Sevilla day trip: car or train??

Train, no contest, unless you like to drive in a large city with narrow winding streets. The cost of parking isn't the problem, it is the congestion, old streets, etc.

Take the train from Cordoba to Seville. The day before Palm sunday can be hectic with crowds in Spain. Traffic and parking can be a headache. You don't need the hassle. Take the train and be stress free. From Seville you can train to Jerez and also visit that town.

The train will be much faster--about 45 min. vs. 1 hr. 45 min. And that's without considering the time required to pick up and return the car and locate parking in Seville.

However, the train tickets may be quite costly at this point. I suggest looking at the fares immediately. They will not go down. The cheapest tickets (if any still remain) will be for non-refundable/non-changeable tickets. Here's the Renfe website. If you wish to buy now and have trouble with the Renfe website (it isn't an easy one if you don't read Spanish), you can probably get about the same price from trainline.eu. Do not buy from RailEurope.

It was my assumption that someone planning to take a day-trip to a city where most people spend multiple nights would want the fastest form of transportation possible. The MD train will take at least 33 min. longer in each direction. The schedule might also be an issue for some (late-sleeping) travelers, in that the latest practical MD departure is at 9:08 AM.

At the moment there are good prices on AVANTs at 7:55 and 10:20, as well as on an AV City train at 9:10. The other departures (all AVEs, but not more than 2 or 3 minutes faster) are more expensive. The schedule shows one morning train already sold out.

Buying a $55 train ticket for a day-trip would make me most unhappy. That's the walk-up price on the AVEs.

I'm seeing 24.30 euros for the AVEs, one way. But it wouldn't be the first time I misinterpreted rail fares on the Renfe website.

Awesome advice, thanks all!

But why not book tickets on the RailEurope site? I've read that it's easier than the Renfe site, which is notorious for rejecting North American credit cards.

RailEurope often doesn't show all the trains. Some people think it prefers to show the more expensive ones; that's not something I've ever attempted to verify.

Rail Europe often (always?) charges more for the tickets and/or charges substantial extra fees.

Loco2.com is used by a lot of people on the forum. It sells at the same price as the railroads and reportedly does not charge fees.

Trainline.eu is also used by a lot of people on the forum. It also sells at the same price as the railroads. I'm not clear on its current fee policy, but if it charges extra fees they are very small.