new car
 

what kind of mpg am i looking at with a WRX i need a car with good gas and i don't want to be running around in a boring eco-box all day.

i can play with about 25k right now and the wrx is looking like the best option for fun and fe

throwing money at another muscle car seems boring and i keep getting dirty looks from the prius drivers at stop lights

anything else thats fun and under 25k

Civic Si ? Mini Cooper ?

If you make FE fun, you can pick up a prius, ;)

But some one here have reported low to mid 20s, most 30 on straight highway trips.

i think by fun he means being able to smoke the pants off other cars when he steps on it.

i say go get a muscle car! who cares what other people think. when they give you a dirty look rev the engine its how its works! :D lol im kidding

anyone can buy a fast car but not anyone can build one.

heres an idea that id love to do someday: pick up a cheap s-10 drop a 350 in it (or LS1, get the fun of fuel injection) and have fun driving that thing! find a 6 speed manual or 5 speed and then fun has a whole new meaning. and if its properly tuned and add a few MPG saving things on it you could see mid 20's MPG with it since its a light truck with a boatload of power...its a good sleeper truck.

Vtec
 

Probably something with VTEC -- efficiency in the lower RPMs, and you hit the more aggressive cam on those rare occasions -- you still want to save gas, right?

Choices I'd pick in the "fun" and potentially efficient category from Honda:

Civic HX -- 96+ (efficiency-built)
Civic Si ('99-'00) -- I had one new and loved it
TSX -- currently own one and get 30 with mild hypermiling (wife drives it 90% of the time) -- used 06's go for around $25K
Civic Si (02+)

Other choices:
Mazda 3 (great handling -- 2.3L is more of guzzler than the 2.0L)
Mini Cooper (no need for the supercharger -- fun out of the box)
Impreza 2.5RS (essentially a non-turbo WRX)

You can hypermile anything, but as you can see, some have more potential.

Best FE...

RH77

the new Mini coopers are suposed to get close to 40mpg right? and from talking to people who have driven them they sound like fun, my brothers toyota celica alwas got 38-42mpg, and still is around some place with 340,000 miles or something crazy like that on it, and altho it was a little small inside for me, wasn't to bad to drive, handled great at 115mph too.
with $25,000 to spend on a car, the limits are almost endless when it comes to good mileage.

I like the new Pontiac G6.

RSX-s/ Civic Si with LSD, Golf tdi (i heard you can boost them to have over 250 hp), used kompressor sedan amg?

I vote for a boosted K20 CRX! 10 second quarters!

Hello -

The 32/40 MPG Mini Cooper sounds like the best compromise.

CarloSW2

Non S-type Cooper would be fun to drive because of the good handling, but the acceleration would not be super. The S-type would not get great mileage.

I've owned a few fun cars over the last decade and a WRX was one of them. Frankly, I think it's a terrific car for what it is. Terrific handling, great traction, and reasonably comfortable without breaking out of the compact mold. What it isn't is overly efficient - primarily because power has a way of corrupting one's sensibilities. My slushbox version regularly got in the low to mid 20's. 30 MPG simply was not a reality for me in that car and would be tricky to obtain even if you are focused on it.

I'll also put it out there that if you want something faster, DO NOT waste your time or money on a new WRX. It's simply no contest to the STi or the Evo, even if you dump that price difference into a WRX. It's also worth noting that anybody with the know-how to build something, can build on a used platform that spanks the crap out of both a stock Evo and STi for half the cost.

But any direction you head down those roads, stellar fuel economy is not to be expected.

I think the WRX is a great car. Almost got one. Went with the RSX for FE. The all wheel drive system eats up some gas.

The current generation S isn't too bad actually. They switched from boosting the S engine with a supercharger over to a turbo not long ago. With a hard top and manual trans, you're looking at 29/36 for the S, vs. 32/40 for the base model. But using the same testing scale, a '91 CRX automatic only gets 25/31, and I know for a fact that you can hit over 40 mpg highway with that setup.

i think i'm falling in love with this little 99 subaru impreza awd 2.5 but i think i would go to far into making it a little track devil

with whats in my garage at home it would be vastly different than anything i have built before

svo: roommate down at school has a car similar to what you are describing 420 at the front wheels and is really just a race car. its fun and does way better in mpg compared to both of my old cars although he runs 24 pounds of boost and has over 11k in the motor alone.

snax: sad but true guy on my local forum just posted his vr4 clicking off a 9 second pass while breaking a transaxle and he built his for under 15k i wouldn't want any of that in a stock sti

i've narrowed it down a little bit: reasonable used s2000 20k and do nothing too it
sti: somehow find a used sti that hasn't been abused

i thought this would be fun a 96 impala ss but swap the auto for a 6-speed and the ole lt1 for a ls1 which gives me overdrive and some power for fun and room for a party

and the mini's i'm a 6 foot 1 and 225 pound fullback for my university its seems a bit tight does it have room for the bigger people in the u.s.

heard the new mazdaspeed 3 is quicker than a sti and way down in price and ideas what the FE would be in this little sleeper

i seem to remember that gm came out with a performance s10 with a turbo 6cyl called the cyclone back in the early to mid-nineties i think they are collector items but it would be perfect for what i want

i would go with the a used sti if i had that amount of cash. in a sti was some of my best times ive ever had in a car. 160 top outs all the time, insane all wheel burn out/cookies and all 4 wheels off the ground jumps. i just feel bad for the dude who got that car.

I would go for the S2000 if I had the option...it's so pretty!

its the nature of the beast dude. If when don't live on campus we get money each month for rent.(its way beyond what a apt. rent should be) i don't know how this works but i don't complain.

i'm not a dumb jock though i'm majoring in economics finishing football this fall and going to work. its not my fault where i come from and what i'm doing people everyday go to school for free, for all kinds of different things

yup they started that version way back in early 80's too.:D yes they are rare but i have seen a few. its easy to find a 1st gen s-10 and since they were carbed or simple throttle body FI they make excelent cars to do engine swaps cuz most still had simple guages / idiot lights that could easily be hooked up and the stock speedo was cable driven off the tranny.:thumbup:

ive found lots of performace parts for the 4.3 L v6 which is what they used so its still possible to build up one close to a cyclone. belive it or not for the 2nd gens they were in talks of having an optional v8. but it never happened.

and again thier having talks for the colorado/caynon to get an optional V8 but nothings been decided yet...:) so you could alway swait and see what comes about of that. v8 hooked up to the 5 speed manual. mm mm fun!

or could get one with thier newly designed (but not new technology, there have been lotsa I5's in history just never caught on) inline 5 engine.:D i dunno if it trust that engine yet, but i havent heard anythign bad nor good about it...

Why not get a cheap car and save your money? All cars are losing investments. Or how about an old diesel for a WVO conversion? You'll be the only guy on the team with one!

I'll have to agree and disagree with you on the cars being losing investments both of my pre-1972 muscle cars have appreciated and continue to appreciate in value ex. the 65 cobra we restored is worth way over 60,000 today and will continue to rise and the falcon which is comparable to the modern day tauras is worth well over what i have in it. But anything other than collector cars you are right seems like a losing investment. At the same time you only live once and you can't take anything when you go so........

WVO is a cool thing although not practical in my situation nor would i like smelling like burnt french fries all the time.

now a 80's turbo diesel vw gti would be a sweet little ride to throw around and get good mpg and performance when needed.

I love the Colorado!!! i put 3000 miles on one in 3 weeks driving around fla. doing some work for my fathers company. Around 22 appox mpg on the highway 4wd and 4 doors can't beat it. He has a few of them and the guys who have them love them even for a fullsize silverado!!!

*chough*tdiswap*cough*

:thumbup: