Best Cars for Commuting to Work

If you commute to work on a daily basis, you’re not alone. The average adult in the U.S. has a one-way commute of 16 miles, which means they travel 32 miles to get to and from work everyday.

Some people travel greater distances to get to work, though. In fact, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that 3.3 million Americans have “stretch-commutes,” which means their one-way commute to work is more than 50 miles.

Regardless of whether your drive to work is a few miles or a few dozen miles, it’s important to have a reliable, safe, fuel efficient car to get you there and back. Here is an overview of the best cars for commuting to work:

Kia Forte

The Kia Forte is a sporty, comfortable sedan that gets around 30 miles per gallon in the city and 40 miles per gallon on the highway. Because of this incredible fuel efficiency, you won’t have to make any pit stops for gas while commuting to work in this vehicle.

The Kia Forte is also designed with a number of features to ensure you arrive safely at your final destination, including drowsy driving monitoring. This feature looks for driving behavior that falls outside of your normal driving pattern. If an irregularity is detected, a coffee cup icon will appear on your dashboard and you will receive an audible alert advising you to take a break from driving.

Because of this feature, the Kia Forte is ideal for people with long commutes who may need a friendly reminder to pull off the road when they get drowsy.

Toyota Corolla 

The Toyota Corolla is known as one of the most reliable sedans on the market, which is why it’s perfect for commuters. This practical vehicle gets about 30 miles per gallon in the city and 40 miles per gallon on the highway. However, its hybrid model is even more fuel efficient. The Toyota Corolla Hybrid gets about 50 miles per gallon regardless of whether you’re on the highway or in the city.

The Toyota Corolla offers a smooth ride even if you need to drive over uneven pavement to get to work. It also comes with a wide range of standard features, including forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and a rearview camera.

Hyundai Accent

If you’re shopping with a small budget, you may want to consider the Hyundai Accent. The 2021 model of this subcompact car starts at just over $15,000, which makes it much more affordable than its competitors.

Like other commuter cars, the Hyundai Accent comes with safety features such as forward collision warning and brake assist to ensure you arrive safely at your final destination. The Accent also includes other features to make your commute more enjoyable, including a user-friendly infotainment system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a six-speaker audio system.

The Hyundai Accent does accelerate slower than other sedans, so it’s not ideal for commuters who travel on the highway to get to work.

Hyundai Venue 

If you’re looking for an SUV to take you to and from work, the Hyundai Venue is one of the best options. The Hyundai Venue is a subcompact crossover SUV that comfortably seats up to five adults. It’s also the cheapest new SUV on the market, so it may be in your price range even if you’re shopping with a limited budget.

The Hyundai Venue is surprisingly fuel efficient for an SUV. It gets an average of 30 miles per gallon in the city and 35 miles per gallon on the highway. Even though it’s an SUV, it’s still easy to maneuver in tight spaces, so you shouldn’t have any trouble parallel parking in the city.

Nissan Kicks

The Nissan Kicks is another subcompact crossover SUV that’s ideal for commuting. Don’t let its classification as a subcompact SUV fool you–the Nissan Kicks has a roomy interior with plenty of cargo space.

Its fuel efficiency and pricing is similar to the Hyundai Venue. However, what sets the Nissan Kicks apart from its competitors is its wide range of standard features. The Nissan Kicks comes with various safety features, including blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, rear parking sensors, lane departure warning, and automatic high-beam headlights.

The newest model also has an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Wi-Fi hotspot, 7-inch digital instrument cluster display, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay. These features will make it easier to pass the time on your commute to and from work.

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is one of the most reliable, practical, and affordable sedans available. It’s also incredibly fuel efficient. The Honda Civic’s standard engine gets about 38 miles per gallon, but if you upgrade to its 1.5-liter turbo engine, you can get about 42 miles per gallon instead.

The Honda Civic offers a smooth, quiet drive and has a roomy interior which makes commuting more comfortable. It also comes with standard safety features such as lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control.

The base model comes with a 5-inch touchscreen infotainment system with standard features, whereas other trim levels are designed with a slightly larger 7-inch touchscreen and an upgraded system.

Chevrolet Bolt

The Chevrolet Bolt is an electric, subcompact hatchback that comfortably seats up to five adults. The interior of the Chevrolet Bolt isn’t as spacious as other sedans on this list. Furthermore, some people find the seats too firm, which may affect your comfort level on your commute to and from work. However, if your main concern is fuel efficiency, the Chevrolet Bolt might be the best option for you.

Because it’s an electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Bolt gets better mileage than other commuter vehicles. The Bolt’s driving range is about 250 miles when fully charged, so you may be able to drive this vehicle to and from work for several days before it needs to be recharged.

Honda Insight

Whereas the Chevrolet Bolt is an electric vehicle, the Honda Insight is a hybrid electric vehicle, which means it is powered by both gas and electricity. This hybrid technology makes the Honda Insight incredibly fuel efficient. The newest model gets an impressive 55 miles per gallon in the city and 49 miles per gallon on the highway.

If your main concern is safety, you may want to consider this vehicle. The Honda Insight comes with standard safety features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, and a rearview camera.

Plus, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the Honda Insight the highest rating in all six crash tests. As a result, it has an overall safety rating of five out of five stars.

GMC Terrain

The GMC Terrain is a crossover SUV with a spacious cabin and smooth ride. It offers more space in the backseat than other SUVs of its size, so it’s ideal for commuters who carpool with their co-workers or need to drop off their kids at school before work.

One of the GMC Terrain’s most useful features is the parallel and perpendicular park assist, which makes it easier to safely park this large vehicle once you arrive at work.

If your teenager uses your vehicle on the weekends, this is the car for you. The GMC Terrain hsa a Teen Driver safety feature that allows you to set speed and audio limits on the vehicle when your teen is behind the wheel.