What's least inconvenient depends dramatically on context. For example, I've lived in and more-or-less near New York City at various times. Living in the city, I didn't bother owning a car. Too much traffic! And impossibly expensive parking, unless I wanted to commute to my car ;) Whenever I actually had to drive somewhere, I just borrowed or rented a car.

Within the city, I almost always used subways. That was mostly back in the day when they were very grungy. And they're still horribly noisy, compared to those in Toronto, Moscow, London, etc. Or even Chicago ;)

Sometimes I lived near the city, with easy access to light rail. So I used that, because it was much less hassle, and less expensive, than driving. There is always the risk of missing the last train, of course. But hey, stuff happens ;)

When I lived near the city, with no easy access to light rail, I tended to commute to the train station. If there was one closer than the city, anyway. That was still less hassle than driving.

But when I've lived way out in the suburbs, driving was often the only option. As others have noted, public transit just doesn't work for suburbs. People and their destinations are way too scattered. So there must be multiple transfers, and long waits.

Maybe one of the "pods on tracks" designs will work out. Or maybe people will just move back to cities.