oneinchsidehop -

I keep thinking the base model of the 7th gen Toyota Celica would be a good candidate :

Seventh generation / T230 series (2000-2005)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Celica
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-Celica-GT.jpg

The base version was a 1.8 liter that got 28/34 in old EPA MPG or 24/31 in new EPA MPG. I am guessing there are bolt-on tuner ECU mods that could be applied to it for better MPG. Here's a few more vitals :

2000 Toyota Celica Specs
https://www.internetautoguide.com/car...ica/index.html
I didn't like the aesthetics of the car when it first came out, but it's grown on me over the years. I think it's got a very good slope on the hatchback for aero, so I am sure it could be cleaned up even more.

CarloSW2

I have GOT to do the manual swap one of these days! If you're interested to see your 850's aero tendencies, I just posted pics and video of mine with wool tufts:

https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=7519

I agree,especially since that's what I have to work with.:thumbup:

Perhaps the bubbley Ford Contour. Mine got respectable mileage, until the sensors died.

https://www.gassavers.org/garage_imag...p1irgnqxjw.jpg

Drag co. of .31 Quite good! and plenty of room for improvement.

I think they are only available in automatics though, so that is not so great.

1987 Mercedes 300TD Sleeper
 

My 1987 Mercedes diesel wagon sleeps 2 adults...
...and can seat 7 with the third row jump seat.

We seem to be getting better than EPA... close to 26mpg combined hypermiled.

Seriously, this can haul alot of cargo. We surrendered our leased Dodge Dakota quad cab short bed (18MPG) and bought the used wagon. The auto leveling suspension can swallow 800+ lbs of bagged top soil or concrete mix without bottoming out...

Disconnecting the rear O2 sensor netted me an easy 5mpg on my SVT Focus without any other efforts :D

But dont you love it when a truck "flies" by you just before the corner and then smashes their brakes which in turn causes you to have to brake? It makes my happy to know he is paying $100 to fill his tank.

By the way, there's those 80s/90s GM FWD N bodies and A bodies with iron duke and quad 4 motors that get fairly decent highway, stuff like Buick Skylarks, Olds Cutlass Cierras, Pontiac 6000s, early Grand Ams, the later ones of that era weren't too bad for aero considering.

Took the wife's 1995 Ford Taurus on a weekend trip to Reno NV back in March. It got 30 mpg with the cruise set at 70. It has the 3.0L engine. She gets about 25 mpg running around town and has a very short commute.

Coefficient of drag: 0.32
Curb weight: 3,104 pounds

That's the same drag and ~100 pounds heavier than my little 2008 VW Rabbit. It doesn't have the latest FE technology, but I bet it has much better gearing than my VW. It does lose for being an automatic, though. With all routine maintenance up to date and some hypermiling strategies applied, I bet you could squeeze 35 mpg out of it, or at least 30 on the local commute. :thumbup:

I cant afford to buy a 10k car (celica) just because it gets 5mpg better than a car I already own, but for a grand I'll buy a toy to keep myself busy. In California no one is laughing at what you drive anymore. I get offers for 1500+ for my aspire even after I tell them i bought it for much less. Guys with lifted expeditions/excursions...

Dont be scared of KIA. older kias have mazda engines. Do not group them together with hyndai. Same engine family as the ford festiva and aspire. I don't remmeber if there were many 2 door kias, so a 4 door is going to add afew hundred pounds. I'm totally happy with my 800 dollar aspire purchase that nets me a few mpg worse than a metro. I still consider myself young so I refuse to be the slowest car on the road If i dont have to. In addition I couldn't find a metro running as well for the same price. I can also engine swap the heck out of this car, double its output,and still flirt with 40mpg. It all depends on how confident you are with an old car that might have been someone else's problem.

a mazda 323 is a little heavier but has a 1.6 to pull itself around and should give good results, and the handling is nice. Lots of aftermarket options for them.

I had an old Subaru GLF (1974 model) that would get over 35 in town with a teenager (me)driving it. It had the horizontal 1400cc manual. I am sure some older (read "lighter") cars of the past would be good cheap finds.

I'm pretty sure that Hyundais are actually decent. I've never owned one but I've been very impressed when test-driving them. Their owners seem quite satisfied, and their reliability is apparently much better than it was decades ago, much more in line with other modern cars.

You guys are forgetting the Horizom TC3 with the 1.7 liter.
I got 45 mpg on the freeway no mods what so ever and going 70 mph+

I only do a couple mpg better than that in my VX. I get about 45mpg at 75-80mph

I owned a 2002 Hyundai Accent GS model. It had a 1.6L DOHC engine along with a 5 speed transmission. I traded it in when it had 55,000 miles on it. That was a big mistake on my part. It developed it's first squeek at 50,000 miles. It had ZERO rattles and I had absolutely no problems out of that car. It got 38-40 mpg on the highway and around 28-30 in town. I also raced the car at Driver Education events (road course). I pushed the car VERY hard and it kept coming back for more.

Here's a picture of it on a road course in Oklahoma called Hallett.

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...e19a55102a.jpg

I wish I still had it.

Shoot, every person I have ever known that owned a Kia had nothing but problems with them, and they were all brand new cars! They have that 10 year, 100k mile warranty for a reason. You will certainly use it. I've known 4 people that had Kia's and all were different models, but they all had the same results. I would never buy a Kia or recommend one to anyone. Rediculous to have a brand new car and the thing be in the shop multiple times a year, in the first year of ownership! :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

The newer Hyundai-based Kias shouldn't be that bad. I've known plenty of Hyundai owners who have nothing but praise. And when something DOES go wrong, pop over to the dealer and it's taken care of gratis.

No complaints here with my '06 Hyundai, it's treated me very well. I've certainly owned cars far worse than this. :D

The newer Hyundais aren't too bad, IMHO... Now the 80's through a lot of the 90's models, well... ;)

02 Saturn SL, 40mpg highway on the sticker. I've got multiple full-tank highway 49mpg.

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Toyota Paseo, however I guess being such a small car it looks like it'd get high FE, and wouldn't be consider much of a "sleeper". However, the Nissan 240SX 1989-94 or the 1995-98 are very sporty looking, and can get good FE. They are also RWD, so they really have that sporty feel, but they are not so good in snowy or icy winters. On my 91 240SX I get about 30-32MPG just driving lightly, no hypermiling. Even when racing often I still got around 20MPG.

Again, anything with the GM 3800 or the GM 2200 OHV 4-cylinder in it. Torque everywhere and wide gearing make for a couple winners. With the V6, even in-town you can get decent mileage if you don't put your foot into it, but you'll see your mileage fall really quickly if you do because of the large displacement. Gotta love those OHV engines. (wow, I'm actually recommending GM products for mileage...)

As for KIA and Hyundai, It was i think 2003 when they went FULLY automated on their assembly line and the 2005 to now are excellent cars.

Gotta love their thinking.
'Most of our manufacturing issues are coming from human error.'
'So how do we fix it?'
'Get rid of the human error.'
In their overseas plants a human hand never touches the body of the car through the entire assembly process(if I remember correctly). The new domestic(US) plants I don't think will work like that.

The 3800 is a great engine. My dad has been able to squeeze 32 MPG out of his '04 Impala SS with the supercharged 3800 on long trips. Not bad for something that big and with that much performance!

I don't know everyones income level or where they are in the country, but my approach to save money on all fronts was to not purchase another newer car worth more than cars I already own just for gas mileage.

if your aspire is in good shape and money is a concern, there should be no reason to look for something else.

I think this thread is intended more for people who are already in the market for a vehicle, and people who drive a lot of miles in a behemoth where a FE vehicle can pay for itself.

Its pretty evident that many here simply recommend what they're already driving, so I shall be no exception.
If you can find one in drivable condition...how `bout a 1983-84 Volvo 240 Diesel? https://www.volvo200.org/modellen/fol...3240diesel.jpg
The spaciousness and cargo capacity of a mid-sized SUV and 35+mpgs to boot.
Or better yet, convert a later model 200 series: https://www.thegreencarco.com/product...rsion_faqs.php

Yup, they really pulled 'em up over the last few years, they were trying harder since about '00 but weren't making it, wouldn't want a well used Accent from before then, some of the bigger cars had a bit more care lavished. Anything wrong with the recent ones is probably "Disposable car syndrome" more than anything else... i.e. "if I'm buying a cheap POS to commute into the ground, why should I bother spending much on maintenance." So see if you can find one owned by that little old lady from Passadena and you'll make out better.

Can't complain with a car like the elantra that can be decked out with heated leather seats and sunroof and everything for under 19k. Local Hyundai dealers here are offering a 300k mile 10 year warranty for free with the purchase of a new Hyundai.

White toaster
 

Wow, that's great! Who knew a car built like a toaster could get such good mileage, wonder what it could get with some aerodynamics?

same as the Echo/yaris I should think.

Mid size car: mid 90's model Galant EPA 21 city/ 28 hwy

Compact: early/mid 90's Mirage; EPA 28 city/36 hwy

Mazda Protege mid/late 90's; EPA 28/33

Been looking at figures for the '91-'95 generation of Nissan Sentras and NX coupes. They look like doing real nice wih the 1.6 and 5 speed manual, original ratings was 29 city 39 highway... could probably get 45+ out of them. NX got 1 mpg lower, don't know why, if it has lower gearing it might get better with a swap from the Sentra sedan. It looks slippier, but apparently sedan only had .34 Cd. Handling and durability of these is meant to be way up there too.

Yep, I have a co-worker who just scored a 92 Sentra 5-speed for $1500. He threw another couple of hundred into maintenance and is hitting 40 mpg no problem.

I am really new at this, but had to post this info. My wife drives mixed city/hwy 50 miles one way daily. She is driving a 2005 Hyundai Elantra auto tranny. We inflated tires to 51lb max. She drives speed limit (60mph highest limit driven) with Cruise control on and shifts it into neutral for ERC(Engine running coasting?) until stopped at the lights. With the altered driving habits she clocked her best FE number today at 40.1 mpg! She was getting a solid 32mpg before this! Her mileage has gradually increased over the last 5 weeks as she changed her habits to this current number! I am impressed! Thanks to you all for the info posted here!

according to the milage calculator in my fuel-log on this site, (can't get it to show in my sig though..) my '95 Range Rover is a hypermiler...at 16mpg....maybe the definition needs to be refined a bit?

My G/F has a 02 Monte SS with the 3.8 shes getting 27+ average, without really hypermiling it at all. I made a ~10 mile trip through town, and back and got the built in MPG gauge to read 32.7 for the round trip! So yea for a 3500 lb car, it kicks butt!

Its 20% above EPA...

I know, just seems a bit ironic to me that my gas hog (by any standard) fits that criteria. Maybe (EPA+20%) AND >20mpg???

A hypermiler is a person, not a vehicle. You are a hypermiler because you're beating the EPA estimates for your vehicle by a significant amount. If you got in a vehicle that's EPA rated for 18mpg, you'd certainly get over 20mpg.