What Car - $10k Hi-MPG DD Hatch

Looking to spend about $10,000 or so, could do $12k at the very most. Can do some mods to something to bring it inline with what I want. Here's what I'd like in a car;

Something like 40 mpg on the highway, 30 in town.

Prefer five doors, three is okay.

Non-horrible place to spend time, so kind of quiet? Decent ride/handling compromise. Good seats, don't need electric anything there, but some adjust-ability would be good.. I don't need a sunroof or heated seats, just air/con. Would really prefer power windows.

Bigger than a Yaris or Sonic.

Reliable. This is a big issue; the Mini scares me, Golf/Rabbit almost as much as the Mini. Honda hasn't offered a Civic hatch since 2000 and they all seem either attacked by child owners or 200k+ mile cars. But this is where I'm wishing for a Honda or Toyota. Celica seems kind of small, RSX about the same and the MPG on either isn't that impressive, especially in the hotter formats available.

Under 100k miles would be good, goes with the Reliable part I guess.

So what am I missing that's available here in the USA? The Focus isn't a bad option but I remember them having horrible seats and are usually low-option. Fixable with trips to the parts counter or yards but maybe something better? Elantra GT? I've never been in one, let alone test driven. Mazda 3's in the older non-smiley years that are local-ish to me are usually pretty high mileage cars at this point. Astra? The Saturn wagons are getting pretty old now too so I skipped them. VW TDi stuff is pretty rare on the ground out here in KS.

What I'd love is a five door Golf with, say, the 1.8T that pulls mileage numbers I've not heard of, with good reliability. Does that car exist? If so, I'd like to hear about it.

Honda did offer the Si from 2002-2005 in hatch form. Toyota had the Matrix. Protege5. Honda Fit. But none of these will get quite the MPG you want. Kia Rio 5-door gets 30/40 I think. The Fiesta's will soon be around $10,000.

I think your mileage numbers are a bit optimistic. What cars bigger than a Yaris or Sonic are getting 40mpg or better on the highway in the first place? Even the brand new Cruz Eco is only rated 38. And what's getting 30mpg in town that's not a hybrid?

ReverendDexter wrote: I think your mileage numbers are a bit optimistic. What cars bigger than a Yaris or Sonic are getting 40mpg or better on the highway in the first place? Even the brand new Cruz Eco is only rated 38. And what's getting 30mpg in town that's not a hybrid?

Depends on the owner/driver. Aussiemg has been AVERAGING 40mpg in his 2011 Elantra for hte last 120k miles. So the Elantra GT hatch would likely be able to do the same.

I'd say any of the '11-up Accent/Rio's would see your numbers if you drove like you were trying to save gas and not like an ass-hat.

I was thinking Hyundai Elantra here too. Not sure how you fit in one.

In reply to MadScientistMatt:

Elantra GT looks decently sized. Never drove one. I think I have some test drives to find...

In reply to pres589:

Depending on your hwy/city driving mix, you might consider a 1st gen Scion xB. I get 30 mpg all the time in my 2005 xB with mostly town driving and a heavy foot (not really any other way to drive it with only 104hp). It's not a great highway car (due to stiff springs & gearing), so I wouldn't recommend it for a highway commute but I've heard of people getting 35-40 mpg on the highway. Nothing fancy about an xB... just a box on wheels. Add a rear sway bar and it even handles fairly well. Has power windows & a/c... no cruise control, but it can be added. You should be able to find a nice one for ~$7-8k.

4 door Golf TDI is just about the only thing I can think of in real world number that could deliver what you want.

B5 Passat TDI wagon?

12k gets you pretty damn close to the cheapest CR-Z out there. Other than space behind the front seats it would dominate the ride/handling/mpg/reliability equation.

I would add Scion xA. They should be able to touch 40mpg fairly easily, and they do a pretty decent job with your other criteria. It's basically an xB that is half-decent looking. I dont hate boxes but i vastly prefer the xA to xB.

I have an 82 rabbit that meets most of your requirements?

I'd look at CR-Z though.

NOS Mazda 2??? Someone here recently said the dealer threw $10k out the door at them on a '12 touring....

Oh, and I <3 the MP5 but I'm guessing mileage isn't anywhere near what you're looking for. Do you drive a gazillion miles a day? Would 5-10 mpg really make a huge difference? Worth putting a pencil to paper if you haven't already.

If you stretch your budget just a teensy bit more the CR-Z is the closest thing to what you describe in your OP. I test drove one and liked it. I despised the navigation, but I hate it in all cars. I'm a bit surprised at how much they have depreciated in 2 years, but that's not because they're bad cars.

According to OP, Rsx & Celica are too small. I doubt CRZ is the answer.

The mileage requirements aren't set in stone. I'm looking to do as good as I can without going insane, so I'd give up a few clicks, but I'm looking for serious improvements over my Intrigue. I drive about 9,000 miles a year, a lot of it commuting to and from work. I used to ride my motorcycle a lot, but last summer here was brutal and that trailed off. So it kind of depends.

I kind of want a do-all smaller car here, something I can throw a decent amount of stuff into, and the Celica and RSX just don't seem large enough to fit that want. Or is there about as much space for junk in an RSX as a Focus ZX3?

There is a ZX3 that fits most of the bill a couple hours away, I have considered trying to get a good deal on that and just buying nice aftermarket seats and going from there... 2.0 & a five speed so it gets near the mileage target. Otherwise, perhaps I start searching for a TDi.

I get the feeling you have never lived with a car like the last-gen celica or the RSX. You can fit a fairly massive amount of stuff in them with the rear seats folded flat. We used to pack oodles of stuff into my mom's 01 Integra.. She used to go to little craft sales and she'd take 2 10x10ft canopies, 2 ~3x7' folding tables, a card table, some folding chairs, and ALL the boxes of stuff she would sell, and all that would fit in her integra behind the front seats. The amount of stuff that would come out of the car looked bigger than the car.

We can use my 1g Insight as a comparison for the CR-Z which is actually much bigger, but for example, i can fit a whole set of 4 205/50/15s in the back of my insight with the hatch closed and still carry a passenger. Or i can carry a set of tires AND a set of wheels if i put some on the pass seat or floorboard.

You could get the zx3 then add the recaros from a svt euro. They are usually pricey but supposed to be very nice. And I fit water heaters, a washer, dryer, desk, dressers, all kinds of stuff in the back.

Scion Tc's are decent on gas(22/31 regular) and trunk space is crazy with the seats down.

Ep3 Civic. Kind of small.

Prius + some suspension upgrades to get the handling to your liking

focus svt 4 door

dodge caliber srt4 will be cheap soon enough

Volvo c30 turbo T5 will be too

You can get a brand new Mazda2 if you go slightly above your budget. I was in the same boat as you and decided to get the Mazda because it was a riot to drive and I didn't have to deal with any potential used car headaches. You can get a base sport in the $13k range and they are offering a 0% financing deal right now. I've only had it for a week but I love the thing so far.

I'm looking for serious improvements over my Intrigue

I think anything would be an improvement there.

I've not owned an RSX, but I will say my 2G integra is deceivingly small on the outside. I've fit 10' sticks of moulding in it with the hatch closed. My big beefy 4 X 12 guitar cab fits in the hatch with the seats up & cargo cover on. It BARELY fit in my buddy's P71.

$5k buys a nice 3G gsr.

Also, quick math:

Assuming $3.50/gallon, a FE increase from 20 combined to 30 combined = ~$500 in savings/year.

Cheapest car to own is the one you already have!

We never got that great of MPG out of our Integra, but as Poop says, with your low annual mileage, the financial difference is small.

In reply to poopshovel:

Where are these mythical nice GSR's for 5 grand? All the ones in the greater DC Metro area have been festooned with Pepzone parts.

Thinking I better hold on to the Vic until I finish school and get a new job. I'm surprised at how attainable CR-Zs are...even more so by ITRs.

First I'll answer your question: the only car I can think of that meets your requirements is a Golf TDI.

But I just want to throw this out there: 9000 miles per year is quite a small amount of mileage to be prioritizing high gas mileage over all else. If cheap transportation is your goal, I would just buy some 90's civic hatch that's in decent shape and pocket the leftover cash. In terms of a lifetime dollar-per-mile cost, i think it'll trump almost anything else for any amount of ownership time if you're only driving 9,000 miles per year. But regardless of what you buy, if you're after cheap transportation I would look really critically at the cost of a new vehicle when taking into account your low yearly mileage.