Car or Train in Spain

Twenty to twenty-five bucks a day.

Thanks! I was afraid of that.

You might find parking as low as €15 for a 24 hour period, €1.50 per hour.
Why do you want a car in cities which are manageable (I doubt you will be going far away from tourist sites) by foot or a short bus ride?

Since you title is "Car or Train in Spain" I guess you are comparing prices to decide. For that you need the actual train ticket prices on Renfe, not RailEurope ripoff prices. Here are some: Madrid to Sevilla on the AVE, 22 or 28 euros for Promo fare Sevilla to Malaga, 23 euro on the MD or 42 euro on the Avant which is 30 minutes faster
Sevilla to Granada, 29 euros. Driving and parking IN these cities is tough. The train works great.

Sasha is a little over-optimistic on fares, suffice to say they are considerably cheaper buying direct early than waiting until the last minute. As a general rule, Spain's trains don't offer good coverage. The car becomes really helpful as an alternative to buses when traveling outside of the major train corridors. If you're just traveling to cities that can be reached by train, and there are only two of you - you're almost certainly going to choose the train. If you are a larger group, or if you plan to make intermediate stops that wouldn't be reachable without a car, you need to choose the car. We drove a car around Spain most of the month last April. Outside the major cities, parking was mostly free. Inside the big cities (and small tight cities) parking was around 20-25 euro a day. We used the AVE from Cordoba to Madrid (mostly because we wanted to experience it at least once). I purchased in the area of 60 days ahead and paid a decent, but not as cheap as Sasha's, price.

Those fares are directly from Renfe, checked today. The only one that is an advance purchase discount fare is the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla. I checked for 60 days out (late May). Tthe fares on the Avant and other trains between Sevilla and malaga, and Sevilla and Granada, are anytime fares; there is no discount for advance purchase. Since Carroll asked specifically about Granada, Sevilla, and Granada, that is all I checked. A car is not much good in those cities. Obviously if they are going elsewhere, like small towns in Andalucia not served by train, they might well want a car for that part.

Brad, Renfe has restructured their fares and offers even better discounts (Promo fares) than the Web fares they had previously. Two years ago, we got the Web fare from Madrid to Sevilla, and it was 33 euro (60% off). Now they offer discounts as much as 70% off on the Promo fares but not on all trains. The Promo fare for Madrid to Sevilla for the dates I checked ranged from that low of 22 euro on the first morning train up to 42 on some trains, but many were 29 euros so I'd say that is a realistic price, not overly-optimistic. The Promo fares seem to be more available than the old Web fares as well; you don't have to beon the computer exactly 62 days in advance to get them.

We loved the freedom of the rental, especially for exploring areas that were not easily acessed by public trans. We flew from Barcelona to Granada, and did not pick up a rental until we left for Cordoba. We went to to Sevilla, and parked our car in a lot; it was around $25/day. We used the car to explore Jezez and some of the hill towns. Malaga was our last stop. Again parking was around $25.

I stand corrected. I didn't think the train fares were particularly attractive in Spain unless you bought well ahead.

You are from Texas, so am I. Driving in Spain is about as easy and as necessary as in Texas. But here is an caveat. DO NOT GET ANYWHERE NEAR DOWNTOWN SEVILLA OR GRANADA IN A CAR. The centers of those cities are to be left to local cab drivers. They were designed in midieval times. Cabs are probably cheaper than parking and easier on your nerves. Try to park somewhere toward the edge of the Central Business District and take a cab in. We drove around central Granada with a Granada native (cousin) behind the wheel. Nightmarish. I am very seasoned traveler. Not only is central city parking scarce and expensive it requires a pretty high level of parking skill to come out with without dings and scratches in those cities. As for Malaga - we skirted it on the highway.

You are from Texas, so am I. Driving in Spain is about as easy and as necessary as in Texas. But here is an caveat. DO NOT GET ANYWHERE NEAR DOWNTOWN SEVILLA OR GRANADA IN A CAR. The centers of those cities are to be left to local cab drivers. They were designed in midieval times. Cabs are probably cheaper than parking and easier on your nerves. Try to park somewhere toward the edge of the Central Business District and take a cab in. We drove around central Granada with a Granada native (cousin) behind the wheel. Nightmarish. I am very seasoned traveler. Not only is central city parking scarce and expensive it requires a pretty high level of parking skill to come out with without dings and scratches in those cities. As for Malaga - we skirted it on the highway.

You are from Texas, so am I. Driving in Spain is about as easy and as necessary as in Texas. But here is an caveat. DO NOT GET ANYWHERE NEAR DOWNTOWN SEVILLA OR GRANADA IN A CAR. The centers of those cities are to be left to local cab drivers. They were designed in midieval times. Cabs are probably cheaper than parking and easier on your nerves. Try to park somewhere toward the edge of the Central Business District and take a cab in. We drove around central Granada with a Granada native (cousin) behind the wheel. Nightmarish. I am very seasoned traveler. Not only is central city parking scarce and expensive it requires a pretty high level of parking skill to come out with without dings and scratches in those cities. As for Malaga - we skirted it on the highway.