thinking about getting into the ride-share business? well, this week's window shop is the one for you. a reader asked us to look for the perfect car for uber or lyft and set a $15,000 budget. in the interest of not getting fired from our day jobs searching autotempest.com for hoopties, we raised the budget to $20,000 and actually took the challenge seriously. every car you'll see this week actually makes sense. five stars, here we come.
as usual, road & track senior editor john pearley huffman is convinced that his choice is the clear winner. pearley's fuel-sipping sedan is very boring, but he also found a low-mileage example that has years and years of money-making years ahead of it. but, pearley's pick doesn't have the luxurious cachet of senior editor joey capparella's long-wheelbase infiniti, a car that capparella insists will qualify for uber black.
whether or not capparella's infiniti will earn him extra money, we move on to contributor jonathon ramsey's car, which has a lot of flexibility and the ability to carry seven passengers. ramsey's car pushes the budget, but he's still able to by plenty of smarties for his riders. watch and you'll learn that 4.5 pounds of smarties costs about $20 and that pearley has never enjoyed smarties.
deputy testing director k.c. colwell picks a minivan that prioritizes the comfort of his passengers over all else. although his van has 120,000 miles on the odometer and butts up against the $20,000 budget, it has the most interior space, room for skis, and an lcd screen so passengers can watch window shop. finally, car director tony quiroga (that's his new title) presents a choice that combines the best attributes of the other choices.
watch until the end and you'll learn all about the pitfalls of fabric upholstery, how to make sure that your car qualifies for uber black, and why uber drivers always have a case of water in the trunk. the choices might be a little dull this week, but that didn't stop us from fighting and bickering.