This has not been my experience at all but maybe thats just where I live in central jersey on the northeast corridor. Nj transit is a godsend for how much cheaper, easier, faster, and more efficient it is. Also having a car in nyc is an awful idea and I love being able to go wherever I want without needing to find and pay for expensive parking. Even if I cant just get dropped off on the nj side its still way easier and cheaper to park on the nj side. Avoid bring a car to manhattan at all costs lmao

The tolls are very expensive and have been for a long time. Definitely recommend looking into nj transit. A round trip train ticket is cheaper than the tolls and you save on gas and parking costs in the city. It also saves you from spending time looking for parking spots and risking damage to your car.

However, if you are visiting people deep in queens or brooklyn, driving may be significantly faster than taking nj transit in to manhattan and then taking the subway out to the edges of those boroughs. I would refer to google maps for your case. If you are just going into manhattan it will usually be just as fast if not faster to take the trains and you get the benefit of not shackling yourself down with a car in manhattan.

Happy travels and whatever you do, good luck with the christmas day nyc traffic!