New Commuter Car - looking for advice/experience

Alright guys, I've made the decision to get a commuter car. I travel 40+ miles round trip to work every day, plus a lot more at night back and forth to the fire house, etc. The lifted X getting 17 or so mpg highway is killing me, plus I really want to give the truck a break because I don't ever plan on selling it. I don't wanna run it into the ground. As such, I've been researching commuter cars for the past month+ and have narrowed my search down to 5. I've listed them below. All would be in the year range of 2000-2002 or so.

Toyota Prius
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Echo
Saturn SL
Honda Civic

I've narrowed my list down to these based largely on MPG numbers and expected price. I've also been looking at the consumer reports numbers on them as well. In terms of the consumer reports, the Echo and Prius scored the best, followed by the Civic and then the Corolla. The Saturn scored the worst of the 5 by a pretty solid margin and was the only one not rated 'above average' or 'excellent'.

With all this data, I want some real-world experience, opinions, and thoughts from you guys - some of the most knowledgeable automotive people on the net. If you've had any experience with any of these vehicles, know anyone who has, or have just simply heard good or bad things about them, I'd like to know. If you have any recommendations, advice, etc., please add your input.

Thanks guys, appreciate any help.

What is you 40 mile drive like?

The reason I ask. I have a 70 mile commute (35 each way).. and I was looking at all kinds of vehicles for my DD. In my case its 90% highway, then some 2 lane and then some dirt road. My entire drive to work has 2 stop signs and 2 traffic lights as I get off the freeway.

I looked at what the extra cost was for a hybird type vehicle compared to a good mpg vehicle and since I drive mostly highway, the hybrid wasn't worth it.

Yolanda's commute is 80 miles round trip but 50% of hers is Tucson City traffic. Even with her commute, the extra cost of a hybrid wasn't going to raise the MPG enough. Tucson City traffic is pretty good compared to many other cities.

She is driving a v6 mustang which is averaging 26mpg or so (50/50 with 80mpg freeway speeds) and I picked up a Civic HX (2000) and I'm averaging 40mpg or higher. If I drive 80 on the freeway I get 39-40. If I drive 70 mph on the freeway I get 43-46mpg.

Soo, speed kills mpg unless your a hybrid in which case stop/go helps your mileage. Also, if your looking at "new". Look at what your payments will be. In my case we couldn't justify a new vehicle. Used and putting a little money aside was much more economical. If a repair is needed its still much cheaper than the $300/month for a new vehicle would have ever been.

~Mark

my son in law drove a 97 sploder we bargain built for him for 3.5 years... after beating it to death to the point of where it will hardly move (trans and t case shot) he needed something else.
Since he is working hard and really trying to be a good 22 year old we surprised him with a new car! After looking at about 5 we picked up a 90 Honda Civic 1.5L stick with 144K miles for $900
new tires, new muffler, new front and rear brakes, new windshield, new fuel pump and oil change

Found out later why it was $900 it would die intermittantly

previous owner threw a bunch of new parts at it chasing this issue
later i found new plugs, wires, 02 sensor, crank sensor, coil, dist cap & rotor!! bonus!!!
next time it broke down i first went to alldatadiy.com and google and researched these cars.........then troubleshooted... no spark at any cylinders

common issues are bad crank sensor, bad coil, bad bearings in the dist

I took the distributor apart.... this thing is a mess, prev owner attemtped repairs and bad bad wiring PLUS they had one of three bolts holding it to the engine!!! spent 4 hours re wiring the insides of the distributor... car is fixed, one month in it runs perfect, passed emissions etc

cant go wrong with a 144K mile Civic 5 speed that doesnt blow coolant or oil or fuel out the exhaust IMO if your not afraid of a bit of work

also there were about 15 cars in our price range... toyota or honda, 95-2002 ish 5 speed 4 door under 200k miles

SKIP THE SATURN!!!!!!!!!!!

also some Kia's have a Toyota drivetrain, the same as a Corolla... they can be had cheap and if you get a decent one... it can last a bit, not as long as its Yota counterpart... but they might be worth a look see

I bought Char a used '04 Corolla in '06. We've put 70,000 miles on it and it hasn't needed anything besides a set of brake pads, and oil changes. Great running car, quick acceleration and 30+ miles to the gallon. We're happy.

I have a Prius and I like it very much, but I would not buy a 2001 -2003 Prius at this point. The battery was redesigned for 2004 and should last much longer. Also there were some issues with electronic assist steering and some transaxle issues. The problems are rare, but expensive to fix.


If you are going to buy a Prius, look at 2004 and later, it seems like the best ones for problem free would be 2006 and later. I have a 2007 and it has been trouble free through 35k miles.

Regarding mileage on the highway: Speed lowers mileage due to aerodynamic drag, doesn't matter what kind of car. In my 2007 Prius, I can get 54 mpg if I keep the speed at 65mph or lower, 70 mph is going to give about 48 or so, 75 is going to give 45 or so, etc. City driving is about 48 -49 for my typical driving.

Having driven all of the cars on your list (even the year range), I'd go with either the Civic or Corolla. To decide between those, drive a couple of each and pick which one you like better. Figure out which one fits you better, which is more comfortable and which one just feels better to you in general.

I would hate to see you go to a Jap company but a civic would suit you well or even a corolla. Both are solid and get great gas mileage.

My wife has a 2006 Focus 5 door hatch. I get close to 35 on the highway and around 27 around town and i live around your area so you can compair to the driving since the roads are the same. I had a 92 Acura integra GSR before i owned my first X. Fully built motor with around 230 Hp to the ground and was getting close to 38 on the highway. It was a beast and lasted forever. when the car died it was clost to 250k! As for the toyota my buddy uses one too since his RX7 only get 14 MPG. His toyota is a 92 5 speed with 300k on it and he gets close to 39 mpg on the highway.

Good luck with the car hunt.

Jon

Here is my 2¢...

Saturn SL - pass, since Saturn is no longer in business (will service, parts, etc be an issue in the future...?)
Toyota Echo - maybe, but would opt for a Corolla or Civic
Toyota Prius - pry pass, since there are non-Hybrid choices that are ALOT cheaper and will get similar MPG. Why buy a $10K Prius when you could buy a $7K Corolla or Civic, and get 4 MPG less, for example. By the time you recoupe that $3K difference in buying gas, will you even have the car buy then?
Toyota Corolla - pry a good choice
Honda Civic - pry a good choice

On another note, my g/f had a 2001 Civic EX coupe. Great car, but the corrosion issues were kinda disturbing. Rock chips on the hood, if deeper, would rust quickly. My Paseo's hood is basically sandblasted from rocks, and it held up better than the Civic's hood. Rock chips on the wiper arms would also rust quickly. The arms on my Paseo are only rusting from where the finish is wearing off to bare metal. Any rock chips on the Civic's wheelwell lips would be hit with my Chip Sander, treated with some rust converter, and covered with touch-up paint. All that done in fear that the rust would spread like crazy. Keep in mind that this is in fairly dry climate Colorado.

I also tossed the idea to my wife in this price range you can get a old 4 cyl 5 speed ranger or Toy pickup... but with the snow around here we need FWD or 4x4 so the 2wd ranger was not a good option

I would love to be able to stick with Ford, I have all the spare parts!!

Civic

Not one you listed but I wouldn't count out an Escort. They are dirt cheap. My dad has 315,000 miles on his 1999. He still drives it all over California and have used it for a few trips to Las vegas for better mileage. From 1999-2004 it was commuted 45 miles each way 13 miles was two lane mountain roads. The rest was freeway. There was also a 4500 foot elevation change each way as well. Sense then it has been his driver/ work truck. It has been very reliable and a great car.

Thanks for all the input guys, helps a ton. Great responses here.

Maniak, my commute is 90% highway almost exactly. I think roughly 5 of the 40 miles are off the highway. I have a complicated spreadsheet calculating what I spend in fuel now, and what I would save based on MPG estimates by FuelEconomy.gov coupled with % highway and city, etc. I'm a pretty conservative driver, and have no issue with keeping it that way to gain some MPG.

410 - I can't drive stick (insert embarrassed smiley here ) but that's a pretty solid endorsement of the Civic. Thanks.

I've pretty much eliminated the Saturn based on the reactions here coupled with the Consumer reports data.

toypaseo also brought up a great point about Saturn no longer existing and it possibly being difficult to get parts/service. As for getting a post 2003 Prius like dogfriend suggested, that's way out of my price range for a car I wouldn't be in love with. The 2000-2002 Priuses are pushing it price-wise.

The Echo would likely be difficult to find, and judging by the reaction here, the Corolla is just as solid a car. Rockranger - Escort got pretty poor CR ratings. Especially stacked against the Civic/Corolla.

So I'm basically down to a Corolla or a Civic, and like FROADER said, I will probably test-drive them and base my decision off of the feel, because I'm thinking they're pretty even at this point.


Another question I have is if anyone has any sites to hunt for used cars. I've been using Autotrader, but expanding my search options can't be a bad thing.

Thanks again all....

For what you're looking for, check craigslist- You can also use craigshelper/searchtempest to search multiple cities easier.

http://www.searchtempest.com/

Autotrader is a thing of the past since you have to pay to list there, and Craigslist and cars.com are both free... TONS of cars to pick from on those sites... I don't think you'll regret a Corolla or a Civic. Both very solid little cars!

I do need to offer my home-team shot. I do think CR is like MT though, and tends to favor some imports vs. domestics (for the sake of argument calling them that even though the Escort was Mexico) as I know tons of people with Escorts and have very few if any problems with them, and all are getting 35-45mpg depending on the road traveled. My uncle has a 1992 E-squat Pony that he commutes with at 55mph 40 miles each way. He averages 52mpg. It's insane! Heck- I'm tossing one around. I found a 1994 with 80k on the clock for $900 and I think I'm going to call on it tomorrow. They're stupid simple, and aside from friends- my Mom owned two Tracers, a 1993 LTS and a 1996 Trio- same as Escort- and both were bulletproof.

Don't skip the dealers. Here, all dealers are desperate to make sales. I would find something, lowball, and be prepared to walk. Two of my co-workers did this. One left that day with a Buick Century at his price. One left without a GMC Yukon, but was called within two days, and got it for $3000 less than what was posted on the windshield.

Yea, if I enter a stealership I plan on entering with the (respectful) attitude that they're trying to rip me off and I'm not leaving with a car. That's really the only way not to get smoked by those guys. I'm going to try to find a Civic and a Corolla to test drive, but right now I'm leaning towards the Civic after researching safety ratings today.

If I can land an '01 4 door with around 100K for roughly $3,500, I'll be a happy guy.

$3500? wowee LOL I thought we were talking $500 clunkers here LOL
you can get a GEM for that!

Did you look at a Volkswagen TDI? They can get 50MPG, scoot pretty well and run on Diesel (more manly ).

briwayjones said:

Did you look at a Volkswagen TDI? They can get 50MPG, scoot pretty well and run on Diesel (more manly ).

Click to expand...

Very.. manly



I kid, I kid!

IZwack said:

Very.. manly

Click to expand...

Yes, they even have a little vase on the dash where you can put your flowers.

briwayjones said:

Did you look at a Volkswagen TDI? They can get 50MPG, scoot pretty well and run on Diesel (more manly ).

Click to expand...

Everything I've read and heard in my life has told me to steer clear of VW's due to them not being very reliable and very high repair costs. I didn't even consider any of their vehicles. I could be way off base here though.

410Fortune said:

$3500? wowee LOL I thought we were talking $500 clunkers here LOL
you can get a GEM for that!

Click to expand...

Well, from everything I'm looking at on Autotrader and Cars.com, $3,500 seems to be a reasonable price for an 01 Civic without too many miles. If I can find one with some body damage or something and get it cheaper, I'm ALL over it. But $500 clunker? Remember, this thing has to get me to and from work every day. I don't wanna end up pouring more money into it to keep it running than it's worth!