Chevy Optra Hatchback, Civic or Sentra (best MPG?)

[KeepingStephen]

Hey all, I'm looking to buy a used car in a few days and have narrowed it down to several choices. Nissan Sentra, Honda Civic and the Chevy Optra hatchback are at the top so far. All vehicles I've been looking at are 2001-2004 models.

Mileage is probably my biggest concern, thus why I am a huge fan of this site. Any insight on to which one may be the best bet? I'm looking to do a few mods on the car as well for efficiency. I would love an older Honda CRX but I'm going to say away from something with over 200thou on the engine. And these don't exist. So that's why I am considering the Optra, and there seems to be a ton in my area for sale.

Thanks for the input. Looking forward to tweaking the machine.

Cheers
Steve

[cfg83]

KeepingStephen -

I hadn't heard of the Optra. I thought it was an Opel Kadett at first. You mean this one? :



Talk about a plethora of model names :

Daewoo Lacetti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also called

Hatchback:
Buick Excelle HRV
Chevrolet Lacetti
Chevrolet Optra5
Daewoo Lacetti
Holden Viva
Suzuki Reno

Sedan:
Buick Excelle
Chevrolet Lacetti
Chevrolet Optra
Daewoo Nubira
Holden Viva
Suzuki Forenza

Wagon:
Buick Excelle
Chevrolet Lacetti
Chevrolet Optra
Chevrolet Optra XL
Chevrolet Nubira
Daewoo Nubira
Holden Viva
Suzuki Forenza

I don't really know much about the car.

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

Steve: since MPG is your top issue, have you compared the fuel economy ratings?

You'll have to use NRCAN's site, since the EPA doesn't have info on the Optra (not a U.S. model).

NRCAN fuel economy ratings:

Fuel Consumption Ratings

.

[KeepingStephen]

Yup thats the one. I think Optra5 is what a lot of people refer to as. 5 meaning 5 door. Thanks for the NR Canada link. I hadn't come across this before. It's great! However the Optra isn't as good on fuel in comparison to the Sentra and way behind the Civic. That said, I was able to find a few other subcompact cars that would do the trick. The Echo at the top of my list so far.

Suggestions?

Now just to decide..to hatchback or not..