RWD cars with good MPG? (Looking for a highway commuter)

[triangles]

I was going to suggest a Tesla model 3 until I saw your price constraints...

I know it has the aerodynamics somewhere between a brick and a sail but my '99 2.7L 4cyl RWD toyota 4 runner can get up to 25 mpg if not driving into a head/crosswind. I've often wondered how good this drivetrain could do if transplanted to a lighter more aerodynamic package...

[hotshoetom]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

Fiero or MR2 will give you RWD and transverse in a mid-engine.

Nissan 240SX and Z-cars, Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro/derivatives and Corvettes, Mazda RX7 or RX8 (and the aforementioned Miata) for traditional longitudinal...

Old VW bug and most Porsches for rear-engines.

You'll want 4 cylinders for decent gas mileage, which limits which models work. Newer will mean less maintenance, usually.

If you have some money to spend, try a used BRZ or the Toyota 86 with the 2 liter engine and manual transmission...driven carefully they will approach 40 mpg on premium fuel sadly...but are a hoot to drive and being newer, maintenance costs should be lower. I really like my 2017 BRZ...consistent mileage over 30 no matter where I am if I drive like I have some sense. and on the highway upper 30s. Its not a bad choice.

[Grinder74]

I'm not going to totally rule out FWD, they just don't do doughnuts and drifting in the snow, rain and gravel, like RWD��

[freebeard]

Or climb hills.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by hotshoetom

If you have some money to spend, try a used BRZ or the Toyota 86 with the 2 liter engine and manual transmission...driven carefully they will approach 40 mpg on premium fuel sadly...but are a hoot to drive and being newer, maintenance costs should be lower. I really like my 2017 BRZ...consistent mileage over 30 no matter where I am if I drive like I have some sense. and on the highway upper 30s. Its not a bad choice.

Subarus are cool until you have to replace its timing belt, then you'd start hating it.

[sikbrik]

The old man drives mid 90s Chevy Caprices... they're relatively cheap and most have tall gearing. With the LT1 on the highway, he averages 32mpg on a 40+ mile trip, mostly highway, not hypermiling just driving like an old guy. Some of the more performance geared/tuned ones have still done high 20s. Not that this thread makes me think OP would want a land yacht and it's not great around town for mpg but figured I'd mention it since OP asked about "decent" highway mileage and they're relatively cheap and rwd.

[carolina guy]

RWD...can get 4cyl, 6cyl,manua and gas or diesel. Usually pretty cheap to buy the older ones.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by carolina guy

RWD...can get 4cyl, 6cyl,manua and gas or diesel. Usually pretty cheap to buy the older ones.

Cheap to buy might not exactly mean the total cost of ownership to be affordable. But anyway, those older ones are still built like a tank...

[carolina guy]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Cheap to buy might not exactly mean the total cost of ownership to be affordable. But anyway, those older ones are still built like a tank...

I have had several, and if you do your own work, they are about the same $$$ as most other older cars...IMO.

[order99]

Hmmm...best MPG car I ever owned was a 1979 Dodge Colt Hatchback purchased for $500 back in 1995 at Nashville TN. It had a 1st Gen Mitsubishi 4cyl with RWD, built on a sturdy 1700 lbs frame, and was more of a micro Station Wagon than you would expect-clutch and 4 speed manual, lots of room everywhere, went up and down Tennessee hills and tight curves in the rain like a dang sportscar and got between 45 and 50 MPG...how? NOT A CLUE.

What's even weirder? This vehicle is listed in the online specs as having FWD-but I know for a FACT that mine was RWD because I wrenched it myself-did I get some weird experimental model? Who knows? At any rate I had to go back to NC for Emergency Hernia surgery and sold it to a co-worker for $1000...three months later the IDIOT locked up the motor because he forgot where the Dipstick was and never checked the oil levels... That Colt deserved better.

Are there any chances of a Chevy Sprint in your area? A precursor to the Metro LS, the Sprint was a 3-cyl FWD 5 speed manual like the Metro, but didn't have the A-pillar rust-out issues of the Geo and was even lighter! A friend of mine in Fremont NC had one, flogged it like he stole it and reported high 40's in the MPG dept. and almost no maintenance...if he hadn't sold it to a parts dealer after some idiot caved in his passenger door i'd have made him an offer and grabbed a hammer...

Had a '68 Beetle and a '72 Superbeetle during my life-never got over 38 MPG at highway speeds...but if you find a used or wrecked one dirt cheap and want to reduce the horrible Aero with a Roadster kit or even roll your own chassis with foam and fiberglass-well, who knows what might happen?