best new car for money and mpg's

[joesgot4]

i'm not very mechnically inclined as far as cars go! i'm an electrician and i'm looking for something new i have a 2006 chevy malibu that gets about 40mpgs running 60mph it has about 70,000 mile on it! k&n air filter,partial grill block,tires are michellin x at 45lbs of air per tire and i drive with eco in mind! what is the best stock new car for the money and mpg? i was thinking of maybe waiting on a fiesta? what yall think?

[cfg83]

joesgot4 -

Originally Posted by joesgot4

i'm not very mechnically inclined as far as cars go! i'm an electrician and i'm looking for something new i have a 2006 chevy malibu that gets about 40mpgs running 60mph it has about 70,000 mile on it! k&n air filter,partial grill block,tires are michellin x at 45lbs of air per tire and i drive with eco in mind! what is the best stock new car for the money and mpg? i was thinking of maybe waiting on a fiesta? what yall think?

Ok, that helps. It sounds like you're already doing pretty well in the Malibu. You want to "refresh" your drivetrain for (warrantied?) reliability, yes?

I would give the 2nd gen Insight a look. As jamesqf pointed out, the Honda Hybrids do fine on the freeway (ICE "dominant" hybrid drivetrain). If your business needs storage, give the Pontiac/Toyota Vibe/Matrix a look.

Earlier you said you wanted a 4-door. Does anyone know if the Fiesta will be available in a 4-door?

I like the idea of the Jetta because diesels run forever. My only concern is how well VW supports the non-diesel part of their maintenance. Maybe 5 years ago we looked into getting a GTI. We found that they could end up in the shop for a month while waiting for one part. If VW fixed the parts-supply chain issue, then the Jetta would be another good option. It's the green car of the year for 2009 :

VW Jetta Clean Diesel Wins 2009 Green Car of the Year! | GreenCar.com

CarloSW2

[joesgot4]

you got it warrantied reliability! if i worked around home i would keep my malibu forever! good car but front end sux and transmission shifts horribly! bought it new! engines awesome and fuel economy ok! new car has to have some storage capacity! the fiesta will have a 4 door version i need 4 door due to 4 kids and hauling capacity!

[KJSatz]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Does anyone know if the Fiesta will be available in a 4-door?

http://www.fordvehicles.com/2011fiesta/

Looks like it. But it says the one in the pic is a 2009 international model...all the picture I see have 4 doors though.

[cfg83]

KJSatz -

Originally Posted by KJSatz

The 2011 Ford Fiesta - Coming Stateside Early 2010 | The official site of the Ford Fiesta | FordVehicles.com | Ford Vehicles

Looks like it. But it says the one in the pic is a 2009 international model...all the picture I see have 4 doors though.

Ok, thanks. I looked at other pics and it seems that all the models that are featured have 4 doors. The hatchback rear looks very nice, very Honda "Fittish".

CarloSW2

[evolutionmovement]

The Civic Hybrid matches/beats the Insight 2 and is a little larger. My brother-in-law averages 43 with lots of traffic and a heavy foot. Not sure if the rear seats fold down, if you need them to. I'd also be wary of anything VW. The diesel engines are probably robust, but the rest of the cars are not. At all. I've worked on way too many and known too many people with them.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by joesgot4

i will be driving alot of long distances 300-1000 miles weekly trips so the car will have to be new ! do not trust a used car 1000 miles from home! did not know if hybrid would be worth it since most of my mileage (80%) is on interstate? it also needs to be fairly comfortable and a 4 door! so know what do i need?

I have to agree with most of the people who said you should get a used car. Why wouldn't you trust a quality used car with 20-30k on the odometer?

With the money saved, you have at least an extra $4k for gas already in your pocket!!!!

[blueflame]

What stuff goes wrong with VW?

I thought they were well engineered, solid and reliable German auto's.

[RobertSmalls]

I believe the Prius is the new car with the best FE, and the best aerodynamics. Wait for the 2010 model, though. There might be a price drop and/or FE improvement.

It's expensive to ditch a car just because the warranty expires. Hold on to the car until things start to go wrong with it. My 13 year old Subaru has 155,000 miles, and it's never left me stranded. Now, it has needed a bit of service (which, even if I paid someone to work on it, would be cheaper than a car payment), so I would recommend you get rid of your cars before 13 years / 155k miles if they need to go to the shop more often than is convenient for you.

[MetroMPG]

I always thought an interesting metric to compare new cars would be cost (new price) per MPG.

EG: if a Yaris is good for 36 mpg highway, and costs $12k it's $333 per MPG

A 2009 Prius good for 55 mpg highway and $19k new is $345 per MPG

Likely flawed in more ways than I care to think about right now, but that was the general idea...