Your daughter sounds a lot like me. I'm known for being frugal and just couldn't understand paying 16-20K on a car when something that was much cheaper would still get me where I need to go.

If the center mounting is the only thing keeping her from the Yaris I would have her drive it again. At first it bugged me and almost kept me from buying my Yaris, however it only took a short period of time for me to get used to it. Now I like having everything in the center, I find it easy just glancing to the side to look at the speedometer.

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If you're not getting the mpg you expected, you're driving it wrong -- I'm getting 37 mpg/city with some very modest hypermiling techniques. I'm flabbergasted at the "official" mpg numbers -- I suspect there's some hankypanky going on.

Unless you're driving automatic? I'm talking stick, of course.

we were expecting the fit to respond well to hypermiling techniques and with 0 modifications we were hoping to get well over 40mpg regularly. keep in mind the thread you are responding to is over a year old and expectations were based off old epa estimates.

I share the "drive it until it blows up" mentality except that I buy 15 year old Hondas and they never blow up. They never even fail smog. My g/f had a Ford when I first met her. Needless to say, she now has a Civic. She gave the Ford (ZX1) to her dad. The tranny went bad. He had it fixed; then it went bad again. Only thing I do to her Civic is change the oil and the brakes.

LOL, that sounds like me, "Drive em' till the doors fall off". The funny thing is I have actually had doors fall off before. I've had doors fall off on the 81 AMC Spirit, and on the 81 Buick Regal. What happens is that the doors are so huge and heavy that there is a large load on the hinges, and the hinge bushings wear out, then the hinge pin drops out. I fixed it a couple of times, then I got tired of doing that so I got 1 size bigger bushing and hingepin and have had no further problems in the Buick. The AMC's door was wobbily again by the time we sold it, but figured it was someone else's problem. I can remember when dad & I took the door off of the AMC the 2 of us could barely lift & carry that door.

My 74 Chevy pickup with well over 300,000 miles had another problem. After about 20 years of door slamming the nader pin broke off with about an inch of the surrounding metal. I figure it was stress cracks in the metal from age. I mounted the Nader pin onto a 4" x 4" x 1/4" steel plate, and placed it behind the broken panel. I then bolted it down with like 15 or 20 small bolts. Never had a problem with that again either.

What is the basis of this kind of prejudice? My 2001 Escape is the first Ford I've had. At 104,000 miles, there's a little rattle in the front that might be a strut issue. I'll take that over my co-worker who got to buy a new transmission for his Honda Odyssey. Except for the fact that it's chronically dirty because I don't wash it regularly, it's not that different from when I got it. My 12 year old, 145,000 mile Caravan is showing signs of rust cancer and if I don't treat it, it will probably reach its economic service life limit (defined as I'm tired of trying to fix it) in five or so years. I have nothing to base an economic service life limit forecast on the Escape because there's no degradation to track. When you don't sell them, resale value is irrelevant.

I'm at a similar point with my 98 GMC truck. It's 10 years old, over 150,000 miles and absolutely nothing is wrong with it, aside from a dent where one of my employees backed into it, and there is some rust starting on the rear bumper. (And I too am conducting a scientific dirt test - Hasn't been washed since the dealer washed it a few months ago) I just had it in the dealer for the 150,000 mile service this past spring and told them I was thinking about a newer model. The mechanic who worked on it told me afterwards that it still runs just like it did when it was new. He did not find any hint of problems starting. I figure that I will have that truck for many years to come. I figure within the next couple of years I will buy a new(er) DD, and give the Beast "beater" status. When I buy a new DD it will be a hard decision. I would like something that will get good mileage, but comfort is a must. I'm 6' 4" and I will require something that has ample legroom and headroom. I'm partial to GM & American vehicles, but I'm not impressed with their offerings for a smaller vehicle. I guess I could get a Cavalier, but still I am not impressed. Dad's new Focus is a neat little car, but the seats are kinda hard. I may just get a late model Lesabre, Park Avenue, or Grand Marquis. Any one of these will supply me with the comfort & legroom I require, and all should do over 30 on the highway. Probably even better with some aero mods and LRR tires. I was on Buick's website this morning and I was not impressed with their current offerings, and did not see any small car. I guess when they dropped the Century/Regal lines they did not pick up another small car and they are only selling midsize and larger vehicles now. I can remember in the 80's my grandmother had a Buick Skyhawk. For a gussied up Cavalier that was nice, comfortable little car.

Some of the Hyundais out there are nice looking cars, and maybe their quality has improved, but I still have the memory of seeing many people I knew driving Hyundai Excel's in the 80's and 90's have them die before they ever reached 100,000 miles. Then again, the Kia Amanti is also a nice looking little car, but I've never ridden in one so the jury is still out on that. I guess I'll worry about what to get when that time comes.

-Jay

I had the same concern...for about 1 hour. You will get used to it. I installed my ScanGauge in the area where normally the instrument cluster is placed. Of course you setup your SG to read MPH & RPM if you want.

I have a problem with paying over $10,000 for a new car that will lose 2/3's of it's value in a couple of years. However, my $1000 1990 Accord at 200k seems to be doing alright so far.

I also hate how bloated and big previously small cars have gotten (cough CIVIC cough). I think I just like early 90's cars...

Gimma a CRX with a freshly rebuilt VX drivetrain and I bet I can drive it reliably for 10 more years! :D

Personally, I'd pick a Focus over a Fit as well. :thumbup: