The key words here are "matters" and "need".

I bought the car I have today because driving my small 4 door hatchback was no longer a feaseable endeavour when wanting to move the entire family all at once. It was an objective need, not something it mattered.

You can reply I didn't need to get a family or the dogs. You're right. But that actually mattered to me, regardless if it was an objective need.

I think shifting baselines is a real issue with car bloat. It should be going the other way where a Focus is seen as a mid-size and the like of the Fiesta a compact rather then sub-compact.

You don't have access to Stellantis FIAT line? The Doblo and Scudo (short chassis model) are pretty affordable and decently compact.

I hate to break it to you, but small to medium SUVs replaced station wagons, just taller. According to my insurance company, my “SUV” is a station wagon

The Audi A6, Mercedes E class and VW Passat are available I believe. I have seen A6es and E classes in the USA.

The Kia Niro and the Hyundai Kona are both basically station wagons and they have EV models.

If I had been faced with such a situation, I would go for something like this or this and be done with.

Not the smallest but practical.

You could also change your life in a way that sitting in traffic is not your day's highlight, but you do you

Does it actually add that much to your life?

There's a big external cost, but if you spend your weekend taking it to car shows or working on it, then I get it - some people play MMO games just for the fishing minigame. If having a mustang is a big part of your reason for being, fine. Mine is to build things for the sake of learning how to build them... Does the world need an AI agent specifically made to be have a strong personality? Not really, most people aren't even ready for that so I'm not planning on releasing it publicly. But I'm burning the time and resources to make her, because the act of creation brings me joy

If it's for your quality of life... Say, your job is to drive around all day, and mustangs strangely have seats that keep you from having back pain... Fine, that job shouldn't exist but we have the system we have, and I can't blame someone for minimizing their suffering

But really ask yourself - is this actually something that makes your life better? Or does it just fit the idea you have of success created from a lifetime of exposure to marketing?

If that's the case, I'm sure you felt joy in buying it, and you feel like it's a sign of social status... But that attitude is poison. It's like burning a forest because causing destruction helps soothe the anger you have at a world that sucks because of the lack of green spaces... Sure it might soothe your suffering a bit, but it's ultimately hurting humanity in aggregate far more than it helps you. And what's worse, is it feeds the system that caused the suffering you seek to soothe

If you could truly enjoy it. Stuck in traffic, a Mustang is little more than eye candy and ego soothing.