Best Economical Car

[slo65]

Originally Posted by BobBurnes

Looks like the Element's have it!

i'm 6'2 and he's 6'0 or so, not a ton of leg room in the front, but you deal with it, but like its been said there's a ton of room inside, enough room for all the snowboards/bikes and stuff

[DISCO]

See what fit both your style and stature, the Fit is a nice little piece of plastic like everything else honda makes and should prove perfectly adequate. My choice is the Subaru forester for clearance inside and underneath in an economical package and quite sporting with a turbo .

[Tedroy]

...!

[Tedroy]

Originally Posted by DISCO

See what fit both your style and stature, the Fit is a nice little piece of plastic like everything else honda makes and should prove perfectly adequate. My choice is the Subaru forester for clearance inside and underneath in an economical package and quite sporting with a turbo .

I've got a Forester, but I recently traded with my Wife for her Corolla as the mileage is 1/3rd better.

[DISCO]

If that's your only measure, I like going hellbent on dirt roads and would not want to broadside a semi in a corolla. Personally I dig euro trash like Volvo wagons or E-28 BMW's both easily go 500k plus if impressing others is not high on one's list of priorities. But that Forester is a sweet little truck.

[Bryguy17]

Depends what you want outta it. For a fun yet economical car, I'd go mini if you fit well. They're little go-karts, and you can throw a roof rack on them fairly easily.

Hard to go wrong with any honda. My family has had 3 (01 civic, 08 civic hybrid, and my RSX-S), and they've been essentially problem free (knock on wood). All good cars.

I'm not a fan of smaller stuff like the yaris or fit. Just too small for me (I'm 6'6" though, so most things are small for me). Plus I like a bit more substantial of car around me considering how some people are driving these days

Also look into mazda 3's. They're quite nice cars, they're fun to drive, and theres lots of bike options with them

[ryandood]

I have a mazda3 hatch and love it. If I did it over I'd get a Fit just cuz I think it's an awesome little car and it gets even better mileage. I actually went with my buddy a couple days ago and test drove it and it is incredibly roomy in the back with the seats down.

I still love my car.

P.S. - I average about 29mpg with mixed conservative driving, probably about 32 with all conservative highway driving.

[kanji]

How about this? http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Articl...ArticleID=4456

Canam Spyder roughly $15,000 for one and looks like alot of fun and economical. You don't need a motorcycle license for this one, and its made by BRP same makers of bombadier sea doos and ATV's.

[DeeZee]

I had one for about a year and sold it. The gas milage wasn't that great..you really need to rev that little engine up to get the hills. Had it to the dealer twice to fix a door alignment issue. Also being a box there was quite a bit of road noise.

It only seats 4 and I need a vehicle that has room for 5.

But for hauling bikes

[Rascal]

But don't forget that you get a Mini price, but pay BMW dealer service prices.

I'd say you have to ask yourself what's the ultimate goal - cheap purchase price, good or great fuel economy, low service requirements (ie timing chain or belt), lot'sa comfort features, easy to work with dealers, good resale value...

After you figure out what the priorities are, you can narrow it down from there. Go to edmunds.com and do a listing by purchase price (if that is your ultimate decider) and see the models listed. In there they have Total Cost of Ownership figures - more information is a good thing.

These days most would argue that there are no such thing as bad cars and all should get 200k with routine maintenance. I'd bet my house that with every single make and car, if you dig enough you'll hear horror stories about some sort of problem or reliability issue. That said, yes, some have more build/quality issues then others.

One that hasn't been mentioned: Honda Fit

[duke777]

Civic or Fit! Can't go wrong with Honda....nor Toyota but Hondas are way more fun to drive.

[Burner]

Originally Posted by DeeZee

The gas milage wasn't that great..you really need to rev that little engine up to get the hills. ... Also being a box their was quite a bit of road noise

It only seats 4 and I need a vehicle that has room for 5.

But for hauling bikes

as much as I hate to agree with him, DeeZee is right here

vtec engine drinks at high rpm... but you can light foot it and get ~24mpg

road noice... yep

mine only seats 3... took the 4th out so when folded it wouldn't block my view to the right rear... the third is always folded up, but nice to have in a pinch.

[L8 APEKS]

25mpg, lots of room, and about $1500-$2000 bucks.

It will also run longer than any of the others. My 940 Turbo sedan has 200,000 orig. miles (engine and auto trans), runs 13-second quarter miles, and is my daily driver. Still has an easy 50k miles before it needs a refresh.

No Turbo Honda could ever dream of lasting so long.

[bvader]

Originally Posted by Tedroy

...!

My Dream as a Kid....
I had friends that had them but I never did
They were sooo much fun!

[airgabe]

Where can I find or make my own tow hitch?

[Rockinthecasbah]

element is slow as hell even compared to the scion thats only reason I didnt buy one I dorve an aitomatic onto the freeway and could barely get it up to speed in time , you can only put a 1 1/4" on a scion lik emost small cars so that limits your rack selection a little I like my swagman rack its way lighter then the t2 type racks

[airgabe]

Where can I find? I am looking at the Scion xb or tc..They seem a better deal than the hondas?

[Chris]

Element > XB

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Burner

as much as I hate to agree with him, DeeZee is right here

vtec engine drinks at high rpm... but you can light foot it and get ~24mpg

road noice... yep

mine only seats 3... took the 4th out so when folded it wouldn't block my view to the right rear... the third is always folded up, but nice to have in a pinch.

I am the E-Expert. Better get on the DeeZee diet

mine only seats 3... took the 4th out so when folded it wouldn't block my view to the right rear... the third is always folded up, but nice to have in a pinch.

If it seated 5 and got better MPG I would most likley still have mine

[CPATCRASH]

Originally Posted by DeeZee

I am the E-Expert. Better get on the DeeZee diet

mine only seats 3... took the 4th out so when folded it wouldn't block my view to the right rear... the third is always folded up, but nice to have in a pinch.

If it seated 5 and got better MPG I would most likley still have mine

bad was the MPG? Mine averages between 23 & 26.