YACT: Business partner wants my help picking a fuel-efficient car

[ajayjuneja]

Hey all,

My biz partner wants me to help her pick a fuel efficient car. Her current car is a 2000 Lexus ES 300 (it'll be for sale as soon as we pick out another one for her, so PM me if you want it!).
Please note we live in CA so no Jetta / Golf TDI

The lexus gets EPA 19 city / 26 highway...

So on her mind was of course a Prius. I am not so impressed by the prius's mileage on the highway since you don't stop very much. I also think she might like a little luxury coming from the Lexus.



Cars I am looking at with her:

Toyota Prius
Honda Accord Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid
Audi A4 2.0T FSI (seems like it gets 30 mpg highway!)

So, ATOT, recommendation on a car please? Add to this list...

 

[thedarkwolf]

VW TDI

 

[ajayjuneja]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
VW TDI

Didn't you read? No TDI allowed cause we live in CA

 

[thedarkwolf]

No I skimmed

 

[Mrvile]

What about just a Civic or something?

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

Subaru Legacy GT, MazdaSpeed 6

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

A 6 speed manual tranny car might work well since it would (i assume) have a tall 6th gear, of course depending on the car

might want to research a little on edmunds.com

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

forgive my ignorance, why can't you have jettas or golf TDI's in california?

 

[ajayjuneja]

Originally posted by: OREOSpeedwagon
forgive my ignorance, why can't you have jettas or golf TDI's in california?

emissions because we don't have low-sulfur diseal yet in this country.

 

[ajayjuneja]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
A 6 speed manual tranny car might work well since it would (i assume) have a tall 6th gear, of course depending on the car

might want to research a little on edmunds.com

She can drive stick good to note that!

 

[ChefJoe]

Well, a motorcycle would get great milage... yeah, with just freeway it would actually be pretty hard to justify the increased price of the hybrid tech as she probably won't benefit from it that much.

You may want to just guide her towards one of the econo-box lightweight 4 cylinder cars (Jettas?, civics) or something that can shut down the extra cylinders when not needed. Sadly, I think most 6 speed manual trannys come on 6 cylinder cars which get lower freeway miles. A 4 cylinder with a turbo might be nice if she'll want something with a bit more power than your average 4 cylinder.

 

[Farbio]

yea, i was thinkin a4 1.8t might good for her since she can drive stick, its still lux and has pick-up for around town

 

[BullyCanadian]

what about echo?

 

[QuitBanningMe]

Insight. Can't beat the mpg.

 

[OS]

The accord hybrid costs an arm, leg and testicle.

current 4 cylinder accord is rated like 34 mpg highway and is something like 8K cheaper.

 

[redly]

I would say the 4cyl accord would be a good choice for her. Not so much of a shock as a civic (c'mon, she's been driving a Lexus), but still gets pretty respectable gas mileage
but hell, if you can swing the price premium for the hybrid accord, by all means, go there

 

[freebee]

She claims she wants fuel economy, yet all of the choices are "trendy" cars that are horrid as far as value goes. Fuel economy at the expense of sticker price is not a wise decision at all.

As mentioned, a regular accord 4 cyl is fine. Or keep the lexus, she'll save more from keeping it vs buying new than she will ever save in fuel costs.

 

[deejayshakur]

another vote for the 4cyl accord, which i'm looking for myself after pondering the 2000 es300 for a while the es is a nice car, but for a 23 year old i've got a ways to go before i settle into one of those. plus, i want a stick shift.

 

[Colt45]

They sell VW polo's in the US? I forget.

I think they get 50MPG (gas) and 65MPG (diesel) [combined city/highway]

 

[Wadded Beef]

Originally posted by: ChefJoe
Well, a motorcycle would get great milage... yeah, with just freeway it would actually be pretty hard to justify the increased price of the hybrid tech as she probably won't benefit from it that much.

You may want to just guide her towards one of the econo-box lightweight 4 cylinder cars (Jettas?, civics) or something that can shut down the extra cylinders when not needed. Sadly, I think most 6 speed manual trannys come on 6 cylinder cars which get lower freeway miles. A 4 cylinder with a turbo might be nice if she'll want something with a bit more power than your average 4 cylinder.

4 cylinder cars with 6 speed manual: nissan sentra se-r spec v, acura rsx type s, acura tsx, subaru wrx sti, honda s2000, mazda miata (mx-5 now), toyota celica gt-s, lancer evolution, and probably a few others...if she wants luxury and good milage i'd show her the acura tsx.

edit: o wait she drives an es300? keep it!

 

[0roo0roo]

prius. 50mpg or whatever isn't something to sneeze at. plus its got more interior room than a civic or whatever, its basically camry sized. accord is more zoom than fuel miser..and its the top model and as such costly

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: ajayjuneja
Hey all,

My biz partner wants me to help her pick a fuel efficient car. Her current car is a 2000 Lexus ES 300 (it'll be for sale as soon as we pick out another one for her, so PM me if you want it!).
Please note we live in CA so no Jetta / Golf TDI

The lexus gets EPA 19 city / 26 highway...

So on her mind was of course a Prius. I am not so impressed by the prius's mileage on the highway since you don't stop very much. I also think she might like a little luxury coming from the Lexus.



Cars I am looking at with her:

Toyota Prius
Honda Accord Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid
Audi A4 2.0T FSI (seems like it gets 30 mpg highway!)

So, ATOT, recommendation on a car please? Add to this list...

There are a couple variables here.

Does she want a hybrid to feel good about herself or is she genuinely worried about the amount of money she spends on gas?

Also what value does she place on physical luxury and driving comfort?

 

[xEDIT409]

Hummer H2

 

[Nebor]

She should keep the Lexus if she's looking to save money.

 

[Zorro]

Pics of said partner