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Originally Posted by j99civic
Thanks for those details. Are you saying to pass on 2009-2014 insights due to the CVT, or don't keep one past 150k miles?
What cars do you feel would be the best choices?
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I've heard of some CVTs lasting as long as 300k with gentle use and frequent fluid changes, so it's possible, especially for a hypermiler. I just would not count on it. I have no data on whether Honda's newer CVTs are more reliable than their older ones. You'd think they would have improved though?
Sub-$5k, I'd be looking at a Gen2 Prius, or perhaps a Scion or Fit hatch. The Fit has a wonderfully tall automatic transmission which I'd trust to fairly high miles, a great engine, and you can probably stuff a pool table into it and still close the hatch. It has a rather high CdA due to its shape, but still easily breaks 40mpg with an average driver. Looking at fuel logs here, several have more than 50mpg averages with a few having some tanks above 70.
If you're feeling adventurous or can find one with a new battery, a manual transmission Insight is still the king of the hill. There are still clean ones with low miles. I would not get an automatic G1 Insight. It stands to reason that one with ~100k miles would still have many good years left in it, but you're looking at potentially 20-40mpg more from the manual and that's a hard sell for me.
In the 6-10k range, I think the Volt would be my first choice. I don't think a Gen3 Prius is a bad choice and it does better on gas alone than a Volt, but a Prius doesn't put a grin on my face like a Volt does, and those all-electric miles are certainly sweet. Both have proven to be highly reliable vehicles.