Buying a commuter car

[DawnM]

UPDATE: We bought a 2014 Prius 5

Original Post:

Our Saturn VUE is going to cost more to fix than it is worth. We are getting rid of it.

But now I need a car. I commute roughly 50 miles R/T on mostly freeway.

The past few days we have been discussing, looking online, talking about how much to spend, and DH has been reading reliability and crash safety reports.

I really want a Mini Cooper. That is my #1 choice. DH isn't a fan. He is pushing for a Prius. Prius is my #3 choice. 2nd would be a Fiat but he won't even discuss that one.

The discussion kind of morphed. I was fine with a 2012 or so Honda Accord 5 speed. He started looking and said if I am going to get an Accord, I should get a newer model (can't remember which year) due to the safety features they put in later. So, the $10K budget went up to $15K or so. Then I said, "well, if I am going to spend $15K, I would rather get something I am a bit more excited about."

Since I drive so much, a hybrid does make more sense. I currently use his hybrid on days he works from home. He has a Camry Hybrid.

Do you have a Mini-cooper? Do you love it? Do you regret getting it? Would you recommend it? DH is worried about reliability issues he has read about.

Do you love your Prius?

Do you have another car that is really reliable, has great crash test records, and gets great gas mileage?

I really hate car shopping. When we went looking in 2014, we hadn't bought a car in over 10 years.

 

[HeatherC]

My brother and sister in law have a Mini Copper as a "fun" third car. They say it is fun to drive around for quick trips but uncomfortable and noisy for anything longer.

What about a Civic? We bought my daughter a used 2013 when she graduated high school to commute to college. It had 36,000 miles on it at the time and has been completely trouble free. The seats are also extremely comfortable and the gas mileage is terrific.

My DH commutes 60 miles each way for work and has been driving a Hyundai Elantra Touring. It has about 130,000 miles on it now and has also been a great commuter car. He is supposed to be getting a Prius soon through work so we will see how that works too.

Good luck in your decision!!

 

[tvguy]

You SURE you don't want to fix the Saturn? What the car is worth should NEVER be a factor in whether to make a repair, how many more miles that repair will get you should be the consideration. My family car is a 1987, and I think the cost of new tires is more than the car is worth, but I get another 6 years and 40,000 miles of driving from them.
Run from the Fiat, one of the worst cars made. You might as well NOT fix the Saturn and continue driving it, it likely will be more reliable than that Fiat.
My DIL's mom has a Mini Cooper and it is fun, and no issues.
Of your list, the Prius seems the best overall choice.
But fixing the Saturn makes more sense.

 

[Tigerlulu]

We don't have a Mini Cooper or fiat but we do drive a ton of miles and after having several of the more traditionally unreliable brands of vehicles fall apart on us shortly after 100k miles, we moved to Toyota/Honda only and haven't looked back. The reliability is absolutely worth it!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I am curious about your Saturn Vue. What year and how many miles? I have a 2006 with 199,700 miles and hope to drive it forever.

 

[Klayfish]

I can help for sure. I've had most of the cars on your list (I'm a total car nut...owned over 80 of them, race them, work in the auto insurance industry, etc...) Oh...and my commute is 120 miles round trip daily, so I very much know your scenario.

The Mini is an incredibly fun car to drive, but it's also incredibly troublesome. German owned company, assembled in England, not a good combo. Stay away unless you have back up transportation or a good roadside assistance program.

The Fiat is even worse. Run, run away as fast as you can. They are horrid cars, honestly one of the worst new cars sold on the market today (the Mitsu Mirage probably comes close)

The Prius is as rock solid as they come as far as commuter cars. The will never die, they are a comfortable place to spend time, they are good on fuel (they're not actually environmentally friendly, so don't do it for the green movement thing), and just perfect point A to point B cars. Mine got 41-43mpg in mixed driving. However, the huge downside to them for me was that they are as boring as watching paint dry. No wait, paint drying is much more fun. They're as cold, distant and vague as a car can be. Handling is poor...not as in dangerous, but very floppy and rolly polly. As much as I respected it, I couldn't stand it. However, if you're not a car person and just see it as a transportation method, they're awesome choices. Not trying to condemn it with faint praise, I really think they're wonderful at their intended mission, just not my cup of tea.

About 5 months ago, I picked up a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. Mine is a manual 6spd because I like stick shifts. I'm very, very pleased with it. Picked it up for under $9k. I get 35mpg with it, which while it's not quite Prius numbers, it's quite close and I'm happy with that. It's not a "fun" sports car, but it's much better than the Prius. It's plenty comfy for 90+ minute stretches, I even took it on a 5 hour each way road trip recently. Has plenty of nice touches...Bluetooth, Sirius/XM, heated seats, etc... It's a great "beater" car.

I'm of the opinion that if you want a hybrid, nothing wrong with one at all. In your price range, a used Prius, Chevy Volt, Civic Hybrid, etc...will fit nicely. But you don't need one. For a long commute, I'd recommend any Asian car in the small to mid-size market. Elantra, Forte, Civic, Corolla (though they're horribly boring too), Camry, Accord, Sonata, Optima, Mazda3 or Mazda6 would be at the top of my list. They will all get 30+ mpg in 4 cylinder trim. If you're looking for a dose of fun in that class of car, the Mazdas will be your best bet, followed by the Hondas. If you can sacrifice a bit of fuel mileage, a used Honda Accord V6 would be fantastic. You can get a 2013 (which is the first year of the current generation) for $15-$18k, they're incredibly quick, loaded with luxury, still get upper 20's to 30mpg, very safe, tons of room, and will run until the earth stops spinning.

As for crash ratings, pretty much all cars made in the past 5-7 years will do quite well in crashes. They're all very well engineered now from a safety standpoint...trust me, I see it literally dozens of times every single day. They all have plenty of safety features. Some of the newer gadgets are not really safety features as much as they are "driving nannys". Any of the cars I rattled off above will do great in a collision.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have specific questions. But again...the Mini is a blast, we had a great time with ours, but they are terribly troublesome. Put Fiat out of your mind, you'll regret it if you don't.

 

[Southernmiss]

We're a family of Toyota and Hondas. With our experience with both, it's hard to look at anything else. Very reliable in town and on the highway. Got close to 300,000 miles out of our 1st Camry.

Ds has a 2002 accord. Other ds has a newer civic. Th had a corolla and I have a Toyota sienna.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

If you truly just want a commuter car, you should consider an electric car like the Leaf or the electric version of the Focus. The Volt only as a 40 - 50 mile range, I believe, so you might not get a full day's commute on electric only.

 

[Klayfish]

The Leaf (I had one of those too and LOVED it) and EV Focus, EV Soul, only has a range of about 80-90 miles, and that's in optimal weather with a fully charged battery that's fairly new. A 3 year old battery in cold weather will be lucky to get 50 miles of range. The depreciation curve of the Leaf is huge so you can pick one up for a song...I'd have one in my driveway now if my commuting needs were 30 miles per day or less.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Do hybrids save you money if you do mostly highway driving? My FIL had one and said it did save money when he was doing city driving because the low speeds meant it was running in electricity, but in the highway it used mostly gas so it wasn't a savings on days he did long highway drives. He also said you have to drive a hybrid differently to maximize the battery use, changing how you accelerate and brake. If you drive a hybrid like you do a pure gas engine you won't see the savings.

 

[phorsenuf]

I know it's not on your list, but we have a Kia Forte that we just love. It's comfortable to drives, has always been reliable and is really good on gas mileage. Worth looking inot.

 

[clutter]

I did 10 years in a Prius (different model years) with the same commute (but probably more traffic!). It was a great car. I upgraded to the Camry hybrid XLE with the bells and whistles I didn't have in the Prius. Blue tooth and heated seats primarily. So much nicer in a more comfy car. But I'd go back to the Prius in a heartbeat.

 

[Klayfish]

Do hybrids save you money if you do mostly highway driving? My FIL had one and said it did save money when he was doing city driving because the low speeds meant it was running in electricity, but in the highway it used mostly gas so it wasn't a savings on days he did long highway drives. He also said you have to drive a hybrid differently to maximize the battery use, changing how you accelerate and brake. If you drive a hybrid like you do a pure gas engine you won't see the savings.

No, hybrids aren't significantly more efficient on a highway than a purely gasoline powered car. In fact, most hybrids don't use their electric power once at speed. Gasoline engines are least efficient when accelerating, and of course when the car is sitting at a stop light/in traffic, etc...which is where hybrid efficiency really comes in. In fact, the 2013 and newer Chevy Volt has a "hold" feature. It will allow you to bypass using the battery and run the vehicle on gasoline (the gas engine never actually directly powers the car, but that's another story) only. That allows you to save the ability to drive on electric power alone until you really want it, such as when in traffic. Pretty slick.

Yes, to maximize hybrid efficiency you can play all kinds of games. That's about the only entertainment I got from my Prius. Hybrids can do what's called regenerative braking. It will use the electric motors to help slow the car down, instead of the hydraulic brakes (the ones you normally use) and slightly recharge the battery. You can creep along in traffic without ever touching the brakes. The Leaf is much more aggressive in regen braking. I could come to a complete stop from 40mph without ever using the brake if I drove it properly.

 

[sam_gordon]

If you drive a hybrid like you do a pure gas engine you won't see the savings.

I don't think that's true. The savings would depend on what you're currently getting. I think a hybrid would get you savings even if you don't change your driving habits. To MAXIMIZE the savings, you should change how you accelerate & decelerate.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

No, hybrids aren't significantly more efficient on a highway than a purely gasoline powered car. In fact, most hybrids don't use their electric power once at speed. Gasoline engines are least efficient when accelerating, and of course when the car is sitting at a stop light/in traffic, etc...which is where hybrid efficiency really comes in. In fact, the 2013 and newer Chevy Volt has a "hold" feature. It will allow you to bypass using the battery and run the vehicle on gasoline (the gas engine never actually directly powers the car, but that's another story) only. That allows you to save the ability to drive on electric power alone until you really want it, such as when in traffic. Pretty slick.

Yes, to maximize hybrid efficiency you can play all kinds of games. That's about the only entertainment I got from my Prius. Hybrids can do what's called regenerative braking. It will use the electric motors to help slow the car down, instead of the hydraulic brakes (the ones you normally use) and slightly recharge the battery. You can creep along in traffic without ever touching the brakes. The Leaf is much more aggressive in regen braking. I could come to a complete stop from 40mph without ever using the brake if I drove it properly.

So if the OP drives mostly freeway she won't get much benefit from a hybrid unless it is all stop and go along the way.

 

[pryncess527]

I wanted a Mini-Cooper till I drove one. Have you test driven one?
The one I was looking at also required premium gas, which I would consider a large negative for a commuter car.

I get amazing highway mileage with my diesel, but VW isn't selling those right now. is anyone else selling diesels? I love that thing . . .

 

[Klayfish]

So if the OP drives mostly freeway she won't get much benefit from a hybrid unless it is all stop and go along the way.

Correct. Hybrids don't add much to efficiency, if at all, if you're only cruising the highway. In fact, you'll see that many of them have higher city mpg ratings than they do on the highway. Doesn't mean they're inefficient on the highway, just means that the hybrid system doesn't do much. But city driving, or even a good amount of regular suburban driving is where a hybrid will get better mpg. For example, my Elantra gets about 38mpg when cruising the highway. My Prius got about exactly the same mpg in those same conditions.

 

[DawnM]

You SURE you don't want to fix the Saturn? What the car is worth should NEVER be a factor in whether to make a repair, how many more miles that repair will get you should be the consideration. My family car is a 1987, and I think the cost of new tires is more than the car is worth, but I get another 6 years and 40,000 miles of driving from them.
Run from the Fiat, one of the worst cars made. You might as well NOT fix the Saturn and continue driving it, it likely will be more reliable than that Fiat.
My DIL's mom has a Mini Cooper and it is fun, and no issues.
Of your list, the Prius seems the best overall choice.
But fixing the Saturn makes more sense.

Yup. The A/C is broken as well. I live in a very hot/humid environment, we were already not driving it from May-October. I just started driving it again when this happened. There are other minor things wrong, the AB doesn't work, etc....

YOu did see that DH wont' even discuss the Fiat???? That isn't on the list. I just think they are adorable.

 

[DawnM]

I am curious about your Saturn Vue. What year and how many miles? I have a 2006 with 199,700 miles and hope to drive it forever.

2002 with around the same mileage as yours. The A/C is not working at all and the AB went out. Several other minor issues. We had the entire electrical panel go out about 7 years ago, we did fix that.

 

[DawnM]

I wanted a Mini-Cooper till I drove one. Have you test driven one?
The one I was looking at also required premium gas, which I would consider a large negative for a commuter car.

I get amazing highway mileage with my diesel, but VW isn't selling those right now. is anyone else selling diesels? I love that thing . . .

I have only ridden in one. We are going this weekend to test drive it, possibly tonight.