What car, the ugly commute version

Greetings to the great GRM forum!

I will, in all likelihood, unless I'm certifiably crazy, be taking a job that has a 180 mi. round trip commute (being unemployed, not taking the job would probably be really dumb...).

Since I don't think my 250k mile e30 is going to shoulder that in completely reliable fashion, what's a nice cruiser to soak up those highway miles?

Either new or 2-3 years old, budget friendly (say $20k-ish new, $12-15K-ish used), good highway miles a must. While I've been a manual trans guy forever, slush box in the right car is ok.... The e30 will give it's life for this vehicle

I like the look of the Ford Fusion, and I think they get decent highway mileage (need to check); don't know if I like the Focus (but convince me); the Cruz get's pretty good highway mileage (and I get can a deal on one, dad has a sweetheart deal on GMs).

I like the "older" Mazda 3s (without the ugly, bulbous fenders), same with the 6s, but they might be getting up in age/mileage.

I know the Elantra's get good miles, how's the comfort level in those?

Other suggestions?

If GM, the newest (really new) Malibu gets good hyw mpg in a nice package. No manual offered.

One benefit to the Fusion/Milan is that you can get all the interior comfort items like leather, climate control and best radio with the 4 cyl engine. Many brands only offer all the comforts if you also move up to the larger engine. Till '09 or '10 you could get a Fusion with all the interior comforts and a manual trans 4 cyl. In the recent years, if you want comfort then you have to take automatic.

The Elantra looks to be a good way to go if new considering with 40 mpg hyw. Luxuries require automatic.

Go over to www.fueleconomy.gov and use the power search function.

Well, I was putting upwards of 200-300mi/day on our Fit and loved it. Once my wife took another job & I picked up the Accent for my commute/work driving. It's been pretty good, but nowhere near the mileage of the Fit.

friend of mine does about 50 miles a day in elantra.. he has had it about a year.. and still loves it

Mazda3 is a good choice. We had zero problems with ours in the three years we had it (and it was an '04 IIRC, the very first year of production so that's saying alot). We only sold it to get something bigger when we had a kid.

Do you have a preference for bigger cars or smaller cars? The fit and the Mazda2 are both great cars but they have that small car feel that you may or may not want to deal with for 3 hours a day. I've borrowed my inlaws 2010 Chevy Malibu a few times and though I didn't want to like it, that car ate up miles in soul numbing comfort all day long and got high 30's for mileage. If I had to spend a long time going in a straight line day after day, that Malibu would do the job very well.

wow. you'll spend $500 a month on gas @ $4/gal with a 30mpg vehicle.

time to join a hypermiler forum or build a grease car.

I'd place a large emphasis on comfort and gas mileage with that type of commute. A used Prius would come to mind, but I know what their real-life mileage on the highway is. Another option might be a VW TDI...

You want a Honda Insight, and badly.

180 mi x 22 days/month = 4000 mi/month.

In an Insight, that's going to take about 60 gallons, and it will cost around $240/month.

In an ordinary, 35 mpg car, that will take 110 gallons, and it'll cost around $440/month.

In an ordinary, 25 mpg car, that will take 160 gallons, and it'll cost around $640/month.

That's the first-generation car that looks a lot like a CRX, not the current one that looks like a Prius.

chaparral wrote: You want a Honda Insight, and badly. 180 mi x 22 days/month = 4000 mi/month. In an Insight, that's going to take about 60 gallons, and it will cost around $240/month. In an ordinary, 35 mpg car, that will take 110 gallons, and it'll cost around $440/month. In an ordinary, 25 mpg car, that will take 160 gallons, and it'll cost around $640/month.

If this math is right, then this is all you. berkeley gas is expensive.

Is moving an option, or renting closer by and coming "home" on weekends? Payments on $12-15k used car plus fuel for the commute sound like they're going to come awful close to renting a place closer to prospective job...

In reply to J308:

You mean "driving around the world twice every year is expensive"

High mpg = motorcycle.

I bought my Elantra last May for use on my 130 mile round trip commute. In 11 months I've put 31,000 relatively trouble free miles. I find it comfortable, and roomy enough for four adults, or cars seats to be installed in the back seat.

It did need to be realigned early to get rid of a slight pull, but otherwise its been just oil changes, filters and tire rotations.

I ended up with a GLS with the preferred package with the auto, even though I initially wanted the stick. I gave in to the knowledge that an auto would have higher resale, and the fuel economy was rated the same. That package also included 16" alloys, Bluetooth (not available on the stick), and steering wheel controls. I really like the convenience of the factory Bluetooth, and while I thought the steering wheel controls were something I wouldn't use, I find that I miss them when driving a car without them.

The auto stick mode makes it fun in the twisties as long as you keep the revs around 4k or above. But when drinking my coffee on the way in to work, or sitting in traffic the auto is a nice feature.

I will say that the mileage rating is optimistic, unless you always drive at 65mph or lower on the highway. My commute is 95% highway and I have averaged 34.5-35mpg overall since buying the car (I average 70-75mph to keep up with traffic, and sometimes 80mph if I'm running late). The cold weather definitely dropped fuel economy, but now that its warming up the mileage is climbing again and I should start to see 36 - 38 mpg on average again soon.

If you go the Elantra route, negotiate for them to include the spare tire and jack kit. Even though they have road side assistance, you don't want to get stranded 90 miles from home because you have to wait until morning for the dealer/shop to open and fix a flat tire

One other thing to consider:

Depending where you are located the warranty on a hybrid's "hybrid" components like the battery and electric motor are covered by the emissions warranty.

That makes the battery warranty possibly as high as 15 years/ 150,000 miles in states like Massachusetts, California, and other state with CA emissions, since hybrids are PZEV.

If I had know that I would have looked at hybrids, but I do like the Elantra's looks better.

In no particular order (and thanks for the replies):

Prefer a little bigger for the comfort, and we figured about $500/mo for gas. There is a car pool, but it leaves around 5am, and I HATE early morning. I might learn to LOVE early mornings, though, as the pool is $200/mo....

Moving not really an option right now, son will be a senior in HS next year. After that, sky is the limit, so to speak. Would still prefer closer to Tucson, though, as there's just not a lot going in S/E Arizona. D'backs or Cardinals would be a bear to get to from Sierra Vista, never mind family trips to SoCal from time to time.

At $500 a month gas, renting/weekends are looking like possible options. Gads....

Malibu, hadn't thought of, but "ate up miles in soul numbing comfort all day long" is pretty much what I'm aiming for. Smaller is ok, don't know about a Fit, though now we're back at gas at $4 a gallon (and I have to figure for an eventual $5 a gallon with summer coming...).

Time to look and see what the Malibus, Fits, and Insights are doing...

Alternatively, if anyone needs either Contracts or Program Finance help, in Tucson, I am available!

I love my '10 Fusion, but with the 3.5, I would not want that commute. The comfort is all there, but the mileage leaves something to be desired. I vote the Cruz or older Insight.

I have now 60K on my 2011 Elantra, with the stick, I average around 40 mpg and have had no problems at all.

The EPA rated the car a midsize based upon the interior room. I regularly haul 6'4" 300 lb people and can carry a wheelchair in the trunk

My thread on the car is here

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/another-appliance-thread-hyundai-content/34080/page1/

Dang that's a lot of miles to drive. In your position I might actually want an original insight, but I can't find any for sale around me. Didn't they come with a stick, too?

For a while I was considering commuting that sort of distance, and I would've found myself in a diesel VW. Or a SOHC Saturn, considering my DOHC one can do 40 mpg in the summer with the A/C on.

IIRC, the 1st gen Insight was available with a manual.

I only drive a little more than half what you do (100 miles a day) and have an '03 TDi. In my not so humble opinion, this is the best year to look for. It was the last year for the ALH engine, which got the best mileage due to fewer emissions controls. It also seems like VW had worked out most of the bugs by then as well, so they are fairly reliable. They are also pretty diy friendly as far as maintenance goes. While they hold their value well, you may be able to find one cheap enough that you can keep your e30 - which I would recommend as having a back up driver is a good idea.

http://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/suzuki/sv650s

+

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/35/578/

OldGray320i wrote: Moving not really an option right now, son will be a senior in HS next year. After that, sky is the limit, so to speak. Would still prefer closer to Tucson, though, as there's just not a lot going in S/E Arizona. D'backs or Cardinals would be a bear to get to from Sierra Vista, never mind family trips to SoCal from time to time. At $500 a month gas, renting/weekends are looking like possible options. Gads.... ... Alternatively, if anyone needs either Contracts or Program Finance help, in Tucson, I am available!

Yeah, I can understand that. My dad took a job in North Carolina when I was a senior in high school. Luckily, his new company comped his rental in NC and flights home to see the family twice a month. It was a tough year, but we made it through.

Is your prospective employer telecommute friendly? Since I'm understanding from your OP that nothing's signed yet, maybe try to negotiate something like this in?

wife drives 75 miles a day, she'd been driving the 2000 Accent that was getting HER 35-38mpg. After it closed in on 200k miles we traded cars and she started driving the 2002 Elantra and still gets 33-35mpg daily. She's decided to get rid of the 200k mile, 12 year old Accent this fall andwe decided to replace it with a 2012 Accent SE. We drove a crap load of cars yesterday (Focus Hatch, Forte5 LX, Elantra Touring, Fiesta hatch and Accent SE) and the one that really stood out for content, comfort, mileage and price was the Accent SE. Fun to drive, quiet, comfortable, plenty of power for it's weight, highway cruises at 75mph at decent revs (unlike the Fit where 75mph=3800+ RPM) and a great stereo.