I haven't had to commute by car lately, so I can't compare it to commuting by Metro in Washington. I do prefer having a car to run errands and go to events over having to do the same using public transit. The Metro system in D.C. was designed to move commuters from the suburbs to the downtown and back again. It really sucks if you are trying to use it for other activities.
[WS:] DC Metro may not be the greatest thing in the world, but it is beyond doubt a far better alternative to driving in this utterly confusing maze of circles and streets crisscrossing at every imaginable angle. This city is a fucking nightmare. DC is the ONLY city in which I routinely get lost, even though I visit it quite regularly. Therefore, I simply refuse to drive into this mad hellhole. Riding MARC and Metro may not be perfect, but at least I know where I am going.
As to the aesthetic aspect - I agree it has a sanitized, corporate and non-descript look, but it can be much, much worse - cf. Crystal City, which is hell. What I like about the Metro, though, is that it is a true melting pot - every imaginable kind of people occupying the same physical space, democratically, no limos, no first and business classes, no fatheads taking four seats for themselves, or sitting above others and farting exhaust fumes in other people's faces.
Wojtek