Where? In France most people would take the train to travel a long distance (2h+ drive). I can be in Paris in 2 hours at 320km/h using the high-speed train whereas it would take me 6 hours at 130km/h using a car. Not counting the nightmare of going through the Parisian périphérique.
- Toulouse: 4h by train, 5h30 by car
- Nice: 5h30 by train, 5h by car
- Strasbourg: 4h15 by train, 5h15 by car
- Le Havre: 5h05 by train, 7h by car
- Nantes: 4h50 by train, 6h45 by car
Closer to 4h30 by car, although the train does drop you off directly in Part-Dieu. Still, this doesn't take into account the need to go to the train station.
>Nantes: 4h50 by train, 6h45 by car
From personal experience, I can promise you that 6h45 is horribly optimistic.
But really, that only furthers the point: Lyon is the second biggest city in France, and it's more or less equivalent to take the car to get there, with farther places slowly winning out on time. That's _dreadful_.
Planes are best for longer distances, and some sort of personal transportation is best for short distances.