The anti-GRM DD what car thread

Mazda 6- the 6 banger is barely enough to get it moving. the 4cyl is a dog in that car. If you want to drive an ms3, give me a ring. Albeit mine is...lightly modified, It is a pretty good representation. Mazdaspeed6...... AWD, boosties....

Just to be different im going to throw out Kizashi.

mndsm wrote: Mazda 6- the 6 banger is barely enough to get it moving. the 4cyl is a dog in that car. If you want to drive an ms3, give me a ring. Albeit mine is...lightly modified, It is a pretty good representation. Mazdaspeed6...... AWD, boosties....

Really? What are you comparing it to?

Someone already said it but,

Jetta or Golf TDi - drive great on hwy and will knock down huge mileage.

clutchsmoke wrote: I vote Acura TSX or TL. They both get good mileage on the highway. My sister averaged about 30-31mpg on her commute through suburban/country roads. Second suggestion that comes to mind is MS3. Third is Ford Fusion. Don't need premium with it. I test drove a CR-Z and it rides well. I would say it's comfortable, but not quite at the level of the others I suggested.

Either TSX or TL has to have the manual. The TSX is a friggin dog with the auto. The TL's eat auto transmissions like water. Downside with the TL manual are the expensive Brembo brakes that don't last past 30k miles a set, the weak trans that has synchro issues for 2nd gear and the mediocre fuel economy.

I still say snag a new car for that price and drive it into the ground.

I gotta throw it out there - P71? It misses your mark slightly in the mileage department. I got 20 out of mine whether I drive like grandma or Bo Duke. Size, well, yeah, it's not as easy to park as a Miata. It ticks all the other boxes, though, and at a fraction of the price of many of the other suggestions. The ride is no Grand Marquis floaty boat with the cop suspension, but still quite comfortable over all but the worst bumps.

The best part is that everyone just gets out of my way when they see me coming up behind them for some reason...

How about a civilian Vic or Grand Marquis? Less likely to be used up like a P71 from the police fleet, and provides all the other P71 benefits.

Rented a new Mazda6 once, I really didn't mind it. The steering is a little light for my taste, but it's ideal for highway work.

TSX is nice, and I actually didn't mind it with the auto. A little slow, but handles nicely.

Altima maybe? The only concern there would be long-term survival of the CVT.

MAXIMA

Basil Exposition wrote: Yaris -- Drove a sedan version. Couldn't get out of its own way.

You probably drove the 1.3L. The 1.5 isn't too slow, even with a slushbox (well, as autos go...it's not dangerously slow). It reminds me a lot of the early '90s Corollas.

Any Panther platform car with the 2.73 rear end (aka a civilian model) can pull 27mpg highway pretty easily. And its super roomy and comfortable, dirt cheap, reliable, simple, etc...

around town expect low to mid 20s. Stop and go I dont think I ever got less than 21mpg or so.

I would vote EP3 Si. Great DD. Dead-nuts reliable, fuel effecient, great seats, somewhat fun car, hatchback. You can get a nice one for $10,000 and use the extra cash for something else. If no, then another vote for TSX.

I have a similar commute ( I put 80-90 miles a day on my car, mostly highway) and I do it in a '12 Mazda 3 hatchback with the 2.5L and a stick. It gets always gets high 20's mixed and can crack 30mpg if babied. I've had it for about a year and I really like it. It's a good mix of sporty and comfort. Mine's got nearly 26,000 miles on it and has been great so far.

Pros:

-Comfortable on long distances, and I'm a big guy

-Great stereo, and has hands-free Bluetooth phone/audio and an aux input

-Awesome handling and very tight steering

-Gauges don't tire your eyes at night (they changed to blue and white for '12 from red and orange)

-The shifter is great, and the gear ratios are good

-Lots of storage space in both the sedan and the hatchback (the wife has a sedan and the rear seats fold down, you can fit 2-3 big folding tables in the back!!!)

-Very low maintenance costs and easy to work on (no Timing belt and oil changes are every 7500 miles with synthetic, oil changes are super easy for a DIY'er)

Cons:

-Styling is polarizing (The '12's are freshened up and look a lot better than the '10-11 models, especially in the front, and have cooler wheels)

-Why get 28mpg when you could get 40 with the Skyactiv 3? (I bought mine before the Skyactiv ones were out)

-Rear seat space is a little cramped (I don't have kids and rarely have back seat passengers)

-Tech package is pricey (the Nav that comes with it is terrible, but it gives you factory HID's. The cars already have projector lenses with the regular headlights so you could easily modify them for HID's)

I would recommend one to anyone looking for a somewhat sporty yet comfortable daily driver. If you are buying new, they do 0% financing deals every few months. That's one of the reasons I bought mine. It was cheaper than buying a used one!

My vote would be for a TL. Those things are the perfect comfy commuter vehicle. Mine road nice, was pretty fast, and got 31mpg on all freeway driving. And over the 7 years and 100+ thousand miles I put on it, absolutely nothing went wrong with it. Great car. I'd also give a +1 for the TSX idea. Which one? Whichever you like better.

failboat wrote: Any Panther platform car with the 2.73 rear end (aka a civilian model) can pull 27mpg highway pretty easily. And its super roomy and comfortable, dirt cheap, reliable, simple, etc...

I considered buying a used Crown Vic.

Yes, this is a rental car but with 17,000 miles you still have some warranty left to fix any issues. I am against buying rental cars due to the jackwad's like me that wail on them but this might work.........

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2011-Ford-Crown-Victoria-LX-/390409867263?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item5ae63dcfff

I like the TL's, especially the ones before they adopted the chrome beak styling. Are the auto trannies really that fragile?

I forgot to mention the other anti-GRM aspect. No manual transmissions. Sorry, but my commute is bumper-to-bumper for a majority of the hour commute because Houston. I'm not clutch-bumping for that distance, even if it brings my car cred into question and I have to start listing in my signature all the other cars I own with manual transmissions.

[Puffs out chest]

1961 Jaguar E-Type

1962 MGA

1974 MG Midget vintage racecar

1951 MG TD

I would recommend the Dart before the 3. The 3 seems like a bit more fun but the Dart is a much nicer place to be IMO.

What's your climate like? Any snow?

46k on my 2011 Elantra, lowest tank was 28mpg, best 38mpg, average around 34mpg.

No problems, comfortable for my 130 miles round trip.

Automatic, Bluetooth, XM help make the time more bearable.

I also have a Mini and totally understand getting tired of it in day to day for long hauls on rough roads... Gets tiring after a while.

Mazda3
Mazda6
Infiniti G35 (coupe or sedan)
Hyundai Elantra

all of those would be on my list.. Particularly the G35 since you can find them in manual trans and they are RWD.

The Elantra is also attractive since it is a 6 speed manual so better highway cruise, gets great MPG, pretty nice looking, 100k mile warranty.

I don't recall if the Mazda3 has a 6 speed or 5 seed in the manual.

HindsFeet wrote: What's your climate like? Any snow?

Never.

GameboyRMH wrote:

Basil Exposition wrote: Yaris -- Drove a sedan version. Couldn't get out of its own way.

You probably drove the 1.3L. The 1.5 isn't too slow, even with a slushbox (well, as autos go...it's not dangerously slow). It reminds me a lot of the early '90s Corollas.

1.3 liter? OMFG!! No wonder...

amg_rx7 wrote: I don't recall if the Mazda3 has a 6 speed or 5 seed in the manual.

2010-up 3's with the 2.5 have a 6-speed, but the 2010-11 cars with the 2.0L have a 5-speed. The new Skyactiv ones have a 6-speed manual, as do all MS3's.

Basil Exposition wrote: I like the TL's, especially the ones before they adopted the chrome beak styling. Are the auto trannies really that fragile?

No. In typical interwebs fashion, the trans thing got blown out of proportion. Honda had a 5% failure rate on the transmissions for vehicles with under 100k. The bad is that 5% is double the rate they deem acceptable. The good is that it also means that 95% of the vehicles didn't have a problem (including mine). They also extended the warranty on the trans to 100k to cover those that did fail. They are hard to find, but you can also get an '04-~'08ish TL with a manual trans. TSX's with a manual are slightly easier to find.

Edit - Sorry, just saw the no manual trans requirement, so ignore that part.

Vulcan powered Taurus. Family had 2, a 99 and an 07. Both averaged 28, and aside from a broken spring(that was later recalled) I only had to change the oil and swap front pads after about 50-60k.

Pretty much any lexus in your price range. I would choose a loaded es330, gs300/350 or even ls430. All should see upper 20s if you keep the speeds @70 or less. Ok, maybe not the 430