HIgh MPG car

[crz4mm2]

I need to buy soon.
I have looked and looked.....
What are your recommendations?
I was leaning toward Prius, but am open.
Thanks.

 

[DharmaLou]

I have a 2010 Prius that I LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I do home health and easily put 25K miles a year on my car (my car is 15 months old and has 28K miles on it) and I average 50mpg.

I think it has a ton of passenger room and we took a family vacation for 10 days and easily got all our luggage etc in there (there are 3 of us, if there were 4 of us I don't know about that for a 10 day trip).

It only has a 10.5 gallon tank, so even these days with gas for $3.20 I'm filling up for a little over $30.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

City or Highway, very different in terms of best option.

If you do a lot of city driving, a hybrid is a good way to boost mileage without sacraficing creature comforts, but there is a cost to this (rarely will you offset the cost differential between traditional and hybrid vehicles).

If mostly highway, look for Diesel, like VW and MB diesel options. Again, you will pay more than the gasoline equivalent, but the resale values on these are much, much better in comparison.

 

[crz4mm2]

City or Highway, very different in terms of best option.

If you do a lot of city driving, a hybrid is a good way to boost mileage without sacraficing creature comforts, but there is a cost to this (rarely will you offset the cost differential between traditional and hybrid vehicles).

If mostly highway, look for Diesel, like VW and MB diesel options. Again, you will pay more than the gasoline equivalent, but the resale values on these are much, much better in comparison.

Highway miles (about 100 per day). I thought about the Jetta Diesel as well....
A friend told me she is getting 60mpg. The website doesn't say that.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Highway miles (about 100 per day). I thought about the Jetta Diesel as well....
A friend told me she is getting 60mpg. The website doesn't say that.

If it's highway, go Diesel. You'll have less options in the market in the US, but still some good ones:

• Audi A3 TDI
• BMW 335D
• VW Golf TDI
• VW Jetta TDI

 

[crz4mm2]

If it's highway, go Diesel. You'll have less options in the market in the US, but still some good ones:

• Audi A3 TDI
• BMW 335D
• VW Golf TDI
• VW Jetta TDI

Thanks. Which is better?

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Thanks. Which is better?

The VW's are going to be the more basic cars (but can be optioned with a lot of toys), the Audi, is well, based on the VW Golf, but a tad more luxurious. The BMW is entry level luxury and the priciest. There is also the MB E 350Blue Tec, but they're over $50,000.

Price wise, your VWs are your best options and overall decent cars.

 

[WDWBarb]

I'm on my second Prius now. I drove a 2004 for 7 years and then sold it (for a lot of $$ for a used car with well over 100,000 miles on it!) to get a 2011. Oh, how I have loved those cars.

 

[CowboyCO]

Highway miles (about 100 per day). I thought about the Jetta Diesel as well....
A friend told me she is getting 60mpg. The website doesn't say that.

Just remembe that diesel runs about 20% more per gallon than gasoline, so a car that gets 40 MPG running diesel is about the same as a gasoline car that gets 32...

Dollar for dollar - get a Corolla or a Civic. It takes about 5 years to pay off the extra cost of a Prius or Civic Hybrid with gas savings.

 

[maelstrom]

I would get a diesel Jetta in a heartbeat. My husband has had 2 (non-diesel) Jettas and absolutely loved them and Volkswagen as a company.

 

[crz4mm2]

The VW's are going to be the more basic cars (but can be optioned with a lot of toys), the Audi, is well, based on the VW Golf, but a tad more luxurious. The BMW is entry level luxury and the priciest. There is also the MB E 350Blue Tec, but they're over $50,000.

Price wise, your VWs are your best options and overall decent cars.

Thanks. Price is a consideration.

I'm on my second Prius now. I drove a 2004 for 7 years and then sold it (for a lot of $$ for a used car with well over 100,000 miles on it!) to get a 2011. Oh, how I have loved those cars.

Well, I put over 25k a year on a car so that is great to hear! WHat did you get MPG?

Just remembe that diesel runs about 20% more per gallon than gasoline, so a car that gets 40 MPG running diesel is about the same as a gasoline car that gets 32...

Dollar for dollar - get a Corolla or a Civic. It takes about 5 years to pay off the extra cost of a Prius or Civic Hybrid with gas savings.

DIesel is about the same cost now.... per gallon anyway.

I would get a diesel Jetta in a heartbeat. My husband has had 2 (non-diesel) Jettas and absolutely loved them and Volkswagen as a company.

Thanks. I think I will look at a Jetta first!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Just remembe that diesel runs about 20% more per gallon than gasoline, so a car that gets 40 MPG running diesel is about the same as a gasoline car that gets 32...

Dollar for dollar - get a Corolla or a Civic. It takes about 5 years to pay off the extra cost of a Prius or Civic Hybrid with gas savings.

This varies a lot by region and time of year. In the winter, diesel tends to go up in Northern cities, but the rest of the nation, it's pretty stable and rises and falls in line with regular fuel.

Locally, in Charlotte, 87 octane runs around $3.70, Diesel around $4.05. The difference is about 10%. A Jetta Diesel gets around 42 MPG, even with the cost differential of 10%, it gets about 6 MPG more than the equivalent gas vehicle. Of course, that doesn't justify the difference in purchase price alone, but the resale of diesel is much better than gasoline and on average there is far less engine maintenance due on a diesel engine.

 

[jsmith]

I drive an 06 TDI diesel beetle-love the car and i get about 55 mpg-which offsets the difference in the cost between diesel and gas. However having said that-do really good research before you buy a VW-some of them-beetles and tourags in particular are maintenance nightmares. the engine is great-and has no issues but VW's are notorious for electrical issues-and this one has had them in spades. I would tend to agree with Cowboy and say a Civic or a Corolla or a Subaru Impreza.

 

[WDWBarb]

Well, I put over 25k a year on a car so that is great to hear! WHat did you get MPG?

My overall average was around 47 MPG for my first Prius. I drove a lot for work and got mileage checks and paid that car off 3.5 years early just by putting all my mileage checks towards my car loan. It was never once in the shop except for oil changes. Man, I loved that car.

I wanted the new Prius because I was enraptured with the solar sun roof feature. I also really wanted the GPS and Bluetooth (since I drove so much). My mileage isn't quite as good (but I maybe get betwen 45-46) but I'm certain it's because this car weighs more (that solar sun roof). But I adore it. It's great to drive and feature-laden.

Everyone told me I was making a huge mistake when I purchased my first Prius in '03 (an '04) model and I'm so, so, SO glad I didn't listen.

I recently made a road trip with my boss - we drove to a class for 2 days about 70 miles each way. We took his truck and he put $100 in the first day and was on empty when we got back the second day. I almost fainted! That just shocked me when I was so used to putting in less than $30 and driving for a week or more! I don't travel as much now so I can actually fill up about once per month.

 

[crz4mm2]

Upkeep is an issue as well.
I want high MPG and low maintenance....


Thanks.

 

[pouncingpluto]

Another benefit to hybrids in some metro areas-- access to HOV lanes!

 

[WDWBarb]

weird double post!!

 

[crz4mm2]

Another benefit to hybrids in some metro areas-- access to HOV lanes!

Totally rural here. NO HOV lanes in sight...

My overall average was around 47 MPG for my first Prius. I drove a lot for work and got mileage checks and paid that car off 3.5 years early just by putting all my mileage checks towards my car loan. It was never once in the shop except for oil changes. Man, I loved that car.

I wanted the new Prius because I was enraptured with the solar sun roof feature. I also really wanted the GPS and Bluetooth (since I drove so much). My mileage isn't quite as good (but I maybe get betwen 45-46) but I'm certain it's because this car weighs more (that solar sun roof). But I adore it. It's great to drive and feature-laden.

Everyone told me I was making a huge mistake when I purchased my first Prius in '03 (an '04) model and I'm so, so, SO glad I didn't listen.

I recently made a road trip with my boss - we drove to a class for 2 days about 70 miles each way. We took his truck and he put $100 in the first day and was on empty when we got back the second day. I almost fainted! That just shocked me when I was so used to putting in less than $30 and driving for a week or more! I don't travel as much now so I can actually fill up about once per month.

I fill up at least once a week (sometimes twice a week- depending) and it is 65-70 bucks right now....
I would LOVE only filling up once a month...

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My husband owns a 2010 Chevy Cobalt and averages about 40 mpg with it. He drives about 40 miles roundtrip to and from work.
He has almost 70,000 miles on it already.
He bought a stripped down model since its primarily a work car , brand new out the door it was under $14,000.

 

[crz4mm2]

My husband owns a 2010 Chevy Cobalt and averages about 40 mpg with it. He drives about 40 miles roundtrip to and from work.
He has almost 70,000 miles on it already.
He bought a stripped down model since its primarily a work car , brand new out the door it was under $14,000.

THanks.