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Keep in mind when heated seats had been science fiction and Bluetooth was one thing your dentist frightened about? The 2000s had been a magical time when automobiles got here normal with completely nothing normal, and we had been grateful for it. These had been the glory days of handbook all the things: home windows that gave you biceps, mirrors you adjusted by hand (and prayer), and air con that was principally a suggestion.
In fact, some 2000s automobiles had been extra fundamental than others. We’re going to give attention to the automobiles that weren’t essentially the most thrilling, however they acquired you to work simply nice every single day, hit 300K with no need upkeep, and helped you out throughout that tough transfer you had again in 2002 — all whereas having no further options or distinctive styling. Actually, I began cracking up whereas writing this text as a result of in case you look quick sufficient, all of those automobiles look virtually the identical.
How We Put This Record Collectively
We scoured the automotive panorama of the 2000s for automobiles that made no apologies for being fundamental. These are the autos that appeared in newspaper adverts with big “$99 DOWN!” headlines and month-to-month funds that wouldn’t break a school funds. Every automotive earned its spot by providing absolutely the necessities: 4 wheels, an engine that began more often than not, and sufficient sheet metallic to maintain the climate out.
We centered on base trims: those the place energy home windows had been thought-about a luxurious improve and carpeted flooring mats had been a dealer-installed choice. These automobiles got here with hubcaps that fell off in case you checked out them fallacious, interiors made completely of supplies that might survive a nuclear blast (and possibly will), and engines designed by engineers who clearly believed extra horsepower simply meant extra issues.
PS: You’re not going loopy. You’re not seeing double. All of those automobiles are completely different, we promise you.
Ford Focus
The Focus was Ford’s try and show People may deal with a European driving expertise, which apparently meant “small, environment friendly, and pleasantly confused about what it wished to be when it grew up.” Obtainable as a sedan, wagon, or hatchback, the Focus was like that pal who’s first rate at all the things however by no means fairly excels at something particular.
Base fashions got here with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 110 horsepower — sufficient energy to merge onto highways with the arrogance of somebody ordering at a restaurant they’ve by no means been to earlier than. The handbook transmission was really fairly first rate, which was good as a result of the automated had all of the urgency of a authorities workplace on Friday afternoon.
Inside, you bought material seats that wore like iron and plastic trim that appeared prefer it belonged in a kindergarten classroom. However right here’s the factor: it labored. The Focus was dependable, surprisingly spacious, and acquired round 28/36 mpg when fuel costs made you query your life selections. Plus, it was one of many few low-cost automobiles that didn’t really feel prefer it was actively attempting to kill you in corners.
Chevrolet Cavalier
Ah, the Cavalier: GM’s reply to the query “What if we made a automotive, however like, actually halfheartedly?” This was the automotive your neighbor purchased as a result of it was $500 lower than all the things else on the lot, and truthfully, that was cause sufficient. The Cavalier didn’t faux to be something it wasn’t, which was refreshing in an period of promoting departments going completely bonkers with “sport” and “luxurious” badges.
The bottom engine was a 2.2-liter four-cylinder producing 140 hp, which sounds sufficient till you understand it needed to haul round 2,900 kilos of America’s most interesting rental automotive plastic. The automated transmission shifted with all of the precision of a coin flip, but it surely stored shifting for 200,000 miles, so who’s laughing now?
Cavaliers got here in colours starting from “beige” to “barely completely different beige,” with interiors that featured sufficient onerous plastic to inventory a Tupperware conference. One of the best half? Every part was precisely the place you anticipated it to be, as a result of GM had been making the identical fundamental automotive because the Carter administration and noticed no cause to get artistic now.
Hyundai Accent
The Accent was Hyundai’s proof that sure, you completely may construct a model new automotive for lower than a used Honda Civic, and no, you in all probability didn’t wish to suppose too onerous about how they did it. However right here’s the plot twist: it was really fairly first rate.
With 110 hp from a 1.6-liter engine, the Accent had sufficient energy to maintain up with visitors and sufficient gasoline financial system (32/37 mpg) to make you’re feeling smug on the fuel station. The inside appeared prefer it was designed by somebody who had heard automobiles described secondhand however had by no means really seen one, but one way or the other all the things labored and stored working lengthy after costlier automobiles had given up.
The true genius of the Accent was its 10-year, 100,000-mile guarantee; Hyundai’s method of claiming, “Look, we all know you’re skeptical, however we’ll put our cash the place our mouth is.” It was like shopping for insurance coverage that got here with a free automotive connected. Sensible patrons acknowledged that generally one of the best luxurious is realizing you received’t be strolling to work.
Kia Rio
The Rio was residing proof that Kia’s “The Energy to Shock” slogan was correct: it was genuinely stunning that these automobiles held collectively in addition to they did. At costs that made purchasing carts look costly, the Rio provided transportation in its most distilled kind.
The 1.6-liter engine produced 104 hp, which sounds pathetic till you bear in mind this factor weighed about as a lot as a driving garden mower. It acquired an sincere 32/37 mpg, had sufficient inside area for 4 precise people, and got here with that very same reassuring 10-year guarantee that made penny-pinching really feel accountable somewhat than low-cost.
Early Rios had the construct high quality of a sociology main’s IKEA furnishings, however they improved quickly. By the mid-2000s, you had been getting a automotive that may begin each morning, get you the place you wanted to go, and ask for nothing greater than occasional oil modifications and the type of upkeep schedule that busy individuals may really comply with.
Dodge Neon
The Neon was Chrysler’s try and inject some persona into the econobox section, and by persona, we imply “spherical headlights and the structural rigidity of a moist paper bag.” However you understand what? It labored. The Neon had character, even when that character was “enjoyable pal who makes questionable choices.”
Below the hood, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder produced 132 hp, making it one of many extra spirited entries on this record. The handbook transmission was surprisingly partaking, and the automotive really dealt with decently, which was greater than you could possibly say for many of its opponents. It was like somebody had taken an actual sports activities automotive and photocopied it till solely the enjoyable elements remained.
The inside featured extra plastic than a shelf in Walmart and a construct high quality that advised the manufacturing unit employees had been paid by the hour, not by outcomes. However Neons developed a cult following as a result of they had been low-cost, peppy, and had sufficient persona to make their homeowners really feel like they had been driving one thing barely much less generic than spreadsheet software program.
Toyota Echo
The Echo was Toyota’s daring experiment in making a automotive that appeared prefer it was designed by somebody who had solely heard automobiles described over a foul cellphone connection. With proportions that defied typical automotive knowledge and a dashboard that belonged in a spaceship (particularly, one from a Nineteen Seventies sci-fi film), the Echo was bizarre in the very best method.
The 1.5-liter engine made 108 hp, which doesn’t sound like a lot till you bear in mind this factor weighed about as a lot as a golf cart crammed with aluminum cans. It achieved an EPA-estimated 35/43 mpg, making it a fuel-sipping champion that might go roughly perpetually on a single tank.
The inside was spacious in ways in which appeared to violate the legal guidelines of physics, with a center-mounted instrument cluster that took some getting used to however really made sense when you stopped preventing it. Echo patrons had been both very sensible or very courageous, and generally it was onerous to inform which was which.
Saturn Ion
The Ion was Saturn’s follow-up to the beloved S-Sequence, which was like asking somebody to remake The Godfather however with half the funds and not one of the authentic forged. It wasn’t Saturn’s most interesting second, but it surely had its charms in case you squinted and tilted your head good.
The bottom engine was a 2.2-liter four-cylinder producing 140 hp, paired with both a handbook transmission that was first rate or an automated that shifted prefer it was pondering actually onerous about every choice. The Ion’s social gathering trick was its dent-resistant polymer physique panels, which was nice information for parking heaps however made the automotive sound like a Tupperware container whenever you closed the doorways.
Inside, the Ion featured Saturn’s dedication to being completely different for the sake of being completely different, with controls and layouts that made sense solely to the engineers who designed them. Nevertheless it was dependable, sensible, and got here with Saturn’s no-haggle pricing, which meant you could possibly purchase one with out feeling such as you wanted a regulation diploma.
Chevrolet Aveo
GM apparently wished to determine how low-cost they might make a brand new automotive and nonetheless think about it a automotive. They got here up with the Aveo as the reply.
With 103 hp from a 1.6-liter engine, the Aveo had roughly the identical power-to-weight ratio as a decided hamster. Nevertheless it was dependable, acquired first rate fuel mileage (27/35 mpg), and may very well be bought for much less cash than many individuals spend on trip. The automated transmission was about as responsive as customer support at a cable firm, but it surely stored working lengthy after you’d forgotten what clean shifting felt like.
The inside featured sufficient onerous plastic to produce a small nation with cafeteria trays, however all the things was logically laid out and surprisingly sturdy. Faculty college students beloved them as a result of they had been low-cost to purchase, low-cost to run, and low-cost to repair — the holy trinity of pupil transportation.
Pontiac Sunfire
The Sunfire was Pontiac’s try so as to add some “pleasure” to GM’s J-body platform, which was like attempting to make oatmeal thrilling by serving it in a fancier bowl. It labored, kind of, because of Pontiac’s knack for making even essentially the most mundane automobiles seem like that they had at the least considered going quick.
The bottom 2.2-liter engine produced 115 hp, which was sufficient for many conditions that didn’t contain hills, headwinds, or unreasonable expectations. The five-speed handbook was really fairly good, whereas the automated shifted with all the keenness of somebody working a double shift on Christmas Eve.
Sunfires got here with Pontiac’s signature ribbed cladding and twin-nostril grilles, which made them look sportier than their Cavalier siblings though they had been principally the identical automotive beneath. It was automotive advertising at its most interesting: promoting the sizzle when there wasn’t a lot steak to work with.
Nissan Sentra Base
The B15-generation Sentra was Nissan’s entry into the “competent however forgettable” section, and it succeeded wildly at being each. With clear, inoffensive styling and the type of reliability that Japanese producers had been well-known for, the Sentra was the automotive model of a superb pair of khakis — not thrilling, however acceptable for nearly each state of affairs.
The bottom 1.8-liter engine produced 126 hp, making it one of many extra highly effective automobiles on this record. Paired with Nissan’s clean four-speed automated or a five-speed handbook, the Sentra provided a refined driving expertise that put most of its opponents to disgrace.
The inside was a masterclass in fundamental finished proper: all the things was the place it needs to be, supplies had been first rate for the value level, and the controls really made intuitive sense. It wasn’t flashy, but it surely was the type of automotive you could possibly reside with for years with out creating any explicit grudges in opposition to it.
When Primary Was Sufficient
Wanting again at these automobiles now, it’s simple to dismiss them as forgettable transportation home equipment. However that misses the purpose completely. These autos served as trustworthy companions throughout among the most necessary years of their homeowners’ lives — school, first jobs, beginning households, constructing careers.
They had been sincere automobiles in an period earlier than automotive advertising departments satisfied everybody they wanted heated steering wheels and ambient lighting to get to the grocery retailer. They began whenever you turned the important thing, acquired you the place you wanted to go, and requested for nothing greater than fundamental upkeep and the occasional tank of fuel.
Certain, they weren’t quick or luxurious or notably fashionable. Actually, all of them look the identical at a fast look! Nonetheless, they had been dependable, reasonably priced, and surprisingly sturdy. In an age of 84-month financing and $50,000 pickup vehicles, there’s one thing nearly quaint about automobiles that value lower than a pleasant trip and lasted longer than most marriages.
These automobiles supplied freedom to a whole technology of drivers who couldn’t afford something fancier however refused to let that cease them from going locations. And truthfully? That’s not fundamental in any respect. That’s fairly exceptional.
