The 9 Best Cars For Traveling and Road Trips in 2024
Source: Pixabay
Few things are more exciting than great American road trips. While merely the idea of road trips is enough to spark excitement, driving the best car for traveling is one of the most crucial factors affecting your overall experience. After all, you’ll want to drive a vehicle that provides ample comfort, safety, and amenities.
Of course, with the rising gas prices, you’ll also want to drive a car that offers good fuel economy. Therefore, more people are considering all-electric or hybrid vehicles for road trips.
Today, we have compiled some of the best cars for traveling and road trips. These heavy-duty vehicles offer comfort, safety, utility, and comfort features. Let’s hit the highway with these road trip-worthy vehicles.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE APP
The CoPilot car shopping app is the smartest way to buy a car. Get a curated list of the best cars for sale in your area, as well as notifications if a similar vehicle is listed nearby at a lower price. CoPilot is the smartest way to shop for used cars.
1. 2022 Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey is an excellent family van, so it’s not surprising that it’s also the best car for traveling and road trips. If you have a bigger family, you’ll surely appreciate the Odyssey’s flexible and spacious cabin – its second and third rows are some of the roomiest in its class. Honda’s innovative Magic Slide seats allow multiple configurations to maximize the space.
Throw in the quietest cabin in the segment and a decent list of in-car entertainment features; the Honda Odyssey is more than capable of delivering a delightful road trip experience for the whole family. Moreover, the Odyssey also boasts many safety and driver-assistance features, including adaptive cruise control, which is excellent for long-distance driving. Finally, this minivan has a decent fuel economy of 19 city / 28 highway.
2. 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
If you’re looking for overall practicality and roominess for your long-hauler trips, it’s hard to go wrong with what the RAV4 offers. Toyota hybrids have come a long way since the OG Prius, and the advancements in electric technology have certainly extended to the RAV4 Hybrid and RAV4 Prime Plug-in. The 2022 RAV4 Hybrid uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor producing 219 hp. Thus, the RAV4 can deliver on-demand power whenever you need it during your trip.
For safety, the 2022 RAV4 comes with various standard safety features such as lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, auto high beams, and adaptive cruise control. The tech features are a bit outdated with the base 7.0-inch screen, but it can be upgraded to a 9.0-inch unit along with optional features like a JBL sound system and wireless smartphone charging. Fuel economy is also strong at EPA-estimated 41 mpg city and 38 mpg highway.
3. 2022 Kia Telluride
To no one’s surprise, the formidable Kia Telluride is more than equipped to take you and your family on long road trips. The Telluride remains one of the most highly-rated three-row SUVs in the market, so it’s a no-brainer that it’s a good option for extended trips. For starters, it boasts more standard driver assistance features than most of its segment rivals, including road-trip-worthy features like driver drowsiness monitoring and stop-and-go active cruise control.
Its standard 10.25-inch touchscreen is also larger than most of its competitors. Plus, it has six USB ports, ensuring that everybody’s gadgets are juiced during the trip. All three rows of seats are comfortable enough for adults, with optional 2nd-row captains chairs for better comfort.
4. 2022 Subaru Outback
Once dubbed as the “swiss army knife of vehicles,” the off-road-focused Subaru Outback is unsurprisingly a good choice for active road trip enthusiasts. The venerable station wagon is a fantastic road trip machine for groups of five, thanks to its standard AWD, 75 cu-ft of cargo space, and an optional turbocharged engine.
The Outback comes with a roof rack for your gear, including kayaks and bikes. If you get the Wilderness model, you also receive an excellent 9.5 inches of ground clearance for maximum go-anywhere capability – perfect for road trips with off-roading on the side. Finally, the 2022 Outback delivers excellent fuel economy at 26 mpg city and 33 on the highway.
5. 2022 Honda Ridgeline
Work and towing generally comes to mind when thinking of pickup trucks and not long road trips on the freeway. Well, the 2022 Honda Ridgeline might change your mind. With its unibody construction, this midsize pickup provides the driving comfort and handling of an SUV. While this midsize pickup may not be as heavy-duty as its aggressive competitors, it gives a smooth and comfortable ride which is a godsend when you’re on a long trip.
The Ridgeline has a 280-hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine, so it packs enough power to prevent yawn-inducing drives. Its towing capacity is a respectable 5000 pounds, so it should accommodate some of the most popular travel trailers.
THE 10 MOST RELIABLE AMERICAN CARS
Because the car buying experience is so stressful, it’s helpful to go into the dealership with information ahead of time. Therefore, we’ve curated a list of the 10 most reliable American cars so you can approach the process from a place of empowerment.
6. 2022 Ford Bronco Sport
The return of this iconic compact crossover has undoubtedly taken the market by storm. With its impressive specs, the 2022 Ford Bronco Sport crushes it whether you’re driving on concrete jungles or taking on long road trips. Its truck-like shape allows the Bronco to have generous interior and cargo spaces, making it the best car for traveling for adults.
The 2022 Bronco Sport shines on the road less traveled, a lot better than its rival SUVs. The base 181 hp, turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine is good, but the 245 hp turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder is even better. Fortunately, this iconic SUV also has excellent fuel economy at 25 mpg city and 28 mpg highway for the base engine.
7. 2022 Volkswagen Jetta
If you want the best car for traveling but is budget-friendly, the 2022 Volkswagen Jetta is an easy recommendation. Despite its compact classification, the Jetta boasts a refined cabin and roomy passenger seating. The Jetta delivers impressive ride quality for an economy car, a foreign concept for its segment competitors.
With only a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 158 hp, it’s not the most engaging model on this list. However, it does have a decent list of standard safety and driver assistance features, including forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, and available adaptive cruise control. Advertised mpg ratings are 31 city / 41 highway, which are fantastic numbers.
8. 2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid
The 2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is a best-in-class SUV with a long list of standard features, a superbly quiet cabin, and the fastest Tucson available. The 2023 Tucson comes in Hybrid and PHEV plug-in models, so you’re not entirely reliant on gasoline. Regarding fuel economy, the Hybrid Tucson has an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 38 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. Meanwhile, the PHEV plug-in offers a rating of 80 MPGe combined and 33 miles with all-electric. With such fuel economy numbers, long road trips became less of a hassle.
9. 2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid
While it may not be as roomy as other vehicles on this list, the 2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid is an ideal travel companion for solo travelers, couples, and small families. The popular subcompact SUV is another solid option for traveling and road trips due to its top-notch fuel economy. Of course, the selling point for the CR-V hybrid is its excellent fuel efficiency, which offers up to 43 mpg on the highway. It includes a wide array of standard tech features and an improved infotainment system to keep everyone entertained on the road.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO TINT CAR WINDOWS?
Different tints block different levels of UV light and in the long run can prevent sun damage to your skin and eyes, but how much does it cost to tint car windows? We’ve got the answer.
Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars Near You
The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.
Only looking for newer models? CoPilot Compare is the search engine for nearly-new cars. Only see cars five years or newer with low mileage — CoPilot Compare is the best way to find off-lease, early trade-in, and CPO cars.
The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesn’t work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices — just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.
