When you live in the suburbs, it can be the best of both worlds: proximity to the jobs and entertainment of the city, but with more space and cheaper housing and parking opportunities. However, there are some drawbacks as well.
Typically, you’ll be facing a longer commute and more traffic. So you’ll want a car that offers:
- Good gas mileage and a comfortable ride for your commute.
- Dealing with traffic, you’ll likely also want a car with a host of driver assistance features.
- And finally, you’ll likely want a car with safety, reliability and affordable maintenance costs because reliability, safety and affordability are the hallmarks of suburban living.
Methodology
We considered a number of criteria in choosing these vehicles.
- Fuel economy numbers are important in terms of paying less in gas prices for your commute. The numbers were pulled from the U.S. Department of Energy's Fuel Economy measures.[1]
- Five year cost of ownerhip. This factors in not just the purchase price, but all the costs related to owning the car in the first five years including fuel, maintenance, insurance, repairs and depreciation.[2]
- The safety of a vehicle is also an important measure. We used the Internet Hghway Safety's crash test ratings. They rate each vehicle on different aspects of crashworthiness as Good, Acceptable, Marginal or Poor. They also offer awards for exceptionally safe vehicles as Top Safety Picks or the even higher award: Top Safety Pick+.[3]
With all of that in mind, here are our picks for the best cars for your suburban lifestyle. These are organized by cost of ownership from lowest to highest.
Wrapping up
Living in the suburbs can mean longer commutes, but also more peace and quiet. It can also mean lower insurance prices, especially if you're going from parking a vehicle on a city street to keeping it in your garage at your new suburban pad.