By Colby Mallery
I just spent a week and a half in Hawaii for my honeymoon, and while most people would come back talking about sunsets, snorkeling, or the insane amount of pineapple they consumed, my brain naturally drifted to something else entirely: the car culture. What people drive, how they drive, and what ends up dominating the roads in paradise says a lot about island life — and trust me, it’s nothing like the mainland.
This trip took me through Kauai and Maui, and each island had its own personality both on the road and off. So here’s what Hawaii looks like from a car enthusiast’s perspective — the good, the weird, and the “why is that Mustang on that road?”
Kauai: One Road, One Pace, and a Tacoma Takeover
Kauai is the quiet one. The lush Jurassic Park island. Beautiful, relaxed… and from a driving standpoint, incredibly simple.
There’s basically one main road that circles the island, and that’s it. One. Single. Road. It’s scenic, don’t get me wrong, but it also means traffic moves at a pace best described as tranquilized. With speeds that low and distances that short, sports cars basically don’t exist on Kauai. There’s just no point.
What does exist, in overwhelming, unavoidable numbers?
Toyota Tacomas.
I swear Tacomas outnumber every other truck three or four to one. After that it’s 4Runners, and then a scattering of Wrangler rentals that have never seen a day of off-road struggle in their lives.
As for rental cars, Kauai has two kings:
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Convertible EcoBoost Mustangs
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Kia Souls
And the funniest part? People still take those rental Mustangs onto roads where even a mountain goat would say, “Eh… maybe don’t.” Watching a 4-cylinder convertible try to conquer a washed-out gravel incline was… memorable.
Maui: Faster Roads, Bigger Builds, and Actual Car Personality
After slow-and-steady Kauai, landing in Maui felt like upgrading from a flip phone to a smartphone.
There are more highways. More lanes. More traffic. But even then, Hawaii keeps things humble: the highest speed limit on the entire island is 50 mph. And you know how most highways have on-ramps or exits? Not here. Maui just gives you massive, mega-intersections with lights that last 6–9 minutes.
Here’s where things get spicy:
When you’re turning right on red, you have to go from a dead stop to the flow of traffic immediately. Zero to “don’t get hit” in about half a second. It honestly makes the case that having a faster car is a safety feature in Maui.
And unlike Kauai, Maui actually has a car scene. In just a few days, I spotted:
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Five G-Wagons flexing on island time
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Multiple clean sports car builds
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And, naturally, every generation of Tacoma ever made
What I loved is that no single Tacoma generation dominates the island. Every era shows up: old square bodies, early 2000s rigs, new TRD Off-Roads, lifted builds, wide-body street trucks, surf rigs — all of them clean, purpose-built, and clearly loved.
My Rental: The Humble Kia Soul That Got the Job Done
For my honeymoon, I rented a Kia Soul through Turo, and honestly? It was perfect.
Turo, if you haven’t used it, is basically the Airbnb of cars. You rent from real people rather than a rental counter, which gives you better prices, better options, and sometimes a car with more personality than anything you’d get from Hertz.
My Soul was only $30 a day, which is a highway robbery level of good in Hawaii. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was dependable, efficient, and did everything I needed it to.
That said…
If you really want to see the best parts of Hawaii, you want a 4WD vehicle with ground clearance. There are too many beaches, scenic overlooks, unpaved detours, and cliffside roads where a normal rental just isn’t ideal. It’s not required — but it absolutely enhances the experience.
Island Roads Worth Writing Home About
Even with the quirks — slow traffic, endless red lights, random one-lane bridges — Hawaii offers some of the most breathtaking drives on the planet. Coastlines, mountains, waterfalls, volcanic stretches… it’s the kind of scenery that makes you forget you’re piloting a rental Kia Soul while trying to find a parking spot next to a lifted Tacoma on 35s.
Whether or not car culture is your thing, Hawaii showcases a fascinating blend of practicality, adventure, and the occasional luxury flex. Experiencing it from behind the wheel gives you a whole different appreciation for how island life shapes what people drive — and how they drive it.