ISO surprisingly MPG efficient yet powerful vehicle?

VW TDI Jetta.

My tuned 2012 has 165 HP and nearly 300 lb/ft or torque.

50+ mpg most tanks and still over 40 on short trips.

Torque is fun!

In reply to jimbbski :

I don't completely hate their wagons...how reliable is the TDI? I wouldn't say no to 50+mpg, tuned or not.

I get over 31mpg with my Civic Type R.  It ain't slow!

In reply to FuzzWuzzy :

The only issue I had with the car was a EGT sensor went bad on me. I though I replaced the correct one but the CEL kept coming back and the DPF would not go into re-gen because of this.  I got pissed and did a DPR & EGR delete and got a Malone Stage II tune.  Been very happy ever since.

One thing is for sure - everyones idea of "roomy" is different.

I'm a 6' guy who was totally comfortable in a NA Miata. Sure, my head rubbed on the top when it was up, but whatever.  I like small cars with low door sills and small dashes (steep windshields). I do not like big cars with high door sills, long dashs and windshields that start at your forehead and end at your feet while seated. 

I've met people who only care that a vehicle not touch them. They want to be able to drive perched atop a seat with no other parts of the car contacting them. If anything does, it's too small. (Holdovers from 60's boats with bench seats?)

I know other folks who also sit a 90º angle and complain that rooflines are too low. Dude, youre 6'5", give the steering wheel some SPACE and RELAX.

The new Supra seems to be well up the list. C&D just got 36 MPG on the highway in the Six-cylinder. Will the Four be able to run both a thirteen-second quarter and get 40 MPG?

In reply to pheller :

I'm also 6', I fitted my NA6 Miata no problem.  ND's, no way.

FuzzWuzzy said:

In reply to jimbbski :

I don't completely hate their wagons...how reliable is the TDI? I wouldn't say no to 50+mpg, tuned or not.

I think they are fine.  I think 21st century VW/Audi products are the most undeservedly maligned vehicles out there.  I have no skin in the game, but I have friends, close friends, friends of friends that between them have had probably 30 VW/Audi products.  No one has had a serious problem with any of them.  On my next door neighbors 04 R32 and the gas gauge doesn't work.  Those people with B4 Passat/A4's have to replace front control arms periodically, but that's it.  I know plenty of people who've taken them well over 100k without serious issues.  It may be a small subset, but I honestly think it's a statistically relevant one.  I'd have to problem buying a 21st century VW

Bud had a TDI wagon that had tons of fuel system issues. He ended up trading it in and got paid for the buyback and has been way way happier with a CRV

I am 6'6" and this is a problem I have tried to solve for a while.  Here is what I have ended up with.

A Ford Flex ecoboost with the tow package works pretty well as a family hauler and a 4000lb tow vehicle.  It is fast in a straight line but it is not involving or visceral in any way.  Second row room is the best for any car in any class we looked at.  Headroom across the board is good on the sunroof cars and great on the non-sunroof cars.  Mileage is poor with 16 mpg around town, 16 towing on the highway, and low 20s at 75mph on the highway.

A first or second gen new mini with no sunroof work great.  If you have long legs, a car without a sunroof is extremely important.  Your head ends up where the sunroof motor drops down from the roof.  The Flex has 350hp but it weighs 4400lbs.  The Mini's 200hp and 2700lb weight means it is close in a straight line and it doesn't fall apart in the corners.  Depending on your build the second gen r56 is a much better buy due to the telescoping steering wheel.  The r56 also gets the edge on the highway with ~35mpg.  The r53 looks and sounds better though.

If you look at Tesla's, make sure to get in the back seat and decide how long you could stand to be there in a pinch.  For me, that number was around 5 minutes.  My knees were adjusting the lumbar support on a front seat setup for a 5'9" driver and due to the roof slope, tilting my neck forward did not get my head off of the glass roof.

My vote is for the ecoboost mustang if it fits you.

I don't know how much power the have but the AWD hybrid Toyota Avalon is a big car that is very nice to be in. I was at a lot to look at one but then I saw the Merc I now have. My CLS will fit a tall person with ease. It is very fast. Millage is good considering it is a twin turbo v8 that is moving a 4,000 lb car around. 
 

Since I am sitting in it waiting on a client to show up I just looked up the MPGs

Lifetime of 21. Last 200 hours it has averaged 28. I am seeing about 32-34 highway and about 25 around town. It is funny I can tell when it is coming up on an oil change as the mpg starts to drop 2-3 points.
 

Look at E550 or a cls550 the s550 will be bigger but you will see a mpg hit. Newer is better with these cars for MPG numbers.