13 Surprisingly Normal Cars Celebrities Drive

It might not be surprising to hear that most celebrities, from rappers to actors to sports stars, own cars worth millions of dollars. Many icons of pop culture seem to embrace the adage “if you’ve got it, flaunt it,” which means it’s possible to come up with very long lists of jaw-dropping cars driven by celebrities. Not every star, however, is out to be as flashy as possible.

There are celebrities who drive surprisingly normal cars. In fact, their rides are so generic that they often go under the radar when out in public, making it hard to get a photo of them actually behind the wheel. Plenty of celebs have been outspoken about the vehicles they drive, even when they’re not rolling in a Rolls-Royce or Bugatti. From Toyota to Chevrolet to Ford and more, some celebrities choose the same cars as non-millionaires, and we’ve tracked down a bunch of them.

America Ferrera has been a Hollywood staple for ages, but just because she’s one of the brightest (and richest) doesn’t mean she drives a star-studded whip. When she got her first real paycheck from acting, Ferrera did splurge on a car, but it wasn’t one that cost millions.

The 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage that Ferrera purchased as her first car was nothing flashy. However, it was her ticket off the struggle bus, not to mention the actual bus. Though the car only cost around $12,000, Ferrera noted that her first paycheck — for a Disney movie — felt massive at the time. As her career grew, with one of her most notable on-screen appearances coming in the smash hit “Barbie,” Ferrera may have moved on from the Mirage, though her later purchases were still not Lambo-level.

Reflecting on a bad budgeting moment early in her career, Ferrera told Entertainment Weekly that she initially made the mistake of leasing a BMW with her “first big paycheck.” In the 2016 interview, Ferrera explained that she later traded the vehicle for a Toyota after realizing her money only went so far.

An interview with Matt Damon and Christian Bale revealed just how frugal the latter is with his many millions of dollars. As of a few years ago, Christian Bale was still proudly driving a 2003 Toyota Tacoma around Hollywood. Bale’s choice of vehicle is not necessarily due to the cost of flashier cars, though. Damon revealed that Bale has a “dream” of one day loading up his motorcycles in the back of his pickup truck, though he had apparently been “banned” from riding motorcycles for a time.

When questioned about why he chose to drive an older Tacoma — which he bought used — Bale defended his decision by pointing out that people always need things picked up. Thus, a pickup truck is a smart choice, and, according to Bale, there’s nothing wrong with driving an older model. Bale is, objectively, not wrong; the Tacoma has one of the best five-year resale values, per KBB. The actor’s Tacoma may not be the best-looking truck on the road at over 20 years old, but at least it’s still on the road.

Given rapper and actor Ludacris’ ties to fast cars, you might be surprised to find out that his daily driver isn’t one of the “Fast and Furious” models. While Tej Parker might have driven fancier cars on screen, Ludacris is just fine with an Acura Legend while tooling around town. Granted, he does own a garage full of expensive cars, including a Range Rover, Ferrari, and McLaren, but his favorite is apparently his 1993 Acura Legend.

In 2021, Ludacris wrote on Instagram that he would drive the Legend until its wheels fell off. In the post, he included a photo of himself sitting on the hood of the car, as well as an image of the car’s odometer. With the caption inviting followers to tag anyone whose car had more miles, Ludacris showed that his Acura had 257,616 miles.

Assuming it’s still on the road today, that’s an impressive number of miles to rack up, and even more impressive that Ludacris is still maintaining it when he has so many other cars at the ready.

Sure, Leonardo DiCaprio is also known to have owned collectible Jeeps, and clearly, he can spend millions on any car he wants. Yet there was a time when DiCaprio drove a very unassuming and surprisingly normal Toyota Prius. In what The Hollywood Reporter termed a “green revolution,” the Toyota Prius became a weird sort of status symbol in the early 2000s.

With a vision of making the Prius a calling card for celebrities passionate about the environment, the then-CEO of the Environmental Media Association encouraged celebrities to embrace the car. The result was famous faces like Leonardo DiCaprio driving them, despite the Prius’ notoriously bland look.

Not only did the Toyota Prius give celebrities the feeling that they could help the environment a little bit, but those same celebrities, in turn, encouraged the public to try them out, too. These days, Tesla might be perceived as the car of choice for environmentally focused celebrities, but the Prius did it first.

The Toyota Prius wave doesn’t seem to have stopped with Leonardo DiCaprio. It turns out that many celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, some earlier than others. In 2017, multiple Toyota dealerships blogged about celebrities driving the Prius, and one frequent mention was Jessica Alba.

One dealership wrote that the actress is well known for being a crusader for the environment. Thus, the then-cutting-edge Prius was the obvious choice. It’s unclear whether Alba bought her Prius or was possibly gifted it. However, the Environmental Media Association’s promotional efforts involving the Prius did not include giving the cars away for free, so it’s likely that Alba bought the Prius out of environmental motivation.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jessica Alba were far from the only celebrities to embrace the Prius. With others like Meryl Streep, Cameron Diaz, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lance Bass, and Nicole Richie following suit, the Prius was ubiquitous in Hollywood for a while and created a trend of celebrities driving normal and, arguably, boring cars.

Not every 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu is a show-stopping work of art, which is why Ryan Gosling’s ride of choice is surprisingly normal. Of course, in Gosling’s case, he owns the car his character drove in the movie “Drive.” The Malibu, which is heavily featured in promo material for the film, went home with Gosling, according to an interview in which he revealed what kind of merchandise or props he had kept from past film projects.

Gosling’s “The Fall Guy” co-star Emily Blunt jokingly asked whether he stole the car from the set, which Gosling denied. Given that the car was a significant part of the movie’s plot, both Blunt and the interviewer seemed surprised that the actor was allowed to keep it. That said, the ’73 Malibu from the film was quite nondescript compared to some restored models, making it a surprisingly normal pick for the very rich and famous Gosling.

Most discussions about Taylor Swift’s daily transportation picks might center on her private jet. It’s one of the least surprising splurges when it comes to celebrity travel. After all, the jet is worth many millions of dollars, which is more like pennies to the reported billionaire.

Of course, Taylor Swift also owns a fleet of luxury cars, although there are some unexpectedly average entries on the list. For instance, her first-ever car is said to have been a pink Chevrolet Silverado, which is arguably very normal, apart from the color. Swift is also said to own Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Range Rover, Porsche, Audi, and Ferrari models.

While those might not be normal, one vehicle in her lineup is: Taylor Swift apparently owns a relatively nondescript Toyota Sequoia. It’s possible that Swift prefers her Sequoia for getting around town without being trailed by paparazzi, but either way, it’s one vehicle in her collection that the average person could probably afford.

Leave it to Lady Gaga to drive one of the least flashy and most modest cars out there. Granted, like other celebs, Stefani Germanotta does own a handful of unique classic cars, like a Lincoln Continental Convertible and a 1990 Rolls-Royce. Lady Gaga also has a vintage Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, plus a Lamborghini Huracán.

Yet the most relatable vehicle Gaga drives is a Ford Bronco that is anything but souped-up. While photos of the singer in her clean-looking 1967 Ford Bronco reveal that it’s not the beater you might imagine, it’s still not a common celebrity vehicle. Rather, the Ford Bronco is more of a people’s car, something you might even have sitting in your garage.

Admittedly, those of us who’ve driven older-model Ford Broncos would be the first to admit that repairs can easily make you wish you had millionaire-level funds to pull from. But in a garage full of expensive sports cars, Lady Gaga still chooses her Bronco on occasion, and that’s a surprisingly average way to get around.

Another Ford Bronco driver, Sydney Sweeney’s choice of daily ride might be surprising. Unlike Lady Gaga, who drives an older Bronco, Sweeney owns a newer model. In 2023, Ford reported that the actress was participating in an off-road event with the brand. At the time, Sweeney was the new owner of a Limited-Edition Bronco Heritage.

The event not only featured Sweeney off-roading on camera for Ford but also included a series of videos posted to the brand’s Instagram and Sweeney’s own social media accounts. It turns out that not only does Sydney Sweeney drive a not-so-flashy car, but she also likes working on cars and regularly shares the restoration process of her vehicles online.

Her TikTok showcases not only the restoration of her older-model Ford Mustang but also her work on her light blue Bronco Heritage. The most surprisingly normal part of Sweeney’s driving habits might just be the fact that she checks her own tire pressure and even does her own brake work.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an interesting character, both on and off screen. From being the Terminator to serving as California’s governor to the scandal involving the now-grown child he had with his family’s former housekeeper, his life in the spotlight has been a wild ride. Though the actor and politician does own some wild rides, too, he also has a vehicle that’s pretty normal compared to what most major celebrities drive.

Arnold Schwarzenegger famously encouraged the production of the Humvee, made by Hummer. Not only did he push the brand to produce the Humvee, but he also encouraged his fans to lean toward eco-friendly options. Apparently, it wasn’t an option for Arnold to buy a hybrid, so instead, he converted his Humvee into an electric vehicle.

Amid vehicles like an actual Austrian army tank, multiple Bentleys, a Porsche, and various Mercedes-Benz models, an all-electric Humvee is not that odd. In fact, it might be the most normal car this celebrity drives.

Travis Barker does not seem to do anything quietly, but his choice of car might not be the most noticeable thing about him. His all-time favorite car is a 1987 Buick GNX. For a celebrity, it’s a pretty tame-looking ride, but honestly, it’s only “normal” if you don’t know the history of the vehicle. Most older Buicks aren’t exactly eye-catching, and they’re definitely not the fastest vehicles on the road.

After all, an ’80s-era Buick doesn’t bring to mind a super-fast or super-flashy car. However, the GNX is one of the fastest Buicks ever made. The GNX is a special version of the Buick Grand National, and only a few hundred were ever built. Clearly, the GNX is pricey, but it’s only impressive if you really know what you’re looking at.

To the average person driving down the street, the car would probably only stand out if they caught sight of Travis Barker behind the wheel.

Jerry Seinfeld is known for his massive car collection, but he doesn’t always splash out in a big way while driving around town. For one thing, Seinfeld does not like Lexus cars, which suggests that he generally avoids the brand. However, one vehicle he previously owned was a 1991 Nissan Figaro.

The car is not necessarily the most ordinary thing you’ll see on the road. The Figaro has a distinctive look, which is probably why Seinfeld drove it for an episode of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” By 2019, however, Seinfeld no longer owned the car, and it was put up for sale by Sotheby’s.

According to the Sotheby’s listing, the Pale Aqua car is thought to be one of around 4,000 vehicles with that particular paint job, but the model was also available in three other colors. The Figaro was apparently not rare, given that the estimated sale price at Sotheby’s was $35,000 to $45,000. At that price, it’s not too wild to assume that a non-millionaire could afford one, if they wanted to.

Jeff Bezos was once applauded for driving a Honda Accord, a standard daily driver for many average folks. He is also said to have been driving the older model during many of Amazon’s historic moments. However, Bezos has since expanded his car collection, and not every vehicle in it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

These days, Jeff Bezos’ garage reportedly includes an all-electric Rivian R1T. The vehicle, which is available to consumers, is the brainchild of a California startup that had the good fortune of partnering with Amazon. In 2021, NBC News reported that Amazon had invested $700 million in Rivian and ordered over 100,000 vehicles for use in its delivery service.

Rivian vehicles were also used at a Blue Origin launch in 2021, with pre-production models taking the crew to launch sites. Though delays meant that the average consumer likely had to wait longer than Bezos to get a brand-new Rivian, it’s now possible to drive the same car as the owner of Amazon.