Recommend a fuel efficient vehicle please

[kirstenb1]

We've had both a Civic, and a Hyundai Elantra. Both are great commuter cars, which is exactly why dh needed them.

 

[CoP Luv]

We love our Prius also! We have more than made up for the gas savings and we plan to have it for a long time. When we frst bought it, gas was creeping up to $2.50. Now that it s consistently at $4 in my area, I can see the savings. Even when I fill the tank up completely, I have only ever spent more than $40 once. I usually get about 450 miles per tank in the summer.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

If money is the issue, avoid the Prius. You will never ever recoup the extra cost in fuel savings.

Other than Fiat, Dodge and VW, I think almost any small car will servce you well....Yaris, Corolla, Versa, Sentra, Sonic, Cruze, Fiesta, Focus,

The leftover 2013 Focuses are heavily discounted right now and a $3,000 rebate on the stick shift ones. We're looking at one (auto unfortunately) pretty seriously.

Spent a few months with a Cruze (my dad's car). Not sure I like it quite as well as the Focus, but its a very good car and with the optional 1.4L engine VERY easy on gas. Dad says he's averaged 37 for the entire time he's owned it and 46 was the high (trip to IN). I averaged 34 while I had it - almost all "around town" driving.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

With an SUV in the family, you could always switch for the days snow might be a concern.

That's how I utilized my truck when I had a 112 mile commute. Kept it in the garage unless they were calling for snow (or if I needed to haul or tow something, obviously)

For me; keeping the miles off my truck (more expensive to replace than a small car) was at least as valuable as the fuel savings

 

[beck02]

Nothing beats a prius for the gas mileage, but I had one as a rental car for week, and I hated it. The best time I had "driving" that car was when I was filling it up to return it to the rental agency. Drove it all around all week & it was only something like $8 to fill up. It was a very uncomfortable car for me to drive--it feels like your perched on the seat, and for me, the car constantly switched between electric & gas, and would surge. I agree with others--you pay upfront for any gas savings, and eventually you'll get it back, but the upfront pricing isn't great for what you're really getting.

I drive a VW diesel jetta. It gets decent gas mileage--38 mpg over the last few tanks (about 50% highway, 50% city, with lots of stop & go, short trips). Supposed to last 500K miles--we'll see. Cost was $27,500 & included the first 36K of maintenance (oil changes, etc). I'm at 65K miles now & no issues besides getting new tires (at around 60K miles). Oil changes (and other maintenance) are more expensive at around $100, but it's good for 10K miles. I like my car--and prefer to drive if at all possible vs. flying, but the diesel isn't for everyone. I know I'll still be driving it 10 years from now, and maybe even 20 years.

My husbands sonic gets 38 mpg easy--and gasoline is cheaper than diesel usually. Cost was around $15K, and it was the last of the previous years vehicles. It's a smaller car, with only 4 cylinders, but you only notice it as you get on the interstate & need that quick burst of power (you get it from the sonic, but you can tell it's giving you all it's got). It's got almost as many perks as my much more expensive car--can't go too wrong with $15K for a car--as long as it last at least 5 years, that's $3K a year or less.

I've got a 5 year old daughter, usually all 3 of us carpool (for around 20 mile one-way commute) and no issues with either the Sonic or the Jetta for getting her in & out. The Jetta is every so slightly bigger than the sonic. She prefers to ride in the Jetta--not sure exactly why (probably because she thinks of it as a girl car...) As others have said, you almost can't go wrong with most of the new small cars--most will get 35+ miles per gallon & are very economical. You'll have to decide what else you need from the car to help narrow it down more

 

[Darcy03231]

OP, if you decide to go with a hybrid just check to see how long the battery is warrantied for.

4 years ago when I was in the market for a new car I looked at the Honda hybrid (can't remember the name of it now). The battery was warrantied for 5 years. New batteries at that time ran between $5,000 - $7,000.

Since we're a drive it until it dies family (my van was 18 years old when I finally got rid of it), a hybrid was a poor choice for me.

I don't know if anything has changed in the last 4 years as we haven't been car shopping, but that's something you might want to do some research on before buying.

 

[beck02]

My co-worker's prius battery lasted until I think 150K miles or even 200K, and the cost to replace it was quoted as around $3600. Most don't last that long, but it was a commuter car, and that was part of the reason it lasted that long--regular usage, long enough to recharge the battery, etc. Which would be how the OP is planning on using the car... It just seems people who don't own prius's always comment on the battery life. They usually do last quite some time, and they aren't quite as expensive to replace as it's usually made out to be.

 

[Rose23]

Honda Civic
Honda Fit

Hondas are simply fabulous. We have a new CR-V, and still have one Accord with over 250,000 miles (still runs great with no problems). Just salvaged another Accord two weeks ago after a deer hit the car; it was still running with bumper demolished and hood smashed with deer hair everywhere! Son walked away with not even a scratch on him.

We will not buy anything else but Hondas.

Best wishes on your job and congratulations!

 

[kymom99]

I have a 2012 Altima. The best I have done as far as gas mileage was 30 MPG driving all highway on vacation. I like it, but there are cars with better gas mileage. One thing to consider, in another year or so, your little one will be able to get in and out of the car on her own.

 

[JohnstonMandy]

We have a 2013 Jetta TDI and get roughly 46 mpg. My husband has a 40 mile commute each way and he only fills up 1x a week. It's a great car and we LOVE it. Zippy and fun to drive and our two kids (ages 5 and 2) fit no problem.

 

[bigbabyblues]

DH drives about 70 miles each way, and he is planning to get a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla as soon as his truck is paid off. He is currently driving an F-150 4wd, and it doesn't get good gas mileage. We had a Hyundai Elantra that he drove to a different job several years ago; it got good gas mileage but did not hold up well.

 

[secretpantssam]

my husband got a Prius last year and it's great. He is currently averaging 58 miles per gallon!

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

I HIGHLY recommend a Scion XD...it's a Toyota product, we get 38mpg, and it is under $16k new. I have a 3 year old (almost) and it's been a great car in that aspect. Plenty of space for a stroller in the trunk and the seats fold down if you need even more space. I bought mine new in 2009 and not one single problem. Love it.

 

[Lisa71]

We currently have an Odyssey and a CRV but I have loved both of our civics for gas mileage and safety. Nice cars with no issues. Great for a commute.

 

[winterwhite]

The leftover 2013 Focuses are heavily discounted right now and a $3,000 rebate on the stick shift ones. We're looking at one (auto unfortunately) pretty seriously.

Spent a few months with a Cruze (my dad's car). Not sure I like it quite as well as the Focus, but its a very good car and with the optional 1.4L engine VERY easy on gas. Dad says he's averaged 37 for the entire time he's owned it and 46 was the high (trip to IN). I averaged 34 while I had it - almost all "around town" driving.

Do not buy an automatic focus.

They are junk and they are the reason that I dumped mine. Go to any ford service department and ask them how they feel about the automatic.

 

[winterwhite]

OP, if you decide to go with a hybrid just check to see how long the battery is warrantied for.

4 years ago when I was in the market for a new car I looked at the Honda hybrid (can't remember the name of it now). The battery was warrantied for 5 years. New batteries at that time ran between $5,000 - $7,000.

Since we're a drive it until it dies family (my van was 18 years old when I finally got rid of it), a hybrid was a poor choice for me.

I don't know if anything has changed in the last 4 years as we haven't been car shopping, but that's something you might want to do some research on before buying.

my prius battery warranty is 10 years. way longer than I'm liable to keep any car.

 

[Thumper_Man]

DD22 has a Chevrolet Cruze. It gets 44 mpg and is great! We pack everything in that car.

DW has a Cruze as well. Another thing she likes about the car besides the great gas mileage is the low cost on maintenance.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Do not buy an automatic focus.

They are junk and they are the reason that I dumped mine. Go to any ford service department and ask them how they feel about the automatic.

I do know about the issues with that transmission (2012 & up). It's not a true auto, among other things (which, in and of itself isn't an issue, but the clutch system is imperfect). Still, I'm looking at $4,000+ off sticker. Awful tempting

 

[winterwhite]

I do know about the issues with that transmission (2012 & up). It's not a true auto, among other things (which, in and of itself isn't an issue, but the clutch system is imperfect). Still, I'm looking at $4,000+ off sticker. Awful tempting

well, it's an auto, it's just a clutch based auto with no torque converter.

If I had needed to pay for the work that has been done to mine in the past 29k miles, I would have made up that $4k and more. It's had more than a grand just in labor charges that ford has paid.

Think hard about it if you intend to keep the car a long time. I decided to get out of mine before the powertrain warranty expired and get something that isn't known for being defective.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I've actually considered springing for an extended warranty if we pop on the car. I know most of them are trouble free, but way too many aren't.

I did talk to some tech guys who claim the seals are better in the 2013's which "should" minimize the risk. We'll see.