The best ecomoding cars.

[TheManVan]

Hi guys and gals!
I was looking for an excelent car to start ecomoding and I had a hard time finding any posts that had a good list of not only fuel efficient cars, but cars that are easy to modify.
What is your top pick for a ecomoding car? If you had to pick any car from a lot, what would it be?
The ten most popular suggestions will go into a poll.
I hope this thread works!
Ok so because I can't edit the poll....(newbie)
I will post the cars down here and you can vote on them in the poll.
Car one = Honda Insight, manual.
Car two = 92-95 Honda civic VX.
Car three = 96-98 Honda HX.
Car four =Saturn SL1 and Saturn SC1
Car five =Festiva
Car six =CRX HF
Car seven =Geo metro 3cyl 5 speed
Car eight =VW TDI
Car nine =Matrix
Car ten =1.0 ecoboost fiesta
I hate that I don't have room, but I want to include the Chevy Sonic.
Thanks again!

[backpacker3]

Honda Insight. Manual trans.

That is the best.

[ksa8907]

The one you already own.

[fusion210]

Just about anything older rated at 30+mpg highway. The older stuff doesn't have as many aerodynamic benefits as cars today, nor will it have lrr tires. You can exploit almost every trick in the book.

You can probably double the mpg of most of these cars highway ratings.

[oil pan 4]

Anything turbodiesel.
That way you are already recovering energy from the exhaust heat and you are not fighting isobaric losses 99% of the time like with a gasoline engine.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by backpacker3

Honda Insight. Manual trans.

That is the best.

Agreed. But repairs on G1 insights outweigh the fuel saving costs unless your willing to do all your own work. If not, this is my personal opinion.

G1 Honda insight.
92-95 Honda civic VX.
96-98 Honda HX.
Saturn SL1? I think it's the SL1 and the older ones at that, pre 2000.


I will never buy anything else then a VX and a HX. When my HX dies I'm just going to rebuild it, parts are extremely cheap, and readily available. When the parts start to become rare, I will simply upgrade to something newer, a civic maybe. I had considered started hoarding parts in my back yard in a shed so I can get 800k-1.2M miles worth of repairs.

[cowmeat]

Festiva FTW!

I've put less than a hundred bucks worth of mods on my lowly Festiva, and I average about 60 mpg at this point. Seventy of it was just for the Kammback, because I was too lazy to build my own.

Bought the Black Widow for a thousand bucks over two years ago, new tires were 33 bucks apiece, a new radiator was a hundred bucks, etc. . . . parts are cheap for this old beater, and it hasn't given me any trouble in two years of daily driving!

This brick shaped little toy car is prime for ecomodding, with one of the most fuel efficient 4-cly gas engines ever made hiding beneath the boxy hood. You can usually find yourself a 5-speed EFI for less than 1500 bucks, and then you can coast your way to 75% over EPA averages all day long, my friend!

FYI, they're everywhere, and cheap!

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=festiva
http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/4561388527.html
http://wichitafalls.craigslist.org/cto/4608340308.html

[arcosine]

First gen Insight 5 speed (if you can get a deal, parts are hard to find)
Civic VX (hard to find one)
CRX HF (if not molested)
Geo metro 3cyl 5 speed (if not rusted out)
Vw TDI (pricey)
Saturn sc1
Matrix
I would put Prius, but there is not much to ecomod there, except for some aero skirts and pan.

[Hersbird]

I think the 1.0 ecoboost fiesta is the best highway especially if you live at any altitude or where diesel costs 20% more then gas.

[shorebreeze]

Chevy Sonic (Aveo in Europe-Asia/Barina in Australia) 1.4 Turbo. Toughly built and very conservatively tuned (from the point of view of durability and quietness) stock engine. Appears to benefit in stock configuration from 93 octane fuel. Performance (and apparently MPG-enhancing) modifications sold by the manufacturer without invalidating warranty. Large community of performance modifiers. MPG appears to benefit from several of these mods. Turbo/manifold integration results in quick engine warmups, potentially improving winter MPG by the standards of small gasoline-only cars. GM global car means there are a lot of them on the road. The smallest of GM's gasoline-powered lineup in the USA that's comfortable for highway cruising; and frankly has better highway manners than its import competition as well, so it's the kind of car that would appeal to someone who'd normally buy something less economical. Turbo power train means more mpg variability than normal based on the skill and thoughtfulness of the driver. Affordable parts and relatively easy to work on.

I rest my case.