I need economy

[Guurn]

I'm looking for a car that will get have very good fuel economy and hopefully will have room for my 65lb dog. My budget is around 15k but I can flex that a grand or so. My current car is dying a miserable death (01 Aztek). The kids are adults so it doesn't have to accommodate more than two. I'm 6'4" so it has to be comfortable for me and my wife has a very bad back so it has to have pretty comfortable seats for her (not 6'4"). Lastly I live in the north so cars that have zero clearance wont work in the winter.

My current choices are 1) Prius with leather seats -they adjust low enough for me, the problem is clearance and the dog. 2) Mazda 3 grand touring - I'm not sure of the drawback but it is pushing the budget . 3) Honda Fit- Again clearance issues and finding one in my budget is no joke hard. New with good seats they are 19ish and used they are nowhere to be found unless they are beat to hell.

I'm looking for opinions on my choices and options if there is something I am missing. I'm in the US.

 

[Murloc]

I don't know about your local legislation but is putting the dog on the rear seats with a belt attachment + harness an option? Some dogs maybe don't like the restriction... it also depends on how big the dog is. I would also avoid putting the dog this way behind the wife because if the harness doesn't hold during an accident the dog will smash in the seat in front of it.
I can think of plenty of cars but they're european brands so probably not available in the US or too pricey to maintain. From the asian brands, you haven't listed any Hyundai or Kia or Nissan Subaru Suzuki. I don't know how they are regarding dog space and tall man compatibility. Kias are supposedly on the cheaper side but also reliable enough, also quite widespread, but I've never been inside one.

 

[Kaido]

What's your minimum fuel economy? I would recommend the Kia Soul - lots of room for $15k new. 31 MPG highway (although I never got near that).

 

[Guurn]

Harnesses aren't required here, putting him in the back seat is an option. I would probably get a harness if I did that for that very reason. He would hate it but he 16 so that hate would last for about 10 seconds and then he would fall asleep.

 

[nakedfrog]

Nissan Cube, Scion xD, Toyota Matrix?

 

[Guurn]

I don't have a hard minimum but since it will be my commuting car I'd like to get about 30 combined. Initially I looked at Volvo c30s and ecomony made them a no go. Honestly if I spent 2 grand to fix up the aztek I would get 26 again and other than the shame of driving that car it would fine. If I am going to upgrade I'd like to get better mileage.

 

[Guurn]

Nissan Cube, Scion xD, Toyota Matrix?

I tried the Cube, it wasn't comfortable for me. I haven't looked at the xD, nice suggestion I'll look at it. The Toyota Matix is my fallback position honestly. They are ok. The seats don't work well for my wifes back.

 

[Torn Mind]

Matrices are indeed no fun to sit in. I am an extremely lanky 6 ft and my legs keep hitting the damn steering column and my back doesn't like it. It is noisy and a definite ergonomic disaster, at least the first gen ones were.

 

[Guurn]

It's a funny thing about new cars when you are tall. They seem to forget that your knees will rest against the sides and if there is something pointy there it is downright painful.

 

[Viper GTS]

How long is your commute?

Take a serious look at the C-Max Energi. You can pick up them up with <50k miles CPO for like $17k.

My tanks so far (six, in four months) have ranged from 37 (multiple hour each way round trip in one day with no recharge) to 85 mpg (mostly commuting that fit 100% within the electric range). Averaging 57 so far in my use, the car's lifetime average is 53 mpg. Depending on your commute length you could do much better or much worse than that.

These numbers of course neglect the cost of charging every night, if you are fully depleting it every day then figure about 200 kwh per month (about $36 for me).

Viper GTS

 

[Demo24]

For reference I've a new 3 and it gets the advertised MPG figures without trying too hard. Results might vary for you depending on the terrain you're in, lightly hilly around here. MPG takes a pretty noticeable dive much north of 75mph though, but around 70 it's not hard to meet or beat 40. The seats also go surprisingly far back as well!

Also I didn't have any trouble getting mine for invoice. The 2016's just came out so you could probably get a decent deal on a 15 if any on the lots.

 

[Guurn]

My commute is only about 12 miles but I do lots of casual driving in town. Usually around another 25 miles per day.

 

[Viper GTS]

My commute is only about 12 miles but I do lots of casual driving in town. Usually around another 25 miles per day.

A Volt or C-Max Energi would do very well for you then, and both are available for mid to high teens on the used market (for 2012 or 2013 models).

Viper GTS

 

[Guurn]

A Volt or C-Max Energi would do very well for you then, and both are available for mid to high teens on the used market (for 2012 or 2013 models).

Viper GTS

I ruled out the Volt due to quality issues but I am going to check out the Energi tonight. Great suggestion. You are spot on about the price, what is it about the Hybrids tanking on price?

 

[heymrdj]

I ruled out the Volt due to quality issues but I am going to check out the Energi tonight. Great suggestion. You are spot on about the price, what is it about the Hybrids tanking on price?

They normally come with a lot of subsidies and rebates. All that is taken off the first year value, which results in a sharp first year depreciation hit.

 

[herm0016]

I ruled out the Volt due to quality issues but I am going to check out the Energi tonight. Great suggestion. You are spot on about the price, what is it about the Hybrids tanking on price?

what quality issues? i have one, we love it and I avg about 200 mpg on my 57 miles commute. with snow tires it does great in Colorado and our 2 50lb dogs are perfectly happy in the back with the seats up. we even use it to go skiing once in a while! Most of the "issues" that have come up with the car are due to people not understanding how it works. such as the leaving it on in your garage, if you did that with a normal car, would would have an even worse outcome.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...r-owners-most-satisfied-consumer-reports-says

 

[SearchMaster]

Yeah I know a couple of people with Volts and they both love the car...no quality issues whatsoever.

Can you define "casual driving in town"? Stop signs and stop lights are the bane of fuel economy for all internal combustion vehicles, which is why hybrids are so effective in city driving (use battery power to get the vehicle moving, then gas once you have momentum). Most non-hybrids will struggle to average 30 MPG if you have a lot of stops in your normal driving.

I assume that's not the case, though, if you were getting 26MPG from your Aztek, a car with an EPA rating of 17/24.

[edit]I would second the notion to look into the C-Max. A hatchback seems like a good fit for your dog, provided he/she can still jump into it.[/edit]

 

[Guurn]

Yeah, literally the worst kind of city driving. Stop and go all the way. The Azteks MPG actually went up for me pretty significantly once worn in and it wasn't all wheel drive. Yeah, I wasn't hitting that around town, more like 23ish in mixed driving and 26ish on the highway.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I can't vouch for them, but check out the Mazda 5 if you're going to look into the Mazda 3. The Ford C-Max, as Viper suggested is pretty good for fuel economy and Ford has put a lot into their interiors and technology to remain competitive. I don't care for the looks of either, but you may like how they drive/ride in your situation. The C-Max is definitely a niche market, so you may be able to pickup a new one left on the lot or a used one if they devalue quickly.

 

[Torn Mind]

If you are willing to go more used, a Camry hybrid or its competitors might just be the ticket.

 

[Jumpem]

Fit.

Edit: I did like the C-Max as well. I had concerns about it having the clearance to get up my driveway though so I got something else.

 

[SketchMaster]

I'm 6'2 and drive a 2012 Ford Focus Hatch, my buddy that is a good 6'5 drives a 2014 model. I can get north of 30MPG with mixed driving in downtown stop-go traffic. You can get a used 2012-2014 for under $15K easy.

I had messed up three disks in my back while dead lifting a year ago, so I can say the seats are not the worst for an injured back. Your wife my need some extra support for her back, but a test drive is the only way to find out.

The only thing I would warn you about is the transmission. The 2012 Focus and 2011 Fiesta was Ford's first stab at a DSG, and it kinda showed. There was a lot of luck of the draw when buying a Focus with DSG, some people never had an issue while others had stalling/noise issues taking off from a stop. This was partly due to bad tuning of the software (issues that popped up right away), and partly due to leaky seals that would wet the clutch and cause it to slip (would give you issues around ten to twenty thousand miles). both have been more or less addressed by Ford.

If you are not bothered by driving a 5spd you can avoid any issues; otherwise, get a CPO and maybe a warranty if you decide to go with an auto.

 

[angminas]

You're willing to spend up to 16k on a new car.

You think it would take about 2k to fix up your Aztek? Let's say it actually takes 3k. Hell, 6k. If you don't drive like an asshole, that should be enough to make it last a long time.

You're getting around 23mpg combined, and you drive 37 miles a day? Let's say gas hits $4 a gallon again. You're spending $6.43 in gas a day. You upgrade to a car that gets 33mpg combined. Now you're spending $3.57 in gas a day. That's a difference of $2.86 a day. That's a savings of $1,044 a year.

You'd have to drive your newly rebuilt Aztek for a decade to make up the fuel difference. Toss in the opportunity cost of ten grand over ten years, and this really isn't about saving money. You want economy advice? Okay- don't buy a new car right now, or probably any time soon.

If you just want a nicer car, it's your money- just make sure it's really you and not the Joneses making the decision. And at least stretch for the Fit or something that's really worth such a big investment. Don't buy a inferior, less economical, less reliable car for a few k less and tell yourself you saved money. Get the top of the line and never look back.

And DEFINITELY don't buy a used car with no warranty. The transmission could blow while you're driving it off the lot. If you're going to risk a dead car, don't risk having to make payments on it as well. (Edit: I'm talking about a recent, still expensive car. Sidegrading to a more economical shitbox which you then fix up can be a great option.)

 

[Yuriman]

Correct answer is Prius.

 

[Kaido]

It's a funny thing about new cars when you are tall. They seem to forget that your knees will rest against the sides and if there is something pointy there it is downright painful.

Ooooooh my gosh, so much this! I went car shopping over Memorial Day. Most cars were automatic "nopes" because they banged up my left knee no matter how I adjusted the seat. Surprisingly, one of the few that didn't was the redesigned Mustang. But even the Prius was pretty bad (I would have had to install knee padding for sure, but hey - 53 MPG!).