Your opinion please.
 

I am looking for a new car and would like to get some good gas mileage. I at first was looking at a $2,000 or lower runner just so i didnt have payments. But lately I have been looking in the 8-13k range (malibu, colorado, ranger, focus) so I could get good mileage and a nice reliable car. I was wondering if you could tell me what the best cars are around 8-13k and from 1k-2k for mileage and reliability. Thanks DG

honda civic vx is real good for 5 grand but for 1-2 you might be able to find a metro which does really well. we need more people to chime in tho.

Hopefully we can convince you to aim for better mpg than a Colorado.

Got sawzall ;)?
https://www.gassavers.org/attachment....6&d=1184901560

Two items:
stick shift
1996 or later so you can use a Scangauge

Whatever you decide on, a stick will almost universally get better mpg. For some of the newest cars, maybe auto is close to a stick but you're looking at older ones.

Scangauge works on 1996 and later cars as it taps into the OBDII system that became standard then. Scangauge will give you continuous real time display of MPG. My car is too old for Scangauge but I've seen scads of reports here and elsewhere that real time display of mpg is worth its weight in gold for increasing mpg. Also gives you a variety of other readouts like intake air temp, coolant temp, rpm, etc. Do some research on it. About $160-170 and reportedly worth every penny.

Honda Civic or Accord, depending on the size and comfort you need.

I love Hondas, so I got a $2000 CRX HF. It has been reliable, but it is a 17 year old car. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get a 96+ Metro hatchback. You can find these with less then 100K, with AC, and in good shape for about $2500-$3000 depending on the year.

Anything on the old/small side will do well. If you're handy, then it's pretty much a win/win scenario picking up one of these leftovers from the 70s fuel crunch.

2007 Toyota Yaris is your Car...
 

You mentioned that you were looking at getting a new car with high MPG. I would suggest you look at a Toyota Yaris Lift-Back. It EPA's at 40/34, but with hypermilling techniques, you can easily get 45+ on the highway. It looks much bigger inside then when you see it outside. Quiet, peppy, and it has a high tech 1.5 liter engine. You can pick one up for $13,000 plus tax & shipping, and it will come with 40/60 back seat that folds down completely flat to carry lots of luggage. It has A/C, P/S, CD, power windoes, power mirrors, and the Yaris has the lowest cost of ownership of any new car in it's class, even lower then all the Korean models. With a ScanGauge II, one can really extract lots of milage from each tank of gas. With this car, one will never feel under powered getting on freeways, as it's Variable Valve Timing engine dynamically adds more power as required.

Good question...
 

If you're into domestics, probably a Saturn SL or Ion, Cobalt, Metro, Aveo, Focus...

Other good names: Corolla, Impreza, Scion Xa or Xb. Yaris maybe...

Used Hondas go for big money unless they have high miles -- that would be my top recommendation (Civic, Accord), but finding one in the price range may be tough.

RH77

Saturn SL or SC. What did you expect me to say;) ? You have lots of seriously good advice already.

Recently, I tried to get a '96 or newer Civic or a Toyota Echo. Very hard to find one that is less than $5000. The Yaris was right out-- too new to be in the price range I wanted. Other small cars *cough* Aveo *cough* are shockingly sucky on mpg-- some of them can't even manage 30 mpg.

Finally I gave up on the Echoes and Civics. A Chevy Metro is a way better deal. Cheaper price ($2500 to $3000 is about right), decent quality, and better mpg, and easier to get parts for. Don't be fooled into thinking small = poor quality. That's generally been true for American cars such as the late 80's Escorts (that one really lived down to the name Fix Or Repair Daily, what a hunk of garbage), but for Japanese stuff, that's not true. Best of all is Japanese under an American name. You get Japanese quality at domestic pricing, with parts being commonly available and not too expensive.

Got my metro for 700 bucks (great deal for its condition) and hasn't had any major problems yet. Pushing the 60mpg barrier with no mods. MUST be a stick. Only thing I really worry about is winter driving..

Absolutely nothing to worry about there. My previous metro loved the snow (as do I). You just gotta keep your speed up so you can punch your way through the snow drifts :)

I remember being the only car on the gas with the ditches full of vehicles during one interstate trip. Even saw one guy grind his firebird up a guardrail.

Front wheel drive in a tiny car=no problemo

And that parking brake becomes part of the steering system in the snow ;)

Skewbe, where you live? This may make me sound like a bad driver, but oh well. Each winter so far I've gone off the road and/or lost controll 3-6 times. Last incident I tried to go around a turn at 10mph, and it just went straight. Went down an embankment sideways and nearly rolled it upside down into a river when it was below freezing and I was in the middle over nowhere. Ended up having to walk over 2 miles to the nearest house and have my car pulled out by a tow truck. Tow guy who's a friend of mine said he'd never seen a car at such a steep angle without rolling haha... Just to give you an idea, the right taillight was nearly 3 feet higher than the left.

Still though, it sure will "plow" through the snow and is a hell of a lot better than my mustang which I wont take out in the winter. Atleast if I wreck in the Metro, no biggie...

I'm in the midwest, I practice driving in the snow whenever I get the chance, deliberately getting slideways and doing 360s and whatnot on deserted streets and empty parking lots. Do you practice your winter driving?

Im in the upper Appalachines (sp) so we get a far amount in the winter. And yes, that parking brake sure is fun in an empty parking lot. At my old workplace we would get off at 1:30 AM and go flying across the parking lot and spin like a top..

Of course, we also played bumper cars with each other, so, it might not of been the smartest thing to do :)

thats really a Toyota Corolla. Well in 1990 they were...

lol i hate to say it, but 10 mph is WAY TO FAST to be doign a 90* turn...you really need to practice winter driving... never been in a ditch or even close. i love fishtailing it and drifting around in parking lots tho....

but seriously, next time it snows, drive real slow to a big empty parking lot and purposely loose control and practice correcting it before you kill yourself or someone else. practice pumping the brakes and whatnot. keep doing it enough and it becomes second nature.

ooh and a word of advice. some of you know that all snow is not equal. wet stuff is very slick while dry powery stuff isnt bad. so once you pull out on your street if theres nohting for you to hit, speed up to about 5mph and slam on the brakes. it will give you an idea of how slick it accualy is so you know how fast to drive and how fast you can take cornners,etc.

that and some spots are just treacherous. You have to anticipate the spots where the road is going to throw you off, i.e. a hi crowned, slick ice covered, downhill curve, with a light snow dusting as an extreme example. That'll escort you off the road if you just park there :)

I recently picked up an 04 Cavalier w/ 18,000 miles on it for $8500 bux. The car is loaded, rides real nice, is decently quick, is getting 35 MPG [so far], and the Ecotec engine has a good following and good parts availability. I really like it. :thumbup:

Snow? Never heard of the stuff.

For snow, use snow tires.
(I live in New England so I know a bit about snow).
Four snows is best, but two on the drive wheels is better than none.
And yes, as others have said, practice, and test the slipperyness now and then.

If your car is real light in the rear, or if its rwd, add some weight over rear wheels so they have some traction for steering/braking.

I've never needed studded snows. Had them once but have since learned that non-studded works, at least for the roads I use. If you're using long messy driveways or live in the mountains or such then maybe you need studs.

some states studded tires are illegal (like IL for example) so check first

FYI,

Geo METROS were Suzukis.

Geo STORMS were Izusus.

Geo PRIZMS were Toyotas. Corollas, to be exact.

Sorry for the long reponse time. Naw, it was only a slight turn, maybe 35* or so. Speed limit is 55 through that area and I can hold the Stang at 75 through that area :D