The people claiming that they have optimized for "practical" reasons don't convince me. I mean, if they are driving a manual 1998 Toyota Tercel, maybe. But once you are talking about a new car, or even a slightly used car, you are weighing many factors beyond price and simple function. Because if price and function were your only concerns, you'd be driving something like a 1998 Toyota Tercel. It will cost you like $1,000 to buy, as little to insure as possible, use very little gas, and even when it needs repairs you are going to end up far, far below the total price-per-mile-driven of anything.

So, other than THAT GUY, everybody else is valuing some kind of less-quantifiable preference and deciding on their car within their budget. They just think they sound smarter if they say it is the "best" option for practical reasons .