high mpg + reliability= ???

Jngrbrdman

Jngrbrdman

New member
I'm facing the fact that gas prices quite possibly won't ever get lower than they are now. I need to get a high mpg vehicle that isn't a motorcycle that isn't something I'm going to have to replace in 2 years. That pretty much counts out Hyundai. My wife works for Delta and with the recent changes they have announced to the employees regarding another pay cut and serious benefit cuts, it just isn't worth it for her to even work there anymore. So I did the only thing I could think of... I hired her to work for me. :) Now we can carpool. So I'm looking for a car that gets 35 mpg+ and is reliable. She drives a 99 Accord right now that is paid off and books for around 8Kish. I'm thinking about just selling that and buying a Civic or something. Don't those get pretty high gas milage? My 20 mpg Legacy just isn't the right daily driver if gas prices are going to reach $5 bucks a gallon or anything.
 
I brought a 94 Sentra that gets 31 around town.. I would think that any of the Japanese cars or some of the American cars would give you back some serious MPG...I know how you feel about daily drivers and MPG....I sold my Jeep GC with a V8 two years ago...was really sad to see the V8 go for a Murano with a V6 but I don't feel that way any longer with 29 MPG, also for a SUV styled car the Murano is a great buy
 
Scion ...I'm thinking of getting the XB ...it also is very comfortable and easy to get in and out of...besides all those flat panels makes cleaning look real easy:)
 
Poorboy said:
Scion ...I'm thinking of getting the XB ...it also is very comfortable and easy to get in and out of...besides all those flat panels makes cleaning look real easy:)
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I almost bought one but they are so boxy that, from the ones I have seen and detailed, rocks and debri just smash the thin paint instead of flowing over. A lot of them have cracked windsheilds and front ends chipped to He!! already.
 
Bob said:
I almost bought one but they are so boxy that, from the ones I have seen and detailed, rocks and debri just smash the thin paint instead of flowing over. A lot of them have cracked windsheilds and front ends chipped to He!! already.
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I wouldn't drive on a highway in one of them :w00t: , just for local cruising...;)
 
Dwayne said:
I just checked. The TSX w/manual will get you 30 on the highway. I know you want one.
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I believe the TSX requires premium gas only, so I think the savings would kind of level off. They are really sweet cars though, I saw an ABP with the oem lip kit and it looked awesome :drool
 
My recommendations are to go with a Civic... I have always had at least 1 Honda. Just traded in my 94 Accord w/300K+ miles on a 05 Civic rated at 38 highway, and my averages have been 37 to 40.

The 06 Civics are GREAT. Lookie here Redesigned and slick inside and out. More horse power and mileage has increased to 40/30. You can get into a top of the line fully decked out 06 Civic for less than 19K, and a couple K less if you can find any new 05's sitting on new car lots.

Just to ramble on some more... I am currently looking at trading in my daughters 99 Saturn on an 06 Civic, let her drive my 05 and I'll take the new one. :cool:
 
We have an '05 civic in our littel fleet. While it gets a ton better mileage than the Excursion, it still only gets around 30 around town. 35 on the road.

Scooter
 
Those are good suggestions. All I know is that I need a sedan and my wife will be the one driving it mostly. My plan before all this happened was to get her a TSX, but with the unsure future of our economy I don't know that buying a $26,000 car is a good idea. I'm up for a promotion at work, so maybe if I get that then we can look at an 04 or something, but I don't think we need two new cars in the garage right now.

Good suggestions though. :) Thanks for all the insight.
 
I am going through the smae dilemna. I just got promoted at work, only trouble is, the job is a lot farther than where I am at now. I have a Tacoma and Volvo S60, neither of them really bad on mileage, but neither really good. Also, they both require premium. I have toyed with the idea of riding a motorcycle, but my wife is not too keen on that. I also have looked into getting a older used car that I can drive, preferablly a Honda. I have owned 2 Hondas, one I drove until 230,000 and then sold it and the other I drove until 190,000 and sold it. Both of them ran great when I got rid of them. I stand behind Honda's reliability.

I am trying to search on the internet for motorcycle safety statistics. Trying to make the "informed" decision.
 
I get 40+ city out of my stripped '89 CRX Si. Lots of coasting and stuff. Your results may vary depending on aggresiveness of weight reduction.
 
My 4-door 05 Civic has close to the same amount of interior room as my 94 Accord that I traded in for it, so it wasn't tuff for me to adapt to the smaller car.

Jngrbrdman, Fully decked out 06 4-door Civics can be had for less than $19,000, and fully decked out 05 4-door Civics about $17,000.
 
JeffW said:
My 4-door 05 Civic has close to the same amount of interior room as my 94 Accord that I traded in for it, so it wasn't tuff for me to adapt to the smaller car.

Jngrbrdman, Fully decked out 06 4-door Civics can be had for less than $19,000, and fully decked out 05 4-door Civics about $17,000.
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That is true, but my wife doesn't even like the hood scoop on my Legacy. I can't imagine how she is going to feel about the inside of the Civic. Personally I find the new Civic to be a turn off. I'd rather get a used one as far as styling goes...

The 99 Accord is much larger than the Civic as far as cargo room and rear leg room. My Integra was basically the same size inside as a Civic and you could definitely feel the difference. It wasn't so bad though... I just finished presenting an Adapting to Change training for my company. Perhaps Jennifer needs to go through the same training when she gets hired so she will roll with a different car. She has had an Accord for the last 15 years and will have to adjust I'm sure. She hates car repairs as much as I do, so I don't think it will be too tough.
 
VW Passat, previous generation, 97-2005. 1.8 turbo charged 4 cylinder engine. Lots of power, drives like a comfortable, powerful german luxury sedan (it shares its powertrains, transmissions, and platfrom with the Audi A4), still gets 27 mpg in mixed driving. At least that's what I averaged for 4 years in my 2000 Passat. Wound up trading it in for a BMW 330, it had 120,000 miles on it and was still bulletproof and still got commpliments everywhere I went. I should have kept the Passat. Oh and BTW I was getting 27 mpg average and still driving waaaay faster than anyone else on these Southern Califoirnia freeways. If you look hard enough you might even be able to find a desiel model (Passat TDI) and get 35-40 mpg.

Civics are a 2 edged sword in my opinion, get the base engine and drive easy you get great miledge, get the VTEC engine and drive aggressive, well 19 mpg is what I averaged for 2 years in my 97 Civic, exactly the same mpg I got in the BMW.


Scions are nice cars, you get a lot for the cash, but thet are small and cheap inside, I doubt they will still look good in a few years. Get a Toyota instead if you want it to last. Scion is Toyota's Hyundai, cheap cars with little engineering investment mean huge profits!
 
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