Cars that can go the distance.

My record is 760 in my MK4 Golf TDi. I still had 1/2 gallon when I filled up. My bladder never lasted longer than a tank of fuel.

Best I've documented was 585 on a tank, quite a few north of 550. Our '14 TDI Sportwagen replaced an '09 TDI Jetta which got a little better MPGs that the wagon does. The Jetta's claim to fame was filling up at the UDF in Reynoldsberg, OH and driving to the Love's in West Memphis, AR, on Winter fuel. Google maps says that's 601 miles.

There's a wad of recipts in the center console I haven't entered yet, so this isn't up-to-date at the moment.

Travis_K wrote:

Tom Suddard wrote: Due to a lack of overdrive and ALL THE WEIGHT IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, it's heavily driving dependent. In town racing from light to light? 18-19. On a long highway trip at 80 mph? 24-25. Cruising down a back road at 55? Nearly 30. I usually average about 23 wth mixed driving.

Interesting, that's pretty similar to the broken e300d I have now and need to replace, and the 5 cylinder 300sd I used to have. Not bad for such a huge car.

Yeah, by modern standards it's terrible, but it's also way, way bigger than a normal car. It gets a few mpg better than my 300SD did, and I'm assuming that's due to the taller final drive and slightly better aerodynamics.

Audi 5000 Turbo or Audi 200. 21 gallon tank and an easy 25mpg on the highway, more like 30 if it is chipped.

Tim Suddard wrote: And the new Pilot gets 25 mpg, which is pretty amazing, considering how big it is. This direct injection may be here to stay.

25 mpg in a Pilot!! That's what my Mazda 6 wagon gets, and it's about half the size. Jeez.

In reply to Tim Suddard:

I squeezed 38mpg out of the 08 Si sedan I had. I've considered the 7th ten hybrid Civic, auto only though.

In reply to NickD:

How have the Cruze's held up? I always felt they looked a bit cheap (GM) and that panels didn't line up properly.

EvanR wrote: How about an EcoBoost Fiesta 1.0? 43 highway x 12.4 gallon tank = 533 miles. Here's a 2015 with under 1,000 miles on the clock for $12k: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/661084031/overview/

For the requirements given, I'd give this a long hard look as well. Maybe not as 'euro' feeling as a TDI, but supposedly hit upwards of 50mpg on prolonged (presumably flat land) highway jaunts and you can find them new for <$15k out the door...Might even be able to add the FRPP handling kit, aftermarket wheels, and Steeda/FRPP short shifter, all while staying within budget too. My local dealer has a hatch that has been advertised at <$13k for long enough to become very enticing.

MA$$hole wrote: The 500 is a give or take. Sure you can get 30-40mpg in a small car but is it really making any difference when you have a small tank & fill up every 300 miles. I had an 08 Civic Si that saw 30-38 on long highway drives & my E39 528it could get 450 on a straight highway drive. Commute for the area I'm looking at working is all highway & about 100 miles (roundtrip) daily. The 03 Matrix XRS I have now can muster about 29mpg on long hauls.

Holy e36m3! You're getting almost 30 out of yours! Mine struggles to get 22, I wonder if something is wrong with mine. Maybe I'm just in lift too much. I cant stand the range of the matrix, mine gets like 250 miles and I start to wonder if I'll make it to a gas station.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I recommend looking deeper at the current body Elantra. Edit: Google tells me 13 gal tank so 38.5 mpg would get you 500 miles. Reports of over 40mpg.

In over 100k miles I don't think I've ever put more than 11 gallons in mine and that's after having the gauge on empty and the light on for 10-15 miles.

Also, it will get 38+ on the highway, but only at 65-70 mph on dry roads, during the day, with cruise. That drops off fast once you are off the highway. My current commute is 50/50 highway and secondary roads and I average 24-26 most tanks.

I am serious about the dry roads and daylight. When commuting 130 miles round trip (on rt 290 and 495) there was a noticeable drop when driving at night or in the rain. During the 70,000 miles of that commute the best tank was just over 38, but the average was typically 34-35 mpg with 350-370 miles out of a tank before the gas light would turn on.

Some of that may be the auto, and also that it's a 2011 without active Eco mode. I've also read the tuning for the DBW has a high rate of fuel increase for a small changes in gas pedal position that contributes to difficulty achieving high mpg numbers under varying load conditions.

I like mine and plan to keep it, but I would not recommend it if mpg's and overall range per tank are a top priority.

Mazda 3 2.0 has projectors, and with 40 MPG highway and a 13.2 gallon tank, will get 528 miles on a single tank.

As my wife and I are leaning towards the 1.0 Fiesta I've been poking around. On CL here in Portland there was a set of FiST springs and the front Anti Roll bar for 100 bucks.

Driven5 wrote:

EvanR wrote: How about an EcoBoost Fiesta 1.0? 43 highway x 12.4 gallon tank = 533 miles. Here's a 2015 with under 1,000 miles on the clock for $12k: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/661084031/overview/

For the requirements given, I'd give this a long hard look as well. Maybe not as 'euro' feeling as a TDI, but supposedly hit upwards of 50mpg on prolonged (presumably flat land) highway jaunts and you can find them new for <$15k out the door...Might even be able to add the FRPP handling kit, aftermarket wheels, and Steeda/FRPP short shifter, all while staying within budget too. My local dealer has a hatch that has been advertised at <$13k for long enough to become very enticing.

my 2wd 5 speed 5.4 f250 has a 38 gallon tank. As long as it can knock out atleast 13.2 mpg highway it could get do 500 miles to a tank.

I think mayby nighttime improvements in gas milage may have more to do with temperature than alternator drag due to headlight draw. There is a 3 mile downhill sparsely driven 2% ish grade I drive regularly. I coast for yucks in my coroplast bottomed, 80% grill blocked 96 civic hatch. I start out at 65. When it is cold (30-40f in winter) the air density (My hypothesis anyway) kills the speed and I need to apply gas in one spot to make the grade. When it's warm 70 for 4-6 months)out the car picks up lots of speed and I need to apply brakes a few times to keep it below 70 ish. Science? Not. Pumping water with tires eats lots of power for sure.

In reply to sesto elemento:

I just pulled 33 out of it. 90% was highway driving 75-80mph & the car is on snow tires at the moment. By no means do I take it easy, I probably abuse the car more than I should.

edizzle89 wrote: my 2wd 5 speed 5.4 f250 has a 38 gallon tank. As long as it can knock out atleast 13.2 mpg highway it could get do 500 miles to a tank.

I mean if we're going that route... the Sierra only has a 26gallon tank and highway will average 22mpg still with this crap we call "Gas". On vacations we typically stop around the 400-450 mile mark to leave some wiggle room.

MA$$hole wrote: In reply to NickD: How have the Cruze's held up? I always felt they looked a bit cheap (GM) and that panels didn't line up properly.

They seem to be on the of the most durable GM products out there at the moment. See them coming in frequently at the 100K mark and usually having nothing done other than oil changes. The only real issues we see are minor electrical gremlins (almost all fixed by a new ground cable and warrantied via special coverage for 10yr/120Kmiles), water pumps leaking (Also special coverage for 10yr/120k miles) and valve covers sucking air at the PCV valve and causing like 15 CEL codes. Other than that, just gas tires and oil. Even brakes seem to last forever. I think I've only done Cruze brakes once or twice at our dealership and I've been here 4 years.

The diesel Cruzes I am less familiar with. We only sold a handful and they don't have many miles yet. But those are fairly quick for what they are, and because they use DEF, I wouldn't expect an emissions scandal like VW.

Shaun wrote: As my wife and I are leaning towards the 1.0 Fiesta I've been poking around. On CL here in Portland there was a set of FiST springs and the front Anti Roll bar for 100 bucks.

Granted, no first hand experience (yet) but I think I'd still probably lean towards the Handling Pack. It might not be quite as lowered/stiff, apparently just the right amount to look/feel like the Fiestas should have from the factory, nor come with any ARB upgrade. But does include a set of better matched dampers to go with the stiffer/lower springs...All still for a mere $250.

MA$$hole wrote: In reply to sesto elemento: I just pulled 33 out of it. 90% was highway driving 75-80mph & the car is on snow tires at the moment. By no means do I take it easy, I probably abuse the car more than I should.

I could hypermile mine to 25 if my life was on the line, but that'd be a really hard won battle. It's weird to me that there's a 10mpg difference. I'm on property inflated, summer biased all seasons, I've got no cel and the car rolls freely. I average like 20mpg. Wtf? I did a coil pack and plugs last month, I wonder if all the coils were weak and it's just not misfiring enough for the easy going toyota ecu to care enough to record the events.

In reply to sesto elemento:

I've been running 87 octane in mine, performance is noticeably down but I guess that helps the urge to flog on it. 173k, new clutch, plugs done last summer. 32-35 psi in the tires. Granted a lot of my driving is highway I do see averages of 26 around town.

I have never squeezed more than 11 gallons into my 2011 Elantra manual, car cost $17K new and gets 440 miles before I refill, so that is 40mpg in my particular case.

212,000 miles so far without a single failure

Here's another vote for the Kia/Hyundai products. I have a 2013 Kia Soul with a 2.0 liter 6 speed. On the highway, depending on weather and driving conditions I routinely get between 34-38 mpg. So that's 482-539 mpg with a 14.2 gallon tank. I think I cracked 40 mpg once on the highway under ideal conditions. An added bonus is the the (sort of) zippy 7 second 0-60 time with that combination although you really have to wring it's neck to get that.

aussiesmg wrote: I have never squeezed more than 11 gallons into my 2011 Elantra manual, car cost $17K new and gets 440 miles before I refill, so that is 40mpg in my particular case. 212,000 miles so far without a single failure

That's not true. You put spark plugs and brake pads on it. you are such a liar!

All those VW diesel recommendations! Now we know how they got that good mileage.

Feedyurhed wrote: Here's another vote for the Kia/Hyundai products. I have a 2013 Kia Soul with a 2.0 liter 6 speed. On the highway, depending on weather and driving conditions I routinely get between 34-38 mpg. So that's 482-539 mpg with a 14.2 gallon tank. I think I cracked 40 mpg once on the highway under ideal conditions. An added bonus is the the (sort of) zippy 7 second 0-60 time with that combination although you really have to wring it's neck to get that.

You can get mid 30's out of the Soul? I thought they got no better than 30mpg, mostly due to their brick shape.