Need a car for freeway driving (79 mph, 100 mi/day)

[disappoint]

I vote for the Cruze. In the 1.4L turbo, based on the MPG I've gotten, you'll probably get around 34-35 going 79 MPH. If you get the 2LT or the LTZ, you get (in the price range) nice and comfortable heated leather seats and a nice leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter.

Ride is nice and planted even at 80+. Much nicer than the 2009 Civic I spent a lot of time driving. I can't imagine the Prius handles comparably at that speed.

Edit: Downside, I started using premium gas because it runs better with the A/C on in town. It's been pretty darn hot.

Also the 2LT and LTZ have sportier suspension. Fun taking turns taking turns. Is it my turn to take turns yet? Also don't get the 2011. 2012 or newer for the taller gears for better hwy mileage.

Cruze Eco will get you a bit better mpg but I still prefer the 2LT or LTZ for the fun factor.

 

[Born2bwire]

I've got a new Focus with the summer performance package but I'm not getting as good of fuel economy as I would hope. I think on highways, around 75 mph I was getting 34-36 mpg. I'll have a better idea about the mileage when I do a big road trip in the near future. Other than the lower mpg than what I was hoping for I like the car a lot.

I recently rented a Nissan Versa and the CVT on it feels much better than when I tried a new Altima a few years back. It claims to get pretty good mileage. In the past the MPG ratings of the CVT Nissans were not impressive but the current models seem much better now. If I were to get a new car I would give Nissan a second look but I still like Ford much better for all of the accessories and technology packages they have.

And seriously Trident? Why don't you come back when you actually graduate from school and get a real job that doesn't require you to wear a paper hat and a name tag.

 

[Ferzerp]

And on topic, if you cruise at 80 mph all the time, a hybrid isn't going to do a lot for you (low speed and stop and go is where they are great). Just get something small with a small engine. Fiesta, Spark, Mazda 2, etc. US mileage stats are misleading because they're MPG instead of gallons per 100 miles or the like. 40 mpg compared to 45 mpg sound like a substantial difference? Well, in your case, it comes out to be about a quarter gallon difference a day ($1 or so), and you're a very heavy driver. With your use case, let's assume you do 30k miles per year. With $4 fuel, this means that for every year you keep the vehicle, that extra 5 mpg would cost about $335 less, so if you kept the car 5 years, and the 45 mpg car cost more than $1675 more, it actually cost you more. Double that for 10 years. Obviously you can speculate on gas prices, but you'd just be guessing, and you can't retroactively compare without normalizing based on inflation anyway.

Also, check insurance rates before making your decision. If a model costs you $200 more per year to insure, there goes a ton of your savings.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

TDI is the way to - Passat, Jetta, Golf

 

[dbk]

Jetta TDI or Fusion Hybrid

 

[tortillasoup]

Jetta TDI or Fusion Hybrid

No way... Camry Hybrid all the way. The Camry is a great highway cruiser and when you get the Camry, you know you're getting a solid low maintenance vehicle unlike a VW which will have sky high maintenance costs. As for the Fusion, Ford is full of fucking liars and later this year, after the EPA is finished with their investigation, it will be found that they cheated on the fuel economy tests. Camry Hybrid or Avalon Hybrid is the way to go for a real highway cruiser, though I think the Avalon isn't much different from the Camry anymore so I don't know if it's worth it. Either way, while the strength of a hybrid is in city driving, their highway fuel economy is still superior to that of the non hybrids and you'll get a vehicle where you'll likely never have to change the brake pads, a $1000 job right there (unless you're a DIY person).

 

[thedarkwolf]

$1000 for brake pads LOL LOL LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well think we can throw out everything else you said based on that.

 

[LTC8K6]

No way... Camry Hybrid all the way. The Camry is a great highway cruiser and when you get the Camry, you know you're getting a solid low maintenance vehicle unlike a VW which will have sky high maintenance costs. As for the Fusion, Ford is full of fucking liars and later this year, after the EPA is finished with their investigation, it will be found that they cheated on the fuel economy tests. Camry Hybrid or Avalon Hybrid is the way to go for a real highway cruiser, though I think the Avalon isn't much different from the Camry anymore so I don't know if it's worth it. Either way, while the strength of a hybrid is in city driving, their highway fuel economy is still superior to that of the non hybrids and you'll get a vehicle where you'll likely never have to change the brake pads, a $1000 job right there (unless you're a DIY person).

Camry and Avalon hybrid are only rated 39 mpg highway by the epa. Camry hybrid XLE only 38. Good, but matched and even exceeded by a few non-hybrids.

 

[yhelothar]

I couldn't be bothered to read through the 4 page thread, but I recommend a Chevy Volt. There are ridiculous amounts of rebates on it that you can get a lease for about $150/mo. The range is 30-50mi. I'm guessing your 100mi/day is roundtrip, so for 50 mi a trip, the vast majority of your travel would be plug in. There are many charging stations around that makes charging free. The gas savings would pay for the Volt itself.

However, with the amount that you drive, you might go over on the lease agreement mileage. Not sure how that'd work out.

 

[nerp]

Yes. I live in Seattle currently. They could offer me a million dollars a year to work here. I'd never fucking do it. Not one more day than I have too. It ain't fucking worth losing your life to nothingness for a tiny bit more dough. EDIT: Also, I don't enjoy jobs where I am not doing something. I especially hate jobs where I feel like my work is meaningless or there's no reason for me to be at the job. If I spend significant hours at the job thinking that I am wasting my time... I am not staying at the job.

AHAHAHAHA.

If you made $1 million per year, you could do a lot more good in this world such as invest in carbon-free technologies, donate to important charities and groups that fight the specific battles you're pointing out and travel around the world to get the finest training and exposure to the very things that you deem meaningful. Your impact on the world would be far, far greater and beneficial. Yes, give that all up because you might have to drive in a nice car listening to music or a podcast on your way to a fulfilling job. Makes a whole lot of sense, dude.

Ahh, to be young. Every time I start to miss it, I get a glimpse into the mind of someone like TridentT and remember my own ignorance at that age. Cringeworthy. And a firm reminder that I've done pretty well for myself after all!

 

[Tweak155]

That's you projecting onto other cars. Just because it doesn't pollute the planet as quickly as yours doesn't mean that it's soulless or boring.

Ah-hahaha. Omg, if your kids are so bad at making friends that this is an issue... Reevaluate your parenting strategy. If you can't get a new job, that's on you. There are plenty of opportunities. We're not in the 2008-2009 economy.

I was pretty neutral on your comments until this. You clearly have the ability to speak on subjects you are far from understanding. While I suggested to dullard to move closer as well if possible (because that would also be my personal preference), he clearly has his reasons that it does not make sense for him. YOU are projecting YOUR personal circumstance onto others and need to realize this sooner rather than later.

And one more comment on the OP - ultimately buy the car you love. If that happens to be a super fuel efficient vehicle, great. If not - that's fine too. You drive ~1.5hrs DAILY, pay for your comfort and pleasure, it's worth it!

 

[Tweak155]

AHAHAHAHA.

If you made $1 million per year, you could do a lot more good in this world such as invest in carbon-free technologies, donate to important charities and groups that fight the specific battles you're pointing out and travel around the world to get the finest training and exposure to the very things that you deem meaningful. Your impact on the world would be far, far greater and beneficial. Yes, give that all up because you might have to drive in a nice car listening to music or a podcast on your way to a fulfilling job. Makes a whole lot of sense, dude.

Ahh, to be young. Every time I start to miss it, I get a glimpse into the mind of someone like TridentT and remember my own ignorance at that age. Cringeworthy. And a firm reminder that I've done pretty well for myself after all!

I'm not sure what makes you think this is a mature response?

 

[nerp]

I'm not sure what makes you think this is a mature response?

I save my humility for real life, not internet message boards so much.

 

[tortillasoup]

$1000 for brake pads LOL LOL LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well think we can throw out everything else you said based on that.

It's not $1000 for brake pads, thought I made that pretty clear, it's $1000 for the job. I can't speak to every shade tree mechanic you can get to work on your car but at the dealership, if you try to get a 4 wheel brake job in the SFBayarea, it's easily $1000, maybe more for VW or other eurocrap vehicles. Obviously one could do their own brakes but it's an involved process and most aren't competent enough to do it themselves.

Camry and Avalon hybrid are only rated 39 mpg highway by the epa. Camry hybrid XLE only 38. Good, but matched and even exceeded by a few non-hybrids.

Toyota conservatively rates their fuel economy compared to the cheaters at Hyundai/Kia/Ford. Also OP wants a highway cruiser, not necessarily the car that gets the absolute best MPG. If OP wants the best absolute MPG, the 2015 Prius which will be rated at 60MPG+ would actually be the one to fit that bill. I have a friend who recently got the Camry Hybrid and he gets about 50mpg+ though I don't know what his driving habits are.

 

[LTC8K6]

It's not $1000 for brake pads, thought I made that pretty clear, it's $1000 for the job. I can't speak to every shade tree mechanic you can get to work on your car but at the dealership, if you try to get a 4 wheel brake job in the SFBayarea, it's easily $1000, maybe more for VW or other eurocrap vehicles. Obviously one could do their own brakes but it's an involved process and most aren't competent enough to do it themselves.



Toyota conservatively rates their fuel economy compared to the cheaters at Hyundai/Kia/Ford. Also OP wants a highway cruiser, not necessarily the car that gets the absolute best MPG. If OP wants the best absolute MPG, the 2015 Prius which will be rated at 60MPG+ would actually be the one to fit that bill. I have a friend who recently got the Camry Hybrid and he gets about 50mpg+ though I don't know what his driving habits are.

Well, you really shouldn't buy a car based on anecdotal mileage reports/claims. You need some sort of standard testing, and the EPA numbers are all we have, unfortunately.

You can look at the actual reports from drivers at the EPA site, but a lot of those look odd. I usually throw out the low and high claims.

Of course there are other web sites where people report mileage, and you could use those.

Then there is the tendency for people with hybrids to make an effort to get tip top fuel economy, which can result in a skew to numbers higher than you will get in reality.

 

[LTC8K6]

Ford is making some software changes to their hybrids that should bring the fuel economy up.

They are also going to lower the claims for the C-Max hybrid.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Toyota conservatively rates their fuel economy compared to the cheaters at Hyundai/Kia/Ford. Also OP wants a highway cruiser, not necessarily the car that gets the absolute best MPG. If OP wants the best absolute MPG, the 2015 Prius which will be rated at 60MPG+ would actually be the one to fit that bill. I have a friend who recently got the Camry Hybrid and he gets about 50mpg+ though I don't know what his driving habits are.

Actually, Toyota simply reports the results of the standard test that everyone runs. Just like every other company. The difference is that turbocharged engines can more easily be managed by ECU programming to excel in the specific test conditions while naturally aspirated engines tend to be more difficult to set up specifically for the test conditions.

That said, BS to anyone getting "50mpg+" from a Camry hybrid. I know several people with those cars and not a single one reports higher than mid-30s as an average in everyday driving. The people claiming 50 or more are just reporting the max they saw on an instant readout during a short stretch of downhill highway driving. By that standard I could claim that I've gotten 60+ mpg out of my '98 Volvo. Obviously that's ridiculous.

Bottom line is that, realistically, you can expect a Camry hybrid to average somewhere around 35 mpg.

To the OP: As others have pointed out, hybrids tend to make the most sense at low-speeds or in stop-and-go driving. On the freeway you're not making use of the hybrid system and are simply running on the gas engine. You still benefit from the fact that hybrids tend to be more optimized for efficiency than standard cars, but it's often not as big as people think. That said, the Prius is still the king of mileage for gasoline vehicles and even if you're running almost exclusively on the freeway it's likely going to do the best of anything.

You're hurting yourself a lot (in terms of mileage) by driving at 79 instead of 65 or 70 because of the exponential manner in which drag increases though. If you're set on the higher speed, it's possible that a VW TDI (like a Passat or Jetta, oddly the larger Passat seems to get better highway mileage) might do better due to Diesel's inherently better part-throttle efficiency and this might be enough to offset the price delta between Diesel and Regular.

If it were me and I absolutely had to make a choice for maximum freeway mileage, I'd probably go with a TDI. The difference in mileage between that and a Prius is going to be negligible in the real world and the increased driver feel of the Jetta/Passat would win me over. The Prius isn't a bad car (in fact, it's probably the best "A to B" appliance available), but the steering is numb, the chassis is uncommunicative, and it's just overall a very "blah" car to drive. Even something like a Civic or a Fusion is worlds more interactive.

But that's just me. Your priorities may differ.

ZV

 

[kitatech]

That said, BS to anyone getting "50mpg+" from a Camry hybrid. I know several people with those cars and not a single one reports higher than mid-30s as an average in everyday driving. The people claiming 50 or more are just reporting the max they saw on an instant readout during a short stretch of downhill highway driving. By that standard I could claim that I've gotten 60+ mpg out of my '98 Volvo. Obviously that's ridiculous.

Bottom line is that, realistically, you can expect a Camry hybrid to average somewhere around 35 mpg.
ZV

Excuse me if I'm wrong...but...don't hybrids cut off the electric motor and rely nearly exclusively on the gas engine when on the highway...?
If so, then 35mpg for a V6 is good isn't it...?

That's what I get with the Toyo L4 in my 05 Camry @ 70-75mph...and trust me I'm NOT a hypermiler....

 

[jaedaliu]

That said, BS to anyone getting "50mpg+" from a Camry hybrid. I know several people with those cars and not a single one reports higher than mid-30s as an average in everyday driving. The people claiming 50 or more are just reporting the max they saw on an instant readout during a short stretch of downhill highway driving. By that standard I could claim that I've gotten 60+ mpg out of my '98 Volvo. Obviously that's ridiculous.

Bottom line is that, realistically, you can expect a Camry hybrid to average somewhere around 35 mpg.

this really surprises me. I get 30-34 mpg per fill up in half highway conditions (no traffic in the morning, plenty in the evening.) And that's with a dinosaur powered Camry.

Though, had 1 early morning drive to Vegas where I opted to go speed limit the whole way on cruise control. 99% of that was on the highway, no stops until I arrived at a gas station in town. 37 mpg!

 

[Zenmervolt]

Excuse me if I'm wrong...but...don't hybrids cut off the electric motor and rely nearly exclusively on the gas engine when on the highway...?
If so, then 35mpg for a V6 is good isn't it...?

Never said it wasn't good. I said that claiming "50mpg+" (which is what you did) was BS as an average number for the Camry hybrid.

ZV

 

[kitatech]

this really surprises me.

I opted to go speed limit the whole way on cruise control. 99% of that was on the highway, no stops until I arrived at a gas station in town. 37 mpg!

You can't do the speed limit in any lane in south Florida without being pushed around by cars weaving in and around you...way too dangerous.

 

[Topweasel]

You can't do the speed limit in any lane in south Florida without being pushed around by cars weaving in and around you...way too dangerous.

I always thought i96 in Mi was bad. But you can go into the far right at least and go as low as 60 without to much trouble. But for someone who tends to drive fast specially at that time, when I drove down to Florida, I was completely shocked at how fast traffic was going.

 

[_Rick_]

By the way, that CLA which I suggested last page, is claimed to do more than 35 mpg (around 38) in the Euro "thirds" cycle. Which probably equates to ~45mpg EPA Hwy.

So it's a Merc, and that will probably mean slightly higher maintenance costs, and it's a new launch, so you might even have to pay above sticker, if you want one soon. But it looks quite striking, should be comfy, safe for its size, and again, at 80mph the super low Cd and below-average front area should put it ahead of most of the competition, when it comes to efficiency. Plus you get a honking big engine (considering the segment) with a conservative tune, at 155kW.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

By the way, that CLA which I suggested last page, is claimed to do more than 35 mpg (around 38) in the Euro "thirds" cycle. Which probably equates to ~45mpg EPA Hwy.

So it's a Merc, and that will probably mean slightly higher maintenance costs, and it's a new launch, so you might even have to pay above sticker, if you want one soon. But it looks quite striking, should be comfy, safe for its size, and again, at 80mph the super low Cd and below-average front area should put it ahead of most of the competition, when it comes to efficiency. Plus you get a honking big engine (considering the segment) with a conservative tune, at 155kW.

That rear end really throws me off. The way it tapers off makes it look too small in relation to the front end.

 

[tortillasoup]

Actually, Toyota simply reports the results of the standard test that everyone runs. Just like every other company. The difference is that turbocharged engines can more easily be managed by ECU programming to excel in the specific test conditions while naturally aspirated engines tend to be more difficult to set up specifically for the test conditions.

All the tests can be manipulated... For example some cars turn off the battery charging (alternator) in certain driving circumstances, helping the MPG for the EPA test but not real world driving. Also I've read some reports that some hybrids are run on fully charged batteries and use more of the battery if it detects it's operating on the EPA fuel economy test cycle.

That said, BS to anyone getting "50mpg+" from a Camry hybrid. I know several people with those cars and not a single one reports higher than mid-30s as an average in everyday driving. The people claiming 50 or more are just reporting the max they saw on an instant readout during a short stretch of downhill highway driving. By that standard I could claim that I've gotten 60+ mpg out of my '98 Volvo. Obviously that's ridiculous.

50MPG isn't necessarily BS, depends on who is driving. I've gotten an average of 70mpg out of an '09 Prius, however that required hypermiling and what you'd call (grandma style acceleration). What year Camry Hybrid do your friends drive?

Bottom line is that, realistically, you can expect a Camry hybrid to average somewhere around 35 mpg.

To the OP: As others have pointed out, hybrids tend to make the most sense at low-speeds or in stop-and-go driving. On the freeway you're not making use of the hybrid system and are simply running on the gas engine. You still benefit from the fact that hybrids tend to be more optimized for efficiency than standard cars, but it's often not as big as people think. That said, the Prius is still the king of mileage for gasoline vehicles and even if you're running almost exclusively on the freeway it's likely going to do the best of anything.

You're hurting yourself a lot (in terms of mileage) by driving at 79 instead of 65 or 70 because of the exponential manner in which drag increases though. If you're set on the higher speed, it's possible that a VW TDI (like a Passat or Jetta, oddly the larger Passat seems to get better highway mileage) might do better due to Diesel's inherently better part-throttle efficiency and this might be enough to offset the price delta between Diesel and Regular.

If it were me and I absolutely had to make a choice for maximum freeway mileage, I'd probably go with a TDI. The difference in mileage between that and a Prius is going to be negligible in the real world and the increased driver feel of the Jetta/Passat would win me over. The Prius isn't a bad car (in fact, it's probably the best "A to B" appliance available), but the steering is numb, the chassis is uncommunicative, and it's just overall a very "blah" car to drive. Even something like a Civic or a Fusion is worlds more interactive.

But that's just me. Your priorities may differ.

ZV

I wouldn't get a diesel due to the urea and expensive fuel pumps and poor reliability these euro vehicles have. FYI, 42mpg in a diesel is really the equivalent about 37mpg in a gasoline vehicle since a gallon of diesel has more energy in it than gasoline. Diesel costs more than gasoline as well, by a not so insignificant amount.




Here is an interesting MPG vs MPH chart:
http://priuschat.com/threads/updated-mpg-vs-mph-chart.64296/

Here is one anecdote from a guy doing 77mph in is '07 Camry Hybrid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGeHSIXbhrs
One reason I can see the Camry hybrid getting good highway fuel economy is due to it having an atkinson cycle motor so not only is the effective displacement less than 2.5L but it also burns more efficiently. I'm tempted to rent a Camry Hybrid to do some testing of my own but my friend says he definitely likes his Camry Hybrid.