Best cars for road trips - our top models for the ultimate driving adventure
Our experts pick their ideal road trip cars with everything from super-luxury saloons to high-powered supercars
Everyone loves a road trip! There is no better feeling than when the sun’s shining, your favourite tunes are on the stereo and there’s miles of open road ahead to your destination.
However, you can only truly experience the greatest road journeys by driving one of the very best road trip cars, so we’re here to help with this crucial decision.
Whether it’s a sensible SUV that can carry all your friends and their luggage, a svelte drop-top for wafting down the highway or even a brawny Italian supercar for maximum thrills, our expert road testers certainly have their own ideas of what makes a truly great road trip car. After all, every journey is unique, so there aren’t really any wrong answers here.
Whatever you want from your upcoming road trip adventure, you’ll find the perfect wheels for the job right here. Read on to find our team members’ nominations for the best road trip cars of them all.
Bentley Brooklands
By Jordan Katsianis
- BHP/engine size: 530bhp; 6.75-litre
- Engine/gears: V8 twin-turbo/6-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed: 5 seconds/184mph
- Price new/price now: £230,000/£130,000
We’re not sure there’s a more elegant way of making progress across vast distances than inside a Bentley Brooklands. This enormous two-door coupe is very much of the old school, sharing almost nothing with any modern Bentley (or Volkswagen). This means that it was hand-built, and although it’s a 2008 model with more than a few archaic elements, it’s all the better for them.
This includes its twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre V8, which came with a pushrod valvetrain and 1,050Nm of torque. That gave this behemoth enough grunt to sail down any road without so much as a whisper – probably to St Tropez, because Monaco is so déclassé.
Aerodynamics aren’t this car’s forte, but the bluff front end and grille are so far away from you, the wind noise they create won’t be audible anyway. So what you’re left with is a stunning, spacious, hand-crafted motor car that will never be repeated – a golden age where new meets old.
Volkswagen California T6.1
By Richard Ingram
- BHP/engine size: 201bhp; 2.0-litre
- Engine/gears: four-cylinder diesel/seven-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed: 11.9 seconds/126mph
- Price new/price now: £75,000/£60,000-plus
My choice for the best road trip car is one that attempts to cover all bases, rather than excelling in any one area. It’s certainly not the fastest or sharpest car (ahem, van) on this list, and it’s definitely not the most frugal. But none other of these vehicles has the space for four adults to eat, sleep and socialise in complete comfort; the Volkswagen California is unequivocal road trip royalty.
I actually think the previous T6.1-generation California Ocean would be my pick – its punchy diesel engine, clever cabin and general usefulness combine to surpass the current model, in my opinion. The two-ring hob means you can boil a kettle and fry your eggs at the same time, while the built-in sink means there’s no need to brave the campsite kitchen if you don’t want to.
But best of all, you can stop wherever you please and soak in the view – all from the comfort of your coil-sprung double bed. You’re not doing that in your Bentley Brooklands, dear Jordan.
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Mazda MX-5
By Paul Barker
- BHP/engine size: 181bhp; 2.0-litre
- Engine/gears: Four-cylinder/6-speed manual
- 0-62mph/top speed: 6.5 seconds/136mph
- Price new/price now: £33,115/£25,499
While some of my colleagues are a little too hung up on a road trip being a mile-munching expedition, I’m picturing deserted roads - either Alpine or Highlands would be fine - bright sunshine and the sweetest handling little drop-top two-seater.
The Mazda MX-5 is the obvious answer, but only because it’s the right one. Not too much power - though I would pick the 2.0-litre engine over the 1.5 - space in the boot for a week or two’s worth of road trip luggage, and just enough cabin stowage for the Haribo. The motorway isn’t the Mazda’s natural environment but it’s not phased, and once you get onto those deserted twisty roads and have the wind in your hair, it’ll be worth every droning motorway mile. The MX-5 is a driving dream, plus it always was – and always will be – a joyous (relative) bargain that’s cheap to run. So that road trip won’t break the bank either.
Kia EV9
By Ellis Hyde
- BHP: 200bhp
- Powertrain: 1x e-motor, 99.8kWh battery; single-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed: 9.4 secs/114mph
- Price new/price now: £65,035/£65,035
If your attitude to planning road trips is ‘the more the merrier’, there’s probably no better car than the seven-seat Kia EV9. The rather brick-like shape means the cabin is incredibly spacious; so much so that adults can fit in the rearmost seats, which also recline and have charging ports so there’ll be no squabbling over whose phone gets topped up. The ride is incredibly comfortable, plus road and wind noise at motorway speeds is minimal.
Yes the EV9 is electric, which to some will disqualify it as a road trip car. However, the colossal 99.8kWh battery provides up to 349 miles of range – that’s enough to go from Edinburgh to Cambridge, or Monaco to Venice, in one go. Perhaps better still, drivers can add up to 154 miles worth of juice from just 15 minutes of charging.
If you want to spend a little longer stretching your legs, the EV9 can recharge from 10 to 80 per cent in 24 minutes. The Kia is able to charge so quickly because it features an 800-volt electrical system – the same tech the Porsche Taycan uses. The base model, which offers the longest range, might only produce 200bhp but it’s still adequate for leisurely cruising through counties, or in fact countries.
Of course, if you don’t need to ferry around an entire netball team, in five-seat mode the EV9 offers an enormous 828 litres of boot space. Or if mountain biking is your thing, that’s not an issue when all but the front seats are folded down, because you get a van-like 2,318 litres to play with.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
By Chris Rosamond
- BHP/engine size: 420bhp; 4.7-litre
- Engine/gears: V8/6-speed manual
- 0-62mph/top speed: 4.7 seconds 0-62mph/180mph
- Price new/price now: £120,000/£30,000+
The ultimate road trip car just has to be a convertible, doesn’t it? It should probably be British too, thrilling but never tiresome to drive, and most definitely a joyous thing to look at and listen to. So I’m picking the previous-generation Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster, a variant of one of the most successful Astons of all time, and surely one of the prettiest.
I’d be very happy with the 4.7-litre version introduced on the 2009 model-year, with a modest – by today’s standards at least – 420bhp, and I want the rare traditional manual shift for the rear-mounted transaxle to enjoy the most engaging driving experience. With the roof down and that fabulous-sounding engine reverberating off the scenery, this is motoring in the most glorious and glamorous fashion imaginable.
Sure, some might quibble about a few of the Vantage’s Ford parts-bin components, or argue that a Porsche 911 is a more technically accomplished driving machine, but who cares? Live and let live, I say!
Perhaps unsurprisingly, most previous-generation Vantages seem to have been equipped with the Sportshift automated gearbox, which isn’t really such a bad thing if you want the most relaxing of road trips. They’re not two-a-penny either, with only around 6,200 V8 Vantage Roadsters produced up to 2017 before a new Vantage arrived. More than 15,000 coupe versions were produced, alongside the much rarer V12 Vantage, of which Aston Martin built roughly 2,500 coupes and fewer than 500 Roadsters.
You can pick up an early V8 Vantage Roadster for as little as £25k these days, and given the manual variant’s rarity, the investment potential looks very promising.
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
By Tom Jervis
- BHP/engine size: 532bhp; 5.7-litre
- Engine/gears: V12 N/A/6-speed manual or 6-speed automated manual
- 0-62mph/top speed 4.2 seconds/196mph
- Price new/price now: £170,500/£50-130,000
Just because something looks a bit awkward, it doesn’t mean someone should overlook it – that’s something I like to tell myself when I look in the mirror, but it’s also true for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. The predecessor to the FF, Ferrari’s first four-wheel-drive car, the 612 was instead based on the 599 of the time and donned a bespoke, if a tad cloddish, all-aluminium body designed by Pininfarina.
Under the sweeping bonnet lies the same 5.7-litre V12 used in the 575 Superamerica, which can either be paired with Ferrari’s notoriously clunky F1 automatic gearbox, or a mouth-watering six-speed gated manual. With massive doors that open to reveal a cabin suitable for four adults, the 612 is a quirky cut-price alternative to Ferrari’s current four-seat GT, the Purosangue, which costs roughly three-to-six times as much as a used 612.
Alpina B3 Touring
By Alex Ingram
- BHP/engine size: 488bhp; 3.0-litre
- Engine/gears: 6cyl twin-turbo/8-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed: 3.7 seconds 0-62mph/187mph
- Price new/price now: £80,700/£70,000
Right now, the distance between the Alpina B3 and BMW M3 is as close as it’s ever been, yet the Alpina has retained its luxurious nature and feels just as quick as the M3 - all the while undercutting it by a significant margin and making it the better road trip car. The understated (some might say tasteful) looks compared with the BMW M3 are exactly what you want on a long journey too - attention can be tiresome after a while.
Despite the restrained looks, however, the B3’s straight-six pumps out 488bhp - 10bhp more than you get in the non-Competition M3 sold in other markets. Should your road trip include stretches of the German autobahn, you might learn the 155mph limiter has been chucked out with a derestricted top speed of 187mph awaiting you. On a slightly more practical note, we’ve obviously had to go for the Touring here, which gets a split-opening bootlid, unlike the new 5 Series Touring, and a 500-litre boot.
Ford Mustang Mach 1
By Dean Gibson
- BHP/engine size: 454bhp; 5.0-litre
- Engine/gears: V8/6-speed manual
- 0-62mph/top speed: 4.8 seconds/166mph
- Price new/price now: £57,655/£40,000
When I think of a road trip, my mind wanders to the USA, Route 66 and long drives behind the wheel of a big, lazy V8. Now a monster machine doesn’t really work in the US or Europe, but a Ford Mustang still manages to deliver a V8 soundtrack in a rear-wheel-drive package that makes more sense on this side of the Atlantic. There’s effortless power from the big 5.0-litre under the bonnet, and if you really want to cruise, Ford’s 10-speed auto makes things effortless.
But I’d want a bit more involvement than that when it comes to twistier roads, so I’d have to choose a manual instead, while the Mach 1 has some choice upgrades that make it a better driver’s car than the standard GT, both in terms of driving enjoyment and looks.
Volvo S80
By Max Adams
- BHP/engine size: 163bhp; 2.4-litre
- Engine/gears: inline-5 turbo diesel/5-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed: 10.2 seconds/130mph
- Price new/price now: £27,503/£1,000
I’ve chosen a 20-year-old Volvo S80, because I’ve actually gone to Sweden and back in one, and apart from a random warning message, few other cars would have done it better.
It’s got a generous boot that can swallow lots of luggage (plus tools and spare oil, just in case), and a substantial fuel tank – we managed to get from Wolfsburg to Gothenburg on a single tank. And you can handle hundreds of miles behind the wheel because the seats are very supportive and don’t cause backache.
Sure, a V12 Ferrari is a lot more fun, but if you’ve got hours of motorway driving to do and you need something efficient, comfortable and dependable, you can’t go far wrong with an old Volvo.
I’ve gone a little off-piste with my choice and chosen a 20-year-old Volvo S80, which you could probably pick up for less than the cost of an annual service of Tom’s 612 Scaglietti. But there is method in my madness because I’ve actually road tripped one of these along with a couple of friends to Sweden and back. And apart from a random warning message, few other cars would have been better suited to the task.
Firstly, the S80 is a large car with a generous boot that can swallow lots of luggage (plus tools and spare oil, just in case). It also has a substantial 70-litre fuel tank, extending the distance between fill-ups – we managed to get from Wolfsburg to Gothenburg on a single tank. It also nicely bookends the economical D5 diesel engine, which averaged 42mpg over the 3,000 miles we covered. True, it isn’t a fast car, but it can still hack a 100mph cruise (on a de-restricted German Autobahn, of course), plus thanks to decent soundproofing, it isn’t tiring to spend many hours at the helm.
And you really can handle hundreds of miles behind the wheel, because the seats are very supportive. Even after just a few miles, you’ll understand why so many police forces use Volvos as patrol cars. I’ve driven hundreds of test cars over the years, and I still highly rate the seats of this car even against far more expensive machinery. At no point in our trip did we experience any discomfort.
Sure, a V12 Ferrari is a lot more fun if you happen to be going somewhere where the roads are twisty, but if you’re just spending countless hours on motorways and you need something efficient, comfortable and dependable, you can’t go far wrong with an old diesel Volvo.
Range Rover
By Alistair Crooks
- BHP/engine size: 345bhp; 3.0-litre
- Engine/gears: straight-six twin-turbo/eight-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed: 5.7 seconds 0-62mph/145mph
- Price new/price now: £108,775/£85,000
We all know how good these things are when it comes to mile-munching on the motorways, but for extra peace of mind, if your road trip ends up going off road, then a Range Rover will have you covered. The L322 generation did pique my interest, but I’ve gone for the latest and greatest full-fat Range Rover here. Instead of topping up at every fuel station with a thirsty V8, I’ve kept some common sense by going for the mild-hybrid D350 diesel - which we ran on our test fleet a few years back for over 18,000 miles when it returned an impressive 38.2mpg. There are certainly more dynamically capable alternatives in this list, but if you want to arrive at a destination feeling as refreshed as possible, then you can’t do much better than a Range Rover.
The Range Rover isn’t the kind of car to seek out the country’s best driving roads - even if it’ll locate them in a serene manner. There is a slight left-field solution however, because the Range Rover has a 3,500kg towing capacity and several useful accessories to make towing easier, such as an electrically deployable tow bar and self-levelling rear suspension. This means you can waft up to your favourite bit of tarmac - whether that’s in the Scottish highlands or Cornwall’s coast in the cosseting Range Rover and take out your performance car of choice when you get there.
Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI
By Steve Walker
- BHP/engine size: 309bhp; 5.0-litre
- Engine/gears: V10 diesel/6-speed automatic
- 0-62mph/top speed 7.6 seconds/144mph
- Price new/price now: £55,000/£5,000
There will be those who very strongly disagree but in my eyes, if you’re embarking on a proper road trip, you need a big car with an even bigger diesel engine. The Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI ticks the first box and completely atomises the second one by virtue of being fitted with an engine that really has no place in a family SUV.
Back in 2003, big engines were still a thing and VW decided to blow rivals out of the water in the black-pump category by signing off the world’s most powerful production diesel engine at the time. The 5.0-litre V10 generates 309bhp and 750Nm, which translates to effortless travel in the Mk1 Touareg’s plush but understated cabin, and on its standard air-suspension.
The official fuel economy of 23mpg isn’t perhaps what you might want from an oil burner on a long trip and there will certainly be reliability (and environmental) concerns with these cars 20 years on. It’ll do 500 miles on a tank, however, and for a one-off fantasy road trip, there’s nothing to beat the muscular Touareg at the price - especially if you’ve got a giant caravan.
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