These Are The Most Popular Cars For Each Generation Of Car Owners
We always seem to want to know what the most popular cars are wherever we live. That’s no different in America. People pore over sales figures, ownership data, reviews by owners, and reliability surveys, trying to see what everyone loves right now. That’s only compounded when you have a look at what different generations of car buyers choose.
There Are Currently Four Main Generations Of Car Owners In America
At any given time, there are typically four generations of people in America who are buying cars. In 2026, these are the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (also known as Millennials) and Generation Z. The Baby Boomers are typically the oldest car buyers, with plenty of them approaching retirement age at this point. Generation Z is obviously the youngest, but they’ve only really just entered into the car market. Not all of Gen Z is old enough to even drive, let alone own a car – the youngest Zoomers (as they’ve become known) were born in 2012, making them only 13 or 14 years old in 2026.
The car market today is huge. New and used customers are presented with everything from sports cars to SUVs. They’re also presented with a huge variety of different powertrain options. So, what are people buying now? How are different generations buying differently? That’s what we’re going to have a look at here.
Distinct Generational Divides Are Forming Over What Cars They Like The Most
Generational divides are something that we see in all sorts of different things. Cars are no exception. A 2024 study published by Insurify has highlighted that there are distinct divides between what cars Americans of different generations buy. While this study is now a couple of years old, it does show some interesting trends. Those trends do seem to line up with how things are right now in 2026, too.
What Cars Are The Most Popular With Different Generations?
If generational divides are happening in what kind of cars people own, then what cars do the different generations of car owners in America have? The answers are cars that may not surprise you, as they’re generally quite popular cars anyway. But there is a genuinely curious difference between which of these popular models different generations are going for.
Gen Z’s Favorite Is A Small, Reliable Japanese Model
Gen Z’s car of choice is a perennial favorite in North America. That’s the Honda Civic, an affordable compact that can get you from A to B safely and reliably. It’s not exactly a boring car either, as there are multiple variants that have a decent amount of power under the hood. That includes the beloved Type R, an enthusiast’s car of choice for decades at this point. Honda isn’t just represented by the Civic either, as the mid-sized Accord takes second place. The third most-popular car with Gen Z is another mid-sized Japanese car that’s always been popular with American buyers – the ever-dependable Toyota Camry.
The Millennial Favorite Is A Practical Japanese Sedan
The car choices of American Millennials actually aren’t too different from Gen Z. In fact, the second-most popular car among Gen Z is the most popular car among Millennials! It’s not hard to understand why millennial car buyers would love the Honda Accord. It’s safe, practical, reliable, and does pretty much anything you could ask of a car. Plus, there are some variants that have genuine sleeper status due to their performance.
Unlike with Gen Z, the top 3 millennial car choices are all mid-sized sedans. The Nissan Altima (also the fourth-ranked car for Gen Z) is the second-place pick for the millennial generation, while the Toyota Camry takes third place like it does with Gen Z.
Gen Xers And Boomers Both Love One Of America’s Most Popular Pick-Ups
The two older generations of American car buyers have surprisingly similar tastes in what they like the best. For both of them, the top choice is America’s most popular vehicle overall. That’s the Ford F-Series pick-up truck, one of the most quintessentially American choices on the market. While its main focus is practicality, there are a couple of full-blooded high-performance F-Series trucks in the F-150 Raptor and F-150 Raptor R.
The rest of the top three choices for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers is more along the lines of what you might see with younger generations. The Toyota Camry is second on the lists for both, something that’s not even slightly surprising when you consider the reputation these cars have always had. The third place spot is where these generations do differ, though. The third-most popular car for Baby Boomers is the Toyota Corolla, while the third-most popular car for Gen X is the Honda Accord.
What Does This Tell Us About The Cars Different Generations Are Buying?
Now that we’ve seen what the most popular cars among different generations of car owners in America are, what does it tell us about what’s going on? There are actually a few interesting conclusions we can take from these trends. Some of those trends are ones you may have already noticed. Some also make quite a bit of logical sense. At least one of them, though, does require a little bit of thinking to work out why things might be that way.
A Handful Of Cars Are Popular With Every Generation
While there are definite generational divides in what cars are the most popular, there are a handful that every single generation seems to agree on. These are often perennial best-sellers, with great reputations that have endured for years or even decades. They may also be cars that have been handed down from parents to children. Toyota is the undisputed ruler in this regard, with two models (the Corolla and the Camry) appearing in the top 10 of every single generation in the study. The Honda Accord is another car that appears in the top 10 of every single generation. The Nissan Altima appears in the top 10 of every single generation too. The Japanese automakers clearly have something good going on here!
Another Handful Are Popular With Most Generations, But Not All
As well as the universally popular models, there are a few that only one generation seems to not like enough for them to get a top 10 spot everywhere. The Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Chevrolet Malibu appear on the top 10s of every generation except for the Baby Boomers. On the opposite side of things, the Ford F-Series and the Chevrolet Silverado appear on the top 10s of every generation except for the Zoomers. The apparent dislike of these two quintessentially American pick-up trucks by Gen Z is actually something we’re going to get into a bit later…
There Are A Few That Only One Or Two Generations Really Like
While there are plenty of cars that are liked across different generations, Insurify’s study also found that there are a few models that only broke into the top 10 of one or two generations out of the four. The Ford Escape, Nissan Rogue and Honda CR-V are only popular with Baby Boomers, ranking 7th, 8th and 10th on their top 10 respectively. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers also share an affinity with the Chevrolet Equinox that no other generations do – it ranks 9th for both those generations.
On the other end of the age spectrum, Gen Z has two popular models that no other generation shares the love for. Those are the Ford Fusion and the Nissan Sentra, ranking 9th and 10th respectively in the Gen Z column. Zoomers and Millennials also seem to share a love for the Hyundai Sonata that no other generation does – it’s the 7th most popular car among Gen Z, and the 8th most popular car among Millennials.
Barely Any Enthusiast Models Are Represented
Perhaps one of the most glaring things you may notice about the most popular cars for each generation is there’s barely any representation for proper enthusiast models. There are several cars featured in the top 10s for each generation that have high-performance variants. The Honda Civic has its Type R version, the Toyota GR Corolla is sold in America, there’s the fantastic and underrated Hyundai Elantra N, and the high-performance Ford F-150s we’ve already mentioned. A few other cars have variants that can be considered sleepers, too. There’s the Toyota Camry TRD, the Hyundai Sonata N Line, the Ford Fusion Sport, and the older versions of the Nissan Altima that could be ordered with the 3.5-liter VQ35 V6. But, when it comes to out-and-out sports cars, there aren’t any there at all.
The simplest way this could probably be explained is that, typically, dedicated sports cars are bought as second cars by people who are really into cars. They’ll often have a regular car for their daily driving that’ll more than likely be from one of the cars that’s appeared as a popular choice for each generation. So, there just wouldn’t be a big enough percentage of sports car ownership for a popular sports car like the Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang or Mazda MX-5 Miata to make it in there.
Gen Z Doesn’t Like SUVs And Pick-Up Trucks
The final trend we’ve picked up on in this study is perhaps one of the most interesting. Generation Z doesn’t seem to like SUVs and pick-up trucks very much, compared to older generations. Neither type appears at all in their top 10 – it’s dominated by compact and mid-sized cars. Millennials seem to share in the relative dislike of SUVs too, although the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado pick-up trucks are 6th and 10th on their list.
Why don’t younger generations like SUVs as much, and why does Gen Z not really like SUVs and pick-ups? There are a couple of reasons why. Gen Z could be deliberately going for more efficient vehicles, out of concern for the environment. Gen Z may see the macho image of pick-up trucks as too ‘toxic’ for them, reminding them of the ideals of older generations that they want to leave behind. Bigger cars also tend to be more expensive to buy, insure and run, pricing younger drivers out of them for the time being.
The most practical reason, though, may be that they simply don’t have a need for bigger cars. Many Zoomers don’t have their own families yet. Quite a few of them don’t even have pets, or if they do their pets are smaller animals like cats. As a result, they simply don’t need the extra practicality and space you get from pick-up trucks and SUVs. When they get older and have kids of their own, they may start dipping their toes more into truck and SUV ownership.
Sources: Insurify
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