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I'm unclear, and monolingual Japanese dictionaries aren't clarifying for me. My current assumptions are: (1) ドライブ seems to only mean driving an automobile, while 運転 can mean driving any type of vehicle. (2) ドライブ seems to usually mean driving for fun, although I've also seen it mean to drive somewhere for a specific purpose. (3) ドライブ seems to emphasize the act of you moving yourself places via a vehicle, while 運転 seems to emphasize the act of you operating the vehicle.

Which of these assumptions are correct/wrong, and are there any other nuances I'm missing?

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Your assumptions are all correct. ドライブ in Japanese has a strong tendency to refer to driving a car as a recreational activity.

  • (1) - Yes. 電車の運転 is fine but 電車のドライブ is incorrect.
  • (2) - Yes. ドライブ is typically what you do on a date or how car enthusiasts spend their holidays.
  • (3) - Yes. 運転が上手だ is fine but ドライブが上手だ makes little sense. But ドライビングテクニック is fine in contexts related to car racing.

That is not to say ドライブ is never used in the original English way.

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  • ドライブが上手だ can mean 楽しんでドライブすることが上手だ.
    – Chance
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 3:25
  • @Chance 「楽しんでドライブすることが上手だ」自体、ちょっと状況がよく分からないです…。少なくとも「平凡な運転に楽しみを見いだすのが上手い」みたいな意味はないですよね。
    – naruto
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 5:08
  • 言葉足らずですみません。「休みの日に気分転換にドライブをしようとしたけど、渋滞にはまったり、迷って狭い道ばっかり通って、早く家に帰りたくて仕方がなかった」って言う友人に、「ドライブ下手だなあ」と言えると思います。同様に、通っていた学校の近くの道を通ったり、いつも途中で曲がってしまう大通りをずっとまっすぐ運転するようなドライブを楽しんだ人をドライブが上手だと表現できると思います。（楽しそうとかよりもまず先にその感想は出てこないと思いますが）要するに、ドライブは「運転を楽しむこと」という意味が強いので、その意図でなら使っても問題がないという考えです。
    – Chance
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 5:46
  • @Chance そうですね、「散歩の達人」みたいなのと同じノリでなら言えるかもしれませんね…
    – naruto
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 11:49
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I guess it is better to think about the corresponding verbs: ドライブする and 運転する.

ドライブする is an intransitive verb. It means to cruise/drive a car. It can be for going somewhere for fun, but at least driving in the car is part of the fun.

運転する is a transitive verb meaning to drive/control in general. It can be a car, a bike, etc. (I feel 飛行機/船 more often comes with 操縦する).

As can be inferred from above, your impression is basically correct. ドライブ is more or less a cruise and 運転 is just controlling the vehicle. Note

  • 車の運転 is possible but 車のドライブ is odd (due to the intransitivity)
  • Since it implies a cruise, usually ドライブ is done by a 'normal' car. Not by lorries (of course it depends).
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