Econo box car shopping

[mrbigstuff]

but that's because they changed it, correct? weren't the first versions 2-door only? the ones with the rear wheel well skirt?

Mr645 wrote:
[quote=mrbigstuff]
Honda Insight? Kind of rare, though.

The Insight never made it because the Civic Hybrid was cheaper, faster and only 1 or 2 MPG less than the Insight.

[Bill in NC]

Used Prius.

No need to over-think it.

[C(-)ris]

vicrock wrote:
I'm going to throw in another factor - living in Wisconsin, with winter weather, I'd also want something that would be good in the snow - please factor winter driving conditions into the mix.

The current SUV will be used in bad weather. Honestly, there were only about 5 days the entire winter where I had to drive in bad conditions. There isn’t anything that has AWD and gets 40mpg.

[C(-)ris]

ADent wrote:
Toyota? They are terrible used cars - they hold their value too much. This guy likes Pontiacs and Saturns.

Chrysler has done old, discontinued cars. How much does an Avenger or Dart run?

OK that is too far.

Used Fords have to steer clear of the DCTs in the Focus (in general, though a guy at work loved his). Fusions should be OK. Cmax is Ford's take on a Prius.

So that leaves GM - how about an early Cruise or Buick Verano? Cobalt was the Cruise predecessor.

I am true glutton for punishment because I drive 15+ year old European cars. But I wrench on them and have a short drive, and always have a spare.

I’ve had my fair share of Europeans. BMW 325xit, two Saab 9-3 turbos, 2 Jettas, and a Passat. Most of them spent a lot of time on jack stands in my garage. The 325 wagon is my favorite out of the bunch, sadly none of those come close to the mpg requirement.

[Thrift Store Scott]

ADent wrote:
Chrysler has done old, discontinued cars. How much does an Avenger or Dart run?

OK that is too far.

Maybe not. If you can pick up a decent Avenger or Dart at an ultra low price then you can afford to treat it like you would a Bic lighter: Use it until it stops working completely and then just throw it away.

I rented and very much liked the second-generation Dodge Neons and to a lesser extent the second-generation Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Cirrus (the Neon fits me fine but I can't sit up straight in a Cirrus/Stratus unless it has a power driver's seat that I can lower; If you're 5'11 or under you should be fine) and all those seem to hold up considerably better than the average Chrysler product with regular maintenance, the Cirrus/Stratus in particular.

ADent wrote:
So that leaves GM - how about an early Cruise or Buick Verano? Cobalt was the Cruise predecessor.

I have no experience of Cruise or Verano, but I did rent a Cobalt and absolutely hated it. Here's why:

(A rental company other than the one I normally use ran a special that was too good to pass up, so I had a Cobalt in between two Neons and thus was able to compare directly)

1. When I pressed the gas pedal on the Cobalt, it got louder but was not inclined to actually go much faster, resulting in me nearly getting my a$$ run over more than once when merging on to the freeway. Not so the Neons, which had reasonable power to spare at any normal, legal speed.

2. Poorly-implemented "Active Noise Suppression"- Basically, "white noise" is fed through the radio speakers to drown out the noise from the engine, which did work. However, ANS is only active while the engine is running. The Cobalt is one of those cars where everything but the engine (radio, power window switches, etc.) remains energized when the ignition switch is turned off until the door is opened. The irritating net effect of this was that the radio would suddenly get REALLY, REALLY LOUD every time you turned off the ignition switch without having first opened the door.

Between it's sheer gutlessness with regard to acceleration and the radio suddenly and unexpectedly blaring every time I turned off the ignition switch, I cussed that Cobalt more in the five days I had it than I've cussed all the $500-or-less automotive "glue factory rejects" I've owned combined. Do not subject yourself to the needless torture that is a Chevrolet Cobalt.

[Markintosh]

Okay...someone is going to tell me how wrong I am, but I spent about 18 months driving a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage. It cost us $6K with 20K miles. My average MPG was 48, with some fillups being as high as 52 mg. This is all without the shenanigans of hybrid systems.

It's not the best ride or the best acceleration - but the ride was consistent and it was reasonably appointed with power windows, a good AC system and a sound system that was simple, but accepted USB input. Performed decent in snow.

We put 20K on it before selling it. I inherited some money and was able to buy a new Crosstrek (which gets 34 mpg compared to the 27 mpg in our AWD Matrix)

[Thrift Store Scott]

Markintosh wrote:
Okay...someone is going to tell me how wrong I am, but I spent about 18 months driving a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage. It cost us $6K with 20K miles. My average MPG was 48, with some fillups being as high as 52 mg. This is all without the shenanigans of hybrid systems.

It's not the best ride or the best acceleration - but the ride was consistent and it was reasonably appointed with power windows, a good AC system and a sound system that was simple, but accepted USB input. Performed decent in snow.

We put 20K on it before selling it. I inherited some money and was able to buy a new Crosstrek (which gets 34 mpg compared to the 27 mpg in our AWD Matrix)

If your Mirage was able to perform reasonably while averaging 48 mpg between 4400 (Reno airport, the lowest altitude I'd assume you'd visit on a regular basis) and 6200 (Lake Tahoe) feet above sea level, that's pretty impressive. The fact that a Lake Tahoe resident says the Mirage "performed decent" in snow should be a ringing endorsement for it's winter weather capabilities in the rest of the country as well.

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,

Toyotas and, I'll also say, Hondas hold their value because they're overall very good and reliable cars. Exciting? No. Very good and reliable? Yes.

If I wanted a car that suited the specs C(-)ris listed in his original post, I'd look at a sub-compact like a Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, etc. Reliable. Very stingy on gas.

I can vouch for the Yaris. Reasonably priced. Very reliable. Very good on gas. And, unfortunately, I know it can take a solid hit. The Yaris isn't particularly exciting but it will definitely be dandy for a daily 80 mile round trip commute.

Robert

[A-Polly]

I can tell you what NOT to get for that length of commute: Hyundai Accent, think it was a hatchback. Was issued one as a rental for a short weekend trip and it took days before my back stopped hurting. What an uncomfortable car! Felt like we were being beaten all along the highway. Plus the mileage wasn't up to your 40 MPG standard either.

Perhaps okay if you are exactly the right height to fit the seats, and only drive it on short trips around town. Certainly a cheap vehicle, in all ways.

[Speedy]

C(-)ris wrote: I’ve had my fair share of Europeans. BMW 325xit, two Saab 9-3 turbos, 2 Jettas, and a Passat. Most of them spent a lot of time on jack stands in my garage. The 325 wagon is my favorite out of the bunch, sadly none of those come close to the mpg requirement.

I sold our 2003 Jetta TDI last year for $3250. It had 13xk miles on it. Very reliable and economical. My commute was 55 miles each way and the TDI would make the round-trip five times between fills. I had people contacting me offering me more than my asking price.