pepper Red with the Luxury package, the tri-fold tonneau cover, and a set of floor liners.

2024 Ford Maverick

So, if you had a blank check, what car would you buy your parents? Whether it’s a weekend getaway car or a new daily driver, leave your answers in the comments below.

(Photo credits: Lexus, Ford)

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129 thoughts on “What Car Would You Buy For Your Parents? Autopian Asks

  1. My dad has always talked about wanting another Jeep CJ7, so a nice sorted one would be perfect. Manual, soft top, not sure on engine though.

    My mom is totally indifferent so whatever newer crossover type deal she picked out. She seems partial to CR-Vs so maybe that.

  2. My mom’s still cruising around in her ’08 4Runner Urban Runner (similar to the X-Runner trim on the Tacomas). That thing is 16yo now and still ticking. She drives all over the damn country in that thing. So, if I had to get her another car it’d be another 4Runner.

    My dad on the other hand, he cannot stand practical cars. They get under his skin and drive him manic. He ended up with a 4Runner after his divorce and within a couple of months traded it in on an old VW Eurovan based Rialta camper which he used to travel around the country and visit various transmission shops because that thing was a turd. When he finally got tired of that he bought an old MGB which didn’t even make it across town to this house before developing electrical problems and dying on the side of the road. (Queue the Lucas electrics jokes) He tore that thing down and started relabeling every wire and meanwhile was riding an old Vespa (with a sidecar) or his Goldwing to appointments but summers get up around 115F where he lives and he had a heat stroke one day so he sold the Goldwing and dug up an old Caravan, except that died and now he has a Honda Odyssey.
    Honestly, the Odyssey isn’t a bad deal and seems to be running well but he’s only had it a few months and it’s also a very practical car so I expect to hear any day now that he’s sold it and bought an old dune buggy or Studebaker Zip-Van or something of that like. When I was in highschool his daily driver was a fiberglass Pinto-based Mercedes Gazelle kit car. Complete with bugle horns and side curtain windows and all the reliability of an old Pinto underneath. He definitely keeps things interesting wherever he goes.
    So, honestly the best car I could buy him would also be a 4Runner but he wouldn’t keep it.

  3. For my dad: A Miata. Every car he drove daily was a stick shift until he decided to go with a hybrid. The Miata is pretty close to the kind of cars he grew up with in England, especially if it was a NA or NB where you really need to rev it out to make power. I’d be tempted to look for a classic British sports car for a classic British man, but I know he can’t stand cars that always have something wrong with them.

    For my mom: This is tough. Giving Dad a stick shift roadster was an easy call because he likes small light cars with an engaging manual. Mom likes her cars to be comfortable and well optioned, but she doesn’t care about prestige. I don’t see her driving a weekend sports car because she wouldn’t get much enjoyment out of it. Her right shoulder is messed up from a prior car accident, which makes using a shifter and getting tossed against the bolstering painful. If money were no object though I’d buy her something like a Lexus ES. I think that hits the sweet spot for maximum comfort while still being familiar and manageable to drive every day.

  4. My dad has always owned a Bronco(66,68,69,91). He sold his 91 in 2014 because my mom could not get into it anymore. He bought an Equinox and his soul died a little. My mother passed a few years ago so I am going to buy him a new Bronco in race red. He will be pissed as hell, but he’s 83 and might as well drive what you want.

  5. Well, my dad is getting up there. My dream was always to get him an Series 1 E-type roadster like the kind he had and had to give up after he got married and I was on the way (Man, kids screw everything up don’t they 🙂 Either that or a nice new Boxster.

    My mom’s been gone for 12 years now but if she was around, definitely a nice Lexus. She deserved one and while my parents could afford anything they wanted, they were too practical to have spent a lot on themselves. So yeah, I wished I had spoiled them at least once.

  6. I picked out both my parents’ cars. What they want is highly specific though, so what I’d actually put them in if given the choice (Lexuses) were sadly off the table.

    They insist on German luxury cars and will not consider anything else. They then get angry when they shit the bed at 60,000 miles, but they’re at the tail end of baby boomers so they will not do research or change their minds on literally anything, thank you very much.

    My mom wanted an Audi Q5 and wouldn’t look at anything else. She had an Allroad before it that grenaded itself at 60,000 miles (damn the EA888 to hell) and wanted a white car with any interior but black. I talked her into a lightly used SQ5 instead. It was the same price and has the 3 liter turbo V6 that was co developed with Porsche.

    That engine does not need to be damned to hell. In fact, that engine rules. It sounds great, it’s buttery smooth, and it has a super usable power band. I’m a big fan. She’s extremely happy and I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t leave this mortal coil as soon as the warranty is up as German luxury cars like to. I definitely feel better about the turbo V6/ZF8 combo than another godforsaken EA888. That shit show of a motor has tortured my family and I enough.

    My dad was harder to shop for. He’s a limousine liberal type so he’s conscious of his carbon footprint to an extent. I think it’s more so a “I feel pressured to have an EV because my friends do” situation than anything, but I digress. He wanted an EV, specifically a Rivian (or something German of course) which would have been a terrible decision because he’s not very good with technology and does a lot of long road trips.

    He also wanted his car to be able to tow jetskis and split the difference between his old Audi A6 and his Grand Cherokee. He said a Cayenne was too gaudy and that he feels as though the Audi Qs are a bit too soft in how they look. Naturally I took him to drive an X5. It was love at first sight/drive…and to be fair, it’s a fantastic car.

    Him and I sat down and custom spec’d one together that he ordered. He also got the 50e variant so he can dip his toes into EV world…and commentariat, it’s one of the nicest cars I’ve ever been in. Current BMW interiors are bank vault solid and once you get to the 5s and beyond there isn’t a single surface that isn’t pleasant to touch.

    It also looks and drives great for what it is. It’s nearly 500 total horsepower and it has God’s own engine the B58. When the batteries are charged and you put it in sport mode the acceleration is simply ludicrous (they’ve been timed at under 4 seconds to 60). You can essentially cruise at go to jail speeds in your damn living room without breaking a sweat or even being vaguely bothered by the outside world.

    And he’s averaged over 40 MPG in it and commutes in EV mode. It’s a fantastic car and I’m more than a little jealous of it. I’m sure it’ll be a nightmare in 5-10 years, but they want German and nothing else so they know the deal.

    1. I’m not a fan of modern German cars, but I agree with you. To get the best of the brands, and if one MUST have a German car, you HAVE to go for the middle-size or larger, so a 5-series (sedan or crossover, doesn’t matter) or E-class (again, sedan, wagon, or crossover doesn’t matter).

      Deliberately left audi out.

  7. With unlimited money I’d commission my dad a new one-off Acura TL, which he’s had two of for more than 200,000 miles each and enjoyed more than anything else he’s ever owned.

    He’s more than once lamented that they discontinued the model and don’t make anything like it anymore (he thinks the TLX is too small).

    My mom is not picky about anything as long as it’s reliable, so I’d probably get her a RAV4 or Highlander or something.

    1. I actually might need to get him to look at the second-gen TLX, it seems like they increased its size in all dimensions over the first-gen and is now pretty comparable to his TL.

  8. Both my parents are through and through hot rodders. It’s where I got my love of cars.

    So I would buy Mom a 67 Vette, her dream car. and Dad would get a 69 Chevelle, if he wasn’t an asshole.

  9. My dad’s 2014 Sienna just hit 100,000 miles and is running fine so far, so hopefully this doesn’t warrant much thought on my part.

    The Sienna was needed for my late mom, so at this point, he’d probably be fine with an up-trim Camry.

  10. My parents never expected to retire as comfortably as they have – the 90s all but wiped them out financially – but with big doses of both frugality and pure good fortune, they will not want for anything in their twilight years. Which means that my dad unexpectedly has the means to buy any of a few “dream cars” he has blithely mentioned over the years, which I have been goading him towards for a couple of years now. My mom’s Buick Enclave makes for a fine daily for either of them, so my dad really needs to ditch his aging, deteriorating Chevy Tahoe for any of the following:

    1) A big-ass 70s Eldorado convertible, the straight-up Boss Hogg, Big Enos Burdette model, steer horns required.

    2) A mid-60s Lincoln Continental with suicide doors

    3) A 1961-63 Thunderbird “bullet ‘Bird,” the only one that he has owned before. This is what he was driving when he was dating my mother as a young second lieutenant at Fort Benning, Georgia.

    He could afford to buy one of these for himself, but he needs convincing for some reason. I keep steadily working on him, and my sister and I have told him that we don’t give a damn if they leave us a dime, as long as they spend every penny they have on themselves and their enjoyment in their golden years. Autopians, wish me luck.

  11. After a series of Town Cars (which is kind of the source of my user name) I talked my mom into getting an ES330, after which she’s had a series of Camry XLEs. So I guess I’d put her back in an ES.

  12. The Toyota Crown was one of the few automobiles that I sat in over a multi-week shopping experience that I would consider buying. Strangely enough, one of the worst impressions was a high spec RX. The seats were absolutely awful and the cabin was a conglomerate of like 2 dozen different materials

        1. They gave us the Crown we didn’t want instead of an acceptable and not-hideous Avalon replacement. So since I’m dreaming I’ll take the wild offering.

  13. If Ineos makes a 2 door Grenadier I’d get that for my Pops.

    My mother does not make smooth or gentle adjustments of the steering wheel, so something without power steering.

  14. My mom is in her late 60’s and is actually looking for a car right now. She’s replacing her 2010 Caddy SRX (finally!). If I had the disposable income, I’d buy her a Highlander or Venza (or Lexus equivalent) hybrid.

    Dad has an ’08 Dakota which is also mostly a turd, but his driving days are behind him.

      1. I talked to her last night; the Venza is a no go. She likes my aunt’s CRV, she’s going to go look at a few of those and maybe the Acura equivalent.

  15. I could buy a very low mileage version of my mom’s dream truck: the last generation Avalanche. Issue is though is my stepdad can’t magically fit into anything other than a 4-door full size pick up, and with my mom’s current Rouge, there’s barely enough room for both vehicles. An Avalanche would be overkill and wouldn’t fit.

  16. My stepdad has thoroughly dissuaded me from recommending cars to my mom. As for him? He’s a gearhead, as his restored 59 Vette, just bought Chevelle longroof wagon and daily Chevy SS make my recommendations just, well, dumb.

    For reference, Mom had an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Chevy Lumina and her favorite, the Pontiac Sunfire before she met my stepdad. She felt like the Sunfire was dying and wanted something ‘fun.’ Of course, Mom used to freak when I went fast in my Beetle, which has like NO horsepower. She’s the perfect illustration of a Granny driver, never going above the speed limit, watching out for ‘speeding maniacs.’ You’d expect she’d end up with a Camry, a Corolla, or maybe a small crossover.

    Nope. BMW Z4. I think she’s occasionally put the top down a few times, and has been told by the dealership when taking it in for service that she needs to drive it more and faster. Good luck on that one.

    Wouldn’t matter, anyway. Absolutely every person that’s asked me for suggestions on cars has ignored what I’ve researched and has bought the absolute wrong car for them, sometimes telling me later after they’ve changed to something else.

    1. I feel in the same boat, but for some reason my stepdad lets her choose whatever I say to not get. That’s how she ended up in a Rouge, and it’s the same reason I’ll give him hell more often than I do for her Equinox that needed a new cam, when she took a little trip to a different state with my grandmother and sister, at 40,000 miles.
      Got her to hate Ford’s though. Don’t think the “man” ever owned a Ford, but good god does he hate them.

  17. I love this question as I’m currently trying to get my Mom into a different vehicle. Given her rising age (late 60s), she needs something with good sight lines/visibility and something Forester/CR-V sized or slightly smaller. She had a ’18 CR-V, but the door sills were too high and the curved nature of the hood made it difficult to determine how she’s parking. Traded that for a ’19 Forester, but it has a parasitic drain on the battery that can’t be remedied. She’s 5’3 and not huge on too much tech (she loves buttons lol).

    Thoughts from the collective? She’s looking at the HR-V and Soul currently, but curious of other thoughts.

      1. I’ll have her test out a RAV4. If anything I should just find her a Gen3 as she loved driving my old one. Camry is too low for her, but she also doesn’t need to be super up high

    1. and the curved nature of the hood made it difficult to determine how she’s parking.

      I know you said she isn’t big on tech, but honestly the increasingly common 360 degree top-down parking cameras are almost magic if she’s never seen one before. And they’re typically unobtrusive and come on automatically, so its not like she’d need to dig through screen menus to find it. I’d suggest finding something so equipped and see if she likes it.

      1. Good call out on the 360 cameras. It’s more about the climate/radio being buried in touch screens that drives her bonkers. Back up camera and parking sensors definitely help her, but she’s also old school in wanting to turn her head and see out of the car instead of pillar blind spots and trusting tech more to do what her own eyes can .

    2. A Corolla Cross might be a good option too if she’s looking at the HR-V. Parking sensors front and rear on top trims, not too techy of an interior, HVAC is all buttons.

    3. Give Mazdas a try. CX-50 is the same size as a RAV4 (actually made at the same factory in the US), CX-5 is a bit smaller than that, and the CX-30 is even smaller still (but not too small). Good visibility and safety ratings. My parents have a CX-5, as do number of vertically-challenged female relatives and acquaintances.

      Volvo XC40 is also good, but if your mom is like mine it may have a steeper leaning curve than desired.

      Oddball choice: Ford Bronco Sport Badlands (because it has the better engine): Blocky styling, and the bumpers are designed to take some abuse. Also comes in Heritage trim which is nicely retro without looking like vehicular cosplay.

    4. Short people have it tough.

      My wife is 5’2″ and loves her 19 Crosstrek precisely for the visibility. Hers has the smaller engine, which is meh and I detest how loud the f***ing thing is at freeway speeds, but the bigger engines didn’t come out until later. So Crosstrek? I know about the battery issues but we’ve dodged them for the most part with our Subies.

      Anyway, she also didn’t like my previous Mazda CX-5 or Volvo V60 Cross Country because the high window sills made it seem tomb-like, and the A-pillars were quite thick. She’s not wrong. I’m 6′ and so it’s easier for me, but it’s also not fun being in a car with someone you love when they’re freaking the fuck out because they can’t see. So not either of those! I actually ended up replacing my Volvo with an Outback Touring XT and everyone is happy now. Outbacks are much more nicely appointed than Crosstreks, but considerably bigger.

      For completeness, my mother is taller than my wife and has a 2 or 3-year old Corolla hatch which feels quite like a tomb (high window sills, dash, etc … and black) and my wife was not a fan. So though it’s objectively a nice rig (Mum for once in her life did not get a base model), I do not recommend.

      Thanks for coming to my TED Talk :).

  18. Well mom never drove (she rode streetcars as a kid) and dad woulda been 94 this year, so I’m pretty sure I’d buy them an Uber gift card. Except they’d be completely tech-incapable and I’d have to do it for them.
    Now, if you’re talking about when dad was still driving, knowing what I know now I would’ve totally steered him into a Camry- instead of his last car, a Chrysler Fifth Avenue.

  19. My mom has a CX-9 and really enjoys it, when it’s time for that to go, probably a CX-90 or 70, while they wont need the space or seats often in a year or two, it’s the size she likes, and would be a nice step up from the CX-9 which has been great overall.

    Dad wants a boat after the move, so probably a newer Tundra to replace ours that we’ve had for over a decade, it’s not broken (its a 2-UZ after all) but something more modern and powerful would be nice, and we’re a family solidly in favor of Japanese brands, where reliability is more important than most other factors. Also a MK3 supra, but my mom might not be too happy about a classic.

  20. My dad has plenty of money, and plenty of cars. And plenty of expensive cars he doesn’t drive. But he seems incapable of buying another Porsche, even though his favorite car he’s ever owned was a Boxster ~10 years ago.

    So, given the money, I’d get him a 911 Targa, so he can remember how good it was.

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