Boston Has Too Many Potholes! What Car Should I Buy?

Noah just moved to the Boston area and he drives a lot in the city. The problem is the wicked potholes constantly jostling his Golf hatchback, which doesn't bode well for his girlfriend who is easily motion sick. He wants something that can handle the rough roads, but doesn't want to go full crossover. With a budget of $35,000, what car should he buy?

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Here is the scenario.

I just moved to the Boston area and I have a problem with potholes. Right now I'm in a golf with a manual transmission and I loved it for my Indiana backroads but now I can't go anywhere without hitting a pothole that ruins the drive for my easily-nauseous girlfriend. I'm still happy to stay with a manual but maybe I need to give it up?? I want something more comfortable while still commutable and the icing on the cake would me a manual transmission!

I really don't want an SUV or crossover, and I am looking to spend about $35,000

Quick Facts:

Budget: up to $35,000

Location: Boston, MA

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: Comfort, decent MPGs, ideally 3 pedals

Doesn't want: An SUV

Noah, you live in Boston now, so that means making a few adjustments. First, you need to get your Dunkin' order on lock; the locals can get really impatient if you are wishy-washy on your coffee and donut combo. Also, you probably should just buy a wagon. The Golf is fun on back roads and manuals are a pain in traffic. You need comfort and a suspension that can handle the big divots.

While Subarus are the easy pick, I say go with the Volvo V60 Cross Country, it's not radically bigger than your Golf, so parking is still easy. But you get a few inches of lift and much more forgiving suspension setup. Volvos also have some of the most comfortable seats in the business. Of course, you will also get a slew of safety tech, and features to make that New England commute more bearable. Newer versions have a mild-hybrid setup that will help you get over 30 MPG. There are plenty of used V60s to choose from, such as this lightly used 2025 that is Volvo certified for just under $35,000.

Congratulations on moving to the greater Boston area, Noah. As you've clearly discovered, the potholes are a nightmare, and the question isn't so much whether or not one will eventually give you a flat as much as it's when that will happen. The real question is whether or not the impact that finally pops your tire (or tires!) will take a wheel out with it. You could always buy a crossover with more ride height, but that won't help much. Basically, you either need to go around them or over them.

If you simply bought a motorcycle, you could dodge potholes to your heart's content, but then you'd have to ride a motorcycle through Massachusetts' winter, and I can't imagine your wife would love that. In order to go over those potholes, though, we're going to have to do something you've said you don't want to do. I'm sorry, but you're going to need a Jeep Wrangler. I know you're already thinking that's the last thing you want, and Wranglers are too big for Boston, but are they? The two-door is only 167 inches long, while the "small" Toyota Corolla is 183 inches. Two-door Wranglers may be tall, but they aren't long, and you can still get a manual with the two-door, too.

Even better, with a $35,000 budget, you shouldn't have a hard time finding a manual, two-door Wrangler that you can afford at all. Here's a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Sport that I found over in Saco that looks like a decent deal — it's got 25,959 miles on it and is priced at $26,155. If you don't think the tires are big enough to handle MA's potholes, that'll leave you with plenty of money to throw even bigger tires on there. It may be hard for your current Golf-driving self to accept, but what you're really asking for is a Wrangler.

As a lifelong Northeasterner myself, Noah, I know what you're talking about with Boston roads. Massachusetts has some of the worst potholes in the country, if not the absolute worst in all 50 states. Still, though, that doesn't mean you should have to give up your auto enthusiast lifestyle. You might just need to change its genre a little bit, by getting really into rally.

We're going to get you a Subaru WRX, a prior-generation car that looks to be in good shape, but that's only the start. After all, this is a $23,000 car on your $35,000 budget — we've got room to make it perfect for your use case. Next you're going to want to throw some offroad springs on, which will hopefully smooth the car out over those big bumps, and to make things really pliable we'll downsize the wheels to 16 inches. Forums tell me these Method wheels should fit in a 16x7, and no car forum has ever lead anyone astray.

Get yourself two sets of wheels, one with summer tires and one with snows, and you'll likely still come in under that $35,000 budget. For that money, though, you'll have a manual-transmission all-wheel-drive monster ready to tackle the worst potholes the MassDOT can throw at you — and maybe a rally stage or two, should you happen upon one on your way home from work. Moving to Boston shouldn't force you to give up your fun-car lifestyle, Noah, and I'm here to ensure you can keep ripping around in a car that won't make your girlfriend too sick.