I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. She’s been my trusty steed for the last 14 years and is in good working order. I recognize she won’t last forever, and if, god forbid (mostly for her) I get in an accident, I will need to get a new car. So what dumb cars do you drive, and what would you replace them with?
I’m assuming US?
One thing to note is that the US started requiring back up cameras in all cars manufactured after May 1, 2018. Your best bet to find a dumb car would be to look at base trims of some cheap 2015, 2016, and 2017 cars. Cars like the Elantra, Forte, Sonata, Altima, Versa, and Sentra did not have touchscreen displays in their base trim. I know because I basically lived in rental cars during those years and am very familiar with all of them.
Now, definitely watch out on the Korean ones though due their cheapening out of security equipment…but the Kia Boyz have probably salvaged titled all of them by now. I would also be hesitant on buying a used car with a CVT because it’s a crapshoot if the previous owners actually kept up with the mandatory maintenance on them.
I think the Mazda 3 or Toyota iA are good used car choices to keep on your radar. There is a “screen” in both cars, but they are dialed controlled when the car is in motion. They both have a REAL automatic transmission too. No CVT stuff to worry about.
Genuinely curious; aside from required maintenance, you don’t seem too overly jazzed about CVTs - may I ask why?
If something goes wrong with them, they are expensive to fix
Oh, so like a regular automatic transmission.
My 2012 caravan 6s-auto just ate itself last month. Minimum $4k. The van isn’t worth that.
2018 Subaru Forester
It might be a bit more updated than most, but in general less smart than most cars today.
- Still have to press a button on the key to unlock the doors, or use the convenient key.
- Need to put the key into the ignition to start.
- Doors do not automatically lock out unlock.
- Manual parking break.
- Rear door is 100% manual (if you didn’t count un/lock with key fob).
- Basic Bluetooth functionality.
- Equipped with OnStar, and Sirius.
- Shipped with 3G cellular, which no longer works. They do offer a free upgrade, I never bothered.
By my own assessment, it’s the dumbest modern car you can get.
n assessment, it’s the dumbest modern car you can
Onstar tracks your driving habits and reports the data to insurers, even if you do not have Onstar actrivated.
The new corollas are just as good.
I don’t know if this is a smart feature, but it makes me feel dumb
So dont use remote start?
Toyota wants to lock people out of features built into their cars.
Would you say the same thing if they started charging monthly for using the seat warmers?
If you want a dumb car and they disable the modules or features that could fail and are considered “smart”, and adjust costs appropriately, then what’s the problem?
If a Toyota connects to the internet to receive instructions to disable things built into the car, it is too smart of a car for its own good.
Are you seriously on the “sell my heated seats back to me” train? Because that’s happened too.
Modern software works like that.
I resto-mod EFI onto old carb’d vehicles and I wish it had wireless updates. When you scale to Toyota’s size, it makes very little sense to require a service tech to perform software updates manually.
I sort of support the idea of selling a car with components disabled. It costs more to re-tool the assembly line than it does to build it all the same. For instance, many trucks have wiring to support towing but it’s not plugged in.
This is because there are additional costs such as warranty repairs for those types of components.
If a seat heater stops working, but was never enabled, it doesn’t need to get fixed under warranty. You also don’t need to worry about software code causing problems with that module since it’s disabled.
I don’t support anything that obstructs someone from turning that feature on though. If you can wire up a switch to heat your seats then great. I can understand why you shouldn’t expect to be able to hack the ecm or module to make it work though.
You’ve launched into full-on apologia for why dumb cars are bad, this just makes your suggestion look worse
Is the Holden/Vauxhall/Opel/Chevrolet Astra available in your country? I had one for a few years, tidy little car, built well, runs well. When it was written off I bought another, very happy with it.
Can you clarify exactly what you mean by a “dumb car”? Do you just mean that it doesn’t have a screen in the cockpit? Or something else?
Internet connected (smart) or non-internet connected (dumb). At least that’s what this phrase means with all other context.
Not OP, but my most recent car is a 2016 Hyundai Accent, and I think it’s perfect. The doors and ignition operate with physical keys, the displays are all physical indicators directly behind the wheel, all the controls have tactile, physical buttons instead of a touchscreen, no infotainment system, and no subscription options.
I don’t think I’d ever want a car more “smart” than that, but I’m not sure such a thing even exists anymore.
My 2016 Audi A3 is also very analog/dumb and it’s perfect. Physical controls for everything, seemingly no privacy concerns, and I easily added a module for Android Auto/Apple Car play to it.
Get something similar but cheaper. Those things spend decades in the sands and humid cimates and they’re still rolling around. That Toyota will probably outlive you and your kids if you treat it well.
They’re like those Diesel powered Mercedes from the 90s but much cheaper and easier to fix.
And not as good
That’s personal preference tbh. I’d pick a shit box I can fix in an evening if it ever needs it to a finicky machine that requires years of antiquated experience to work on. I never wanna touch a mechanical fuel injector or have to take half the car apart to change a pulley.
Then again I own a modern Honda with a turbo snaked through the engine bay.
Your best bet would be to go for something used in good condition before 2014 that’s when cars started being internet connected and having controls being software buttons in screens and the like. If you have a bunch of money you could try to import something but the 25 year rule is an issue if you live in the US
I’ve read through your comments, and honestly, you’re just going to want to buy an old civic or another Corolla, and if you need to, swap in a new engine. You really have to choose working on an old car to keep it running, or live with even the basic standard safety features like a backup camera. Keep in mind that the new lane assist or collision avoidance stuff can be turned off in virtually all new cars. Plenty of new cars don’t have an obnoxious infotainment screen as well.
Keep in mind that the new lane assist or collision avoidance stuff can be turned off in virtually all new cars.
Manufacturers are making this more and more difficult to control by the user.
Plenty of new cars don’t have an obnoxious infotainment screen as well.
maybe list them for OP instead of hinting at their existence.
I mean, I can’t list every one of them? It all depends on if you find a 6 inch screen too big or something Tesla sized.
I know my Ford Maverick and my wife’s Kia Soul are pretty tame with the infotainment system.
just having a couple brands and models to look into is pretty helpful. I know i’m sick to death of massive screens with touchscreen buttons for everything. i drive my step mother’s recent model BMW sometimes and trying to just change the radio station is a chore that involves clicking accept on a screen with a huge disclaimer warning you not to get distracted by the touchscreen while driving before you can even operate it.
I switch back and forth between my 96 Tacoma with 250k miles and my 06 Scion xB with 190k miles. Love them both. Bury me in one of them.
I recommend a 2010 Toyota Corolla.
Are you my doppelganger? Lol
I was just pointing out the car OP already had, which isn’t far off from the newest “dumb cars” you can get.
He’s asking what he can switch to that’s even newer than 2010, while all my cars (that I have no intention of ever replacing due to age) are already 5-15 years older than his.
Proud owner of a 2009 Toyota Corolla. That thing is a workhorse.
Toyota all day every day. The best, most reliable car brand.
One rule of thumb; Never buy a Chevy. Absolute garbage vehicles that you will pay endless money to maintain.
Chevy trucks are good
Maybe, but their cars are pure shit
Honda is a close second, I almost got the GR Corrola but my Integra has so much more space inside. I guess it makes sense seeing it’s almost the size of an accord.
Toyota has a subscription service for remote start. https://support.toyota.com/s/article/Does-Toyota-Remote-Co-10227
I think what is a good choice greatly depends on your location, which affects prices, availability, spare parts availability etc.
I drive an Audi S4. It has issues. If it’s no more, I’d probably replace it with another unreliable German vehicle. I also drive an F150, and it has broken a few times. If it croaks, I’d probably replace it with another F150…
Why I do this to myself? No idea.
It’s called 21st century marketing bruv
When you say dumb, do you mean like with minimal computers? I think I remember reading about Mercedes or something working on a vehicle that’s entirely mechanical with zero computer integration. I imagine it would be pretty expensive though
I would prefer something old enough it wouldn’t even have a backup camera
They became required because a dad backed over and killed his own son. That father fought for years to make them required so no one would have to go through the same pain he went through. Why would you not want one? You could not look at it if you don’t like it. But it’s one of the best possible safety features imo, and it’s dirt cheap compared to the cost of a car.
I agree with you from a safety standpoint. It’s not the backup camera itself. It’s the screen and all of the additional things that come with it that I don’t want. To me it’s an inflection point.
You have to buy one prior to 2018 then. I believe that was the year it became standard.
I think its a law that new cars must be sold with them.
Presumably that depends where you live.
Yes for the US backup cameras are required after 2018
Why? I wouldn’t go without a backup camera. It only takes one time for a small child running after a ball to slip your eye and you’ve got blood on your hands. When a driver gets behind the wheel, they are barely in control of a multi-ton murder machine. A backup camera is a very easy-to-use tool to keep the murder machine under control.
So staring at a tiny screen on your dashboard makes you less likely to hit a child that already would’ve gone unnoticed if you were actively looking in multiple directions with a wider field of vision?
Backup cameras have better visibility than you do from the drivers seat usually. That said, I would put in an aftermarket one rather than get a factory one.
Yes. The backup camera shows you the ground level, you still use the mirrors but kids and cats are not always tall enough to see in the mirrors. It’s an additional view, did you think it blacks out the mirrors or something?
It’s just another tool. You wouldn’t only look in your passenger side mirror just because you have one. Use it along with all your other tools. Most standard cars have 3 mirrors and a backup camera. Most drivers also have necks they can turn.
You should always be looking behind you, checking mirrors, and checking the backup camera. I am a rookie driver and even I know that much.
Yes I know, my point is that not having a reversing camera forces you to look around. Every time I’ve been a passenger in a car with a reversing cam the driver has never checked their mirrors or looked behind them, they just trust that the reversing camera can see everything.
Oh, huh, I guess being in training just kind of forces me to think about good habits instead of getting lazy. I’m also more used to biking, where I have a mirror and shoulder glances as my primary tools. But either way, I would want to have the tool, since I know I will use it correctly.
No way. Anyone have a link? Its gotta at least have electronic fuel injection. A 2025 Benz with a carburetor and old school distributor is not believable.
Mechanical injection diesels could work with no digital computer, but getting one through modern emissions tests in any countries with half a standard should be impossible.
For that, they’d have to develop an entirely new engine, which they then couldn’t sell in Europe, America, Australia or most of Asia due to emissions regulations. So maybe they’re doing it, but it will be a one-off prestige project at the end of the internal combustion engine age, and all of them will be put in museums or private collections.
Maybe there’s just reusing an old OM601/602 from the 80s like diesel swappers are into.
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Remotely stop it why? How is that a safety feature?
If you don’t live in that one country where they get stolen easily, Hyundai I10 and I20 base models are the perfect dumb car
Absolutely nothing to go wrong; the most technological thing on them is a Bluetooth stereo, and the little 1.25L motor only needs an oil change every 20k kilometres to keep it sweet
Unfortunately we don’t get those in the US, and they even stopped selling the i30 (Elantra GT) here in 2020. You can fortunately still get the Elantra sedan, but the hatchback definitely adds a ton of practicality to it.
The motors in us Hyundais are pretty notorious for not lasting long. Pretty much the opposite of a Toyota.
The 4 cylinders are trash, the v6’s are pretty good.
Am I missing something or people are calling engine of a car “motor”? Because there is a big difference between the two.
