high mpg + reliability= ???

[atticdog]

get a 2003 toyota echo for around $8000
completely reliable and 40+ mpg

[TrueDetailer]

you could always get a early vw bug 60-70`s. you know the scion xb is awesome. it gets decent mpg and it has alot of room. I`m 6`7 300 pounds and i have plenty of room being the driver or a backseat rider.

[Jngrbrdman]

The Echo isn`t going to happen. I`ve got serious issues with that car thinking it is ok to move the gauge pod around. The Scion isn`t going to happen either. The only thing looking like the xB that I`d be caught dead in is the box they bury me in. I think those things are the worst looking cars since the Aztec. Just personal opinion though.... everybody is a critic.

Depending on the promotion or not will probably have a lot to do with what we decide to do. Personally I`d love to get a new(er) car just so I don`t have to worry about the maintance factor. Jennifer has a problem telling me when something is starting to go wrong in her car. I have to drive it to find out the brakes are totally shot. I need something that I don`t have to worry about falling apart on her just because she doesn`t realize what certian things mean. All I know is that we just want a normal looking car. Nothing crazy like a Scion and definitely nothing German. I`d like to stick with something japanese so my Subaru can talk to it in the garage at night.

[Hawaiianelement]

Come to think of it the Echo looks like an Aztec doesn`t it ??

For what its worth the Civic 2dr and 4dr have started to appeal to me. I like the looks of the 2dr Accord also if its sitting right. I must be getting old...37..

[atticdog]

The instrument pod being in the middle doesnt bother me at all
this is the 03 echo with sport package

[The Fuzz]

I`ve always been one to believe that if the car in your driveway doesn`t excite you, then you shouldn`t buy it. If there is something that doesn`t work for you (like a guage pod in the middle of the dash) then it probably isn`t a car you will be able to get excited about. A front wheel drive car doesn`t excite me. I wouldn`t be able to have one in my driveway and be excited about it. I`d rather ride a bicylce. At least it is rear wheel drive.

[Hawaiianelement]

I`ll give atticdog 10 pts for the Hayabusa. That would be my daily driver ..

[Cephas]

Just to clear a few things up I put Passat, not any other VW. The Passat is an Audi built in Audi factories in Germany, the other VWs sold in the US are all built in Mexico, different quailty control, and different engines. Even if the engines have the same displacment/cylinder count. Look up the part numbers and engineering specs they are not the same. This is ONLY true from 97-01, 01.5-05, the B5/B5.5 platform. The 06 B6 platform is pure VW which is to say most likely junk.

Civic`s and Integra`s have entierly different engines (they share a platform only, meaning they have the same basic unibody stampings and hard points, not too much else) and the Integra gets far better gas miledge when driven hard or aggressivly. The main reason for this is you don`t have to work it as hard to get the power. Torque and horsepower both peak at lower revs plus there is more horsepower and torque at those revs, less revs with more power mean less gas consumption - unless you`re talking about a a V6 compared to a V8 or an I4 to a V6. The key with the Civic VTEC is to stay under 4500 rpm (this is where the variable cam and valve profiles come into play). I live at 90mph or above on the freeway, driving from San Diego to LA several times a week for going on 15 years now. I don`t slow doown unless I must, most of the time I accelerate and go around - I`ve never had or been involved in an accident in case somebody thinks I`m crazy. If you do this in a Civic I promise you crap miledge. Most likely you won`t be doing this four/five times a week.

Either way it doesn`t really matter, if you want excellent reliability, keep up on the oil changes, inspections, etc. I see alot of new cars having problems at 30-40,000 thousand miles or less simply because people get busy and go 10,000 miles or more between changes. Remember no engine is reliable without lubrication! And very rarly will the manufacturer warrenty an engine that has dirty oil in it, maintenance is requiered to keep the warranty valid.

There is not a car built in the last 10 almost years that is cheap to repair, or reliable without regular maintenance. Not trying to be a jerk, just wanted to let you know that no matter what you get, unless it`s an old car - one before ABS, drive-by-wire, variable valve timing, etc - it`s in your best interest to be very very pro-active in how you treat the car. Follow all manufactures instructions to the letter, except try to do the 7,500 mile service at 6000 miles instead. I can`t make sense of it, but I have noticed that (almost) regardless of make, the cars owned by people who maintain thier vehicles, and fix things early dont have problems with anything, even old Jaguars. The people who ignore thier vehicles and "just drive" have problems with everything, like a guy yesterday that had 2 bad valves in a 2002 Corolla with 29,000 miles. He didn`t change the oil except for twice in that period, when the dealer saw the sludge build up in the engine they refused warrenty, he wanted them to fix it he had to pay, $100 for the inspection and another $3800 if he wanted the valve fixed. So, cause he couldn`t take the 30 minutes to get his oil changed he is now taking about a week to get a valve job. But since he took it to me (an independent shop) he`s getting away cheap for about $3200!

Owners make reliable cars, and any 4 cylinder engine driven normally will get you about 30 mpg or so. Look at everything and buy what you like. I`ve owned a lot of cars including, an `84 Dodge Daytona, `90 Nissan Pulsar, `89 & `97 Honda Civics and `88 Accord, `92 Mitsubishi Eclipse, `95 Hyundai Elantra, `00 VW Passat, `03 BMW 330, `02 Audi A6 and `05 Land Rover LR3, I`ve never had a problem or major repair on any of these cars, I`ve always done the maintenance religiously. As a 3rd generation mechanic I can honestly say treat the car right and it will run forever, treat it wrong and you will have problems sooner or later.

If you want a car the will run forever no matter what get something made before electronics took over the vehicle, pre-1995 or so depending on the car.