Looking to downsize our vehicle- Happy w/ your car? Miles/gallon?

[crazymomof4]

When we get home from WDW (9/25) we will be looking to replace DH's Ford F150 Pick-up (14 mi/gal) with a more energy efficient sedan.

I may be running errands, etc. with this sedan after DH comes home from work and on weekends. Chances are I won't get out of the house w/o at least some of the kids tagging along so we don't want a teeny car (ex: Miata). But we don't need a minivan or SUV bc. our other car is a Suburban- plenty of room in there! Basically just looking for a more fuel efficient auto for DH to do his 66mi round trip commute to work and for me to run a few errands here and there when he doesn't have it.

We are looking at Hondas, Toyotas, Mitsubishi and Saturns. For maximum $$ savings we would like a 4 cylinder, automatic.

If you are happy with how your car runs I'd like to hear about it. Not happy?--Tell me! Also, because I know that you cannot always trust the dealer's advertised gas consumption, I'd be interested in what the actual miles/gallon is for your car.

Also, share any tips that you have for buying pre-owned vehicles.

Thanks!

 

[scanmom]

I got a fully loaded Hyundai Tuscon in March. It is a small SUV, not a sedan, and it sits 5 adults pretty comfortably. I got leather, heated seats, a sunroof, 6 disc CD changer, tape player etc....all for the price of $20,200!! Plus, it has a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty!!! and roadside assistance for 6 year/60,000 miles. I get about 25 mpg.... and I absolutly LOVE my car!!! Hope this helps!!

 

[bdcp]

Honda Accord now makes a hybrid, but IMO with 4 kids, you need something larger. I drive a Plymouth Grand Voyager ('98) and we get 20 mi/gallon locally and 24 highway. Honda Odyssey's get just as good mileage. Very few sedans seat 6 and not comfortably.

 

[rcpae]

My husband works for Honda here in Ohio. You can't go wrong with a hybrid car. Plus I believe the goverment extended the $2000.00 tax deduction you get for buying a hybrid car. This is called the clean fuel tax deduction. Check into this, maybe someone here even knows more.

My husbands uncle also owns the Civic hybrid and is extremely happy. He says he gets around 50 miles to the gallon. I'm not sure if this is freeway miles, or just everyday. I noticed the trunk space is a little smaller. Since the Accord is larger that would definately give you more room. Although, they still seat just 5.

I've been happy with my Honda Odyssey. I get about 27mpg. Just in case the size of the car matters.

Hope you find just what you need!

 

[momof1princess]

my husband is waiting for the call to start work for honda manufacturing of alabama (it's been 9 months, but i know ppl who've waited as long as 18 months *sigh*) and once he gets the call, he wants to purchase either a honda pilot or crv with his employee discount-the pilot would probably be more practical for your use. i don't know the specs, but i owned a honda civic in high school, and i have to admit (even though i'm a die-hard ford mustang lover) my civic was the most reliable, most fuel-efficient car i've ever had, and i hope to be able to purchase one for my DD someday.

Donya
*doing the 21 days to WDW dance!*

 

[jlb]

We love our Honda Accord. This is our 3rd Honda and we can not be happier with the mileage and how reliable they are. I really can not see us ever not having a Honda for commuting purposes.

 

[paladin]

We are on our third Saturn - we started with the SL (small sedan), then went to the LS (larger sedan) (they don't make either of those models anymore - I think the current ones are IONs and we now have a Vue (smallish SUV). We have been extremely happy with all of them and we get pretty good mileage (we actually get better mileage on the VUE then on on the LS - I think it is about 27 miles to the gallon). We especially like the no-hassle pricing. My dad is on his second Saturn and also loves them. Reading all of the comments on Hondas - an interesting note-the Saturn Vue has a Honda engine.

 

[arminnie]

I have a 4 cylinder Honda Odyssey -one of the old ones a '97 that I have loved.

The new Odysseys have variable cylinder management - it steps down from a 6 cylinder to 3 cylinders when you don't need the extra power. That's why they get just as good mileage as some of the vehicles much smaller.

 

[ktglads]

I drive a Vue - V6 AWD, so I average out to about 22 mph with the mix of city and highway driving that I do. If you took went to the V4 FWD, I'm sure the mpg would be much better

 

[shelly3girls]

We own a Pilot. They say it gets 17 city/ 22 highway which seems about right. If you need a car that seats all 6 of you then it is a great option. It was one of the better milages for SUVs this size.

 

[Princesa]

We love our Pontiac Vibe!!

I know Pontiac wasn't necessarily on your list you were looking at, but our Vibe has a Toyota engine which made us happy!! We have a four cylinder/five speed and have lately been averaging 34 mpg

We traded downsizing from a Windstar and can pack as much cargo in that Vibe as we could the van and don't have to deal with taking out seats--they all fold flat.

This wouldn't work for four kids, but for anyone else out there, we highly reccomend the Vibe!!

 

[tlbwriter]

Very few sedans seat 6 people - and those that do are most likely not going to be 4-cylinder. I think you're going to have to look at minivans and SUVs. According to Consumer Reports, the 3-row SUVs with the best mileage are the Toyota Highlander, Acura MDX, and Honda Pilot. I don't remember the best minivans, but I went to the Honda website and compared the Odyssey (19/25) to the Toyota Sienna (19/26), the Mitsubishi Montero (15/19) and the Saturn Relay (18/24). Of course, those are the 2005 models - if you're looking at different model years, you'll need to check the mileage for those years.

 

[crazymomof4]

Very few sedans seat 6 and not comfortably.

I should clarify: I may be running errands, etc. with his sedan after DH comes home from work and on weekends. Chances are I won't get out of the house w/o at least some of the kids tagging along so I don't want a teeny car (ex: Miata). But we don't need a minivan bc. our other car is a Suburban- plenty of room in there! Basically just looking for a more fuel efficient auto for DH to do his 66mi round trip commute to work and for me to run a few errands here and there when he doesn't have it.

 

[tlbwriter]

In that case, I'd go for the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. Can't really go wrong with either of those. Unfortunately, they hold their value so well that you can't get much of a break by buying a fairly new used model. But at this time of year, you'll get great deals on 05 models.

 

[mookie]

I got a fully loaded Hyundai Tuscon in March. It is a small SUV, not a sedan, and it sits 5 adults pretty comfortably. I got leather, heated seats, a sunroof, 6 disc CD changer, tape player etc....all for the price of $20,200!! Plus, it has a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty!!! and roadside assistance for 6 year/60,000 miles. I get about 25 mpg.... and I absolutly LOVE my car!!! Hope this helps!!

I definitely have to second this. I have a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe, with over 100,000 miles on it. (Lots of driving for my job!!) It's a little bit larger than the Tuscon, but basically the same body. I absolutely love my car, and have had very little problems with it (knock on wood!) I have recommended this car for a lot of my family and friends, and a few have even bought them. The warranty is great, and there is plenty of room. It's pretty versitile for a smaller SUV, and we have never thought of a need for a bigger car, even with 2 large dogs, and a carseat in the back!

Good luck in your search!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I should clarify: I may be running errands, etc. with his sedan after DH comes home from work and on weekends. Chances are I won't get out of the house w/o at least some of the kids tagging along so I don't want a teeny car (ex: Miata). But we don't need a minivan bc. our other car is a Suburban- plenty of room in there! Basically just looking for a more fuel efficient auto for DH to do his 66mi round trip commute to work and for me to run a few errands here and there when he doesn't have it.

I would recommend a nice Honda Civic. Great gas mileage and an incredibly reliable car, as most all Hondas are. Avoid Hybrids unless you're a diehard environmentalist. What you save in gas today, you will have to use to buy a replacement hybrid battery in about 4-5 years, to the tune of about 4 or 5 thousand dollars. In the end, you're not saving on fuel. New civics are are Ultra Low Emission standard vehicles to boot. They seat 5, and for your husband's commute and your errands, it's plenty. One more consideration with a smaller car are crash studies, Hondas get high marks.

Good luck, whatever you get!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

LOL, we just did the same thing with DH's F150 V8. However, he still wanted a truck so we went with a Ford Explorer Sport Trac V6 (half SUV/half truck). It was a great choice for us and he'll cut his gas consumption by about 25%.

If you're going to go with the 4 cylinder you should test it out with all of you in it with the AC, radio and windshield wipers on. Fully loaded some might be a bit slow. Good luck.

 

[alcoromom]

We have a chevy impala that seats 6.This has a huge trunk and a small child (up to 60) pounds could sit in the front comfortly.My 80 pound old son does ok WE actulally leave our van at home and use this car for most of our trips.In fact if gas goes up anymore,I will drive this car to work.

 

[CheapMom]

gas mileage on all cars

We just bought a minivan (Nissan Quest) and it is a guzzler. Way worse than our last minivan (Mercury Villager). They claim that you get 19/26 but I am averaging more like 16 mpg! I don't understand why. I do a combination of both local and highway travel, so I can't figure it out.

 

[CheapMom]

Honda Insight — 61/66
Toyota Prius — 60/51*
Honda Civic Hybrid — 45/51
Volkswagen Golf TDI — 38/46
Volkswagen Jetta TDI — 38/46
Volkswagen New Beetle TDI — 38/46
Honda Civic HX — 36/44
Toyota Echo — 35/42
Toyota Corolla — 32/41
Scion xA — 32/37
Honda Accord Hybrid — 30/37*
Pontiac Vibe — 30/36
Toyota Matrix — 30/36
Scion xB — 31/35*

* = tie

Dodge Neon — 29/36
Toyota Celica GT — 29/36*