If you have e.g. outdoors activities in sparsely populated areas as a hobby, having a car gives you a lot more freedom than being dependent on public transport.

If you have e.g. outdoors activities in sparsely populated areas as a hobby, having a car gives you a lot more freedom than being dependent on public transport. Buses may work if you're only going to locations that are popular enough but that may limit your options. Of course you could also rent but that could become expensive or cumbersome if you do it often enough. Also, if you live in a sparsely populated area, public transport with good coverage often isn't really economically (or ecologically) feasible, even in countries that have good public transport in cities. A bicycle might be an option if distances aren't too great but relying on it exclusively probably takes more than an average person is willing to take on. Weather conditions could be poor, you might regularly need to transport groceries for an entire family, etc. All of that is entirely doable within a few miles in a bikeable city but it's potentially a lot less so if distances are greater. I've never owned a car, I bicycle some thousands of kilometres per year (probably more than I drive most years), and I wish people didn't automatically consider owning a car a necessity even when it actually isn't. But I can definitely see reasons for owning one.