This is a question that has an many different answers as there are people who go on road trips. I depends a lot on the individual, budget, where they are going, who they are going to see, who they want to impress, on and on and on.

In general I think you should by a car that will do most of the things you would ever want to do whether you are on a trip or going to the grocery store. If you have four children and a dog that travels with you, A diesel Beetle that gets 50 mile per gallon won't work. But... do you really need a 10 passenger Ford Excursion with a V-10 that might gt 6 miles per gallon if you are lucky. Is it going to be a leisurely trip with many sight-seeing and rest stops or is it going to be a quick trip coast to coast to attend a wedding or funeral or something like that. If you are not going to be making any stops except for fuel and food then a car that has really comfortable, supportive seats should be a prime consideration. Of all the cars I have ever driven, I think the Volvo A-60 is one of the most comfortable I have ever driven. If you have more people, look at a Volvo XC-90 or an R series Mercedes Benz with the 3.5 liter Turbo Diesel.

We had a classmate who came to our 40 year reunion and was driving a Ferrari. everybody in the class knows what he does and that there is no possible way he could afford to drive a car like that. I was totally a vanity thing. Look at me!

I have driven a lot of different vehicles a lot of miles and some of the new 18 wheelers are as comfortable as a Cadillac. My personal favorite that I have ever driven or owned is my Lexus GS 350 AWD sedan. It is comfortable, gets decent mileage, has an awesome Mark Levinson stereo system and is a really neat comfortable car on the road.

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