Buying a Car
 

Hi everyone,
I was planning to buy a car within a year or so. Does anyone have any recommendations for an inexpensive, fuel efficient car? I'm willing to do inexpensive mods that aren't overly complicated. I will be driving mainly around town, at least two miles per day but probably not too much more. I was thinking about the 1994-2002 Saab 9-3/900, pre-2000 Honda Civics, and older Audi A4s, BMW 3s, and Subaru Imprezas. I live in an area with a long cold winter and AWD is beneficial but not totally necessary.

That's an odd list of cars from a fuel economy and winter driving perspective. I strongly recommend FWD, as that powertrain is lighter, more compact, and better on gas. A FWD with four snow (not all-season) tires is a good choice for winter. All cars are 0WD during braking, so an AWD car can get you in to trouble, but it can't get you out.

Certain Civics are favorites here at EM. They're thrifty and reliable cars. My vote would be for an old Civic hatchback with a stick, or a Civic HX if you can find one. However, if the previous owner attempted any "performance" modifications to the Civic, steer clear of it.

Also, how about a VW diesel, or a small Toyota, Mazda 323, Ford Escort, or Saturn S-series?

From experience, I can tell you that BMW are nice car, but cost a lot to repair/maintain. I'd say go for a stock Civic.;)

I can tell you mileage sucks on subarus, and there isn't that much room for improvement with out major mods (like taking out a set of axles). But they are great in the snow. My first car was a 92 legacy, with studded snow tires. I tried to get it stuck, but never managed to. My 99 impreza is not as good (too light & I need snow tires), but it gets better mileage (28 vs 25 with similar driving). Subarus are not too hard to work on or find parts for, and they always seem to start, and get you where your going.
That said, I'd recommend the civic.

My wife got around RURAL Alaska just fine in her ford escort front wheel drive. We have moved in from the real rural area and she is driving another escort, and I drive a Civic. Good winter tires and half a brain will keep you going just fine. Studs are not necessary in my experience with good snow tires.

I only had one day last winter that I could not get out of the driveway in the morning. 31 degrees and light snow on shoveled and packed snow. No going up hill on that from a stop. (father in-laws 4x4 truck would not go up a similar day a few weeks earlier) anyway a little work with a shovel and some salt thrown down got me out of the driveway in about 10 minuets.

Any of robertsmalls suggestions would be good for mileage. I have really liked my civics.

An AWD car can give you a sense of security that you don't really have. Stopping and steering work the same in FWD or AWD. There are situations where if you are smart a AWD can get you out of and they will get off the line better without slipping as much. I duno how much that will help in your situation.

as far a AWD vs FWD:with AWD you can drive too fast in the snow. It is harder to know when your driving too fast, as by the time you start slipping a little, your a slight twitch of the steering wheel away from a 360 (possibly into a tree). With AWD it's easier to control the slide so you miss the tree, but it's harder to regain full control. Stopping in the snow is similar with both, but engine breaking it not. Steering in the snow is a little better with an AWD if you know what your doing, you don't get the back end slipping as much.
But still, go with the civic or something similar (FWD, small, and Japanese), they are fine in the snow with good tires, and get better mileage.

Don't forget about Hyundai's. I think there reliability is just as good at Toyota or Honda but they are a few thousand cheaper. The new Hyundai Accent Blue is rated at the lowest cost per mile vehicle (beeting all the hybrids) because you can buy it new for 10K.

Hyundai's latest offerings may be worth considering, and are surprisingly good on gas across the lineup. There is no V6 option in the Sonata, for example. Instead, they're planning a turbo four. Their manual transmissions appear to be geared correctly for FE as well. But Hyundai/Kia built low quality cars until recently, and I can't recommend any of their older cars.

Maintenance and repair on the German cars you mentioned will eat you alive. The Audis and BMWs are great cars, but problems in them can get super expensive super quick. The newer Audi seems to have some of the best interior designs, though.

For daily thrashing, a nice cheap Civic would be my choice. I'm a Honda guy, though; been driving them since before I got my license. ;)

-soD

Why are the HX/VX Civics so much more efficient than the other trims? Also, do the Civic coupes seat five? I like the idea of a VW diesel but those are hard to find around here, so are Civics that haven't been modified(performance and ugly) to death. Does anyone know how Mazda Proteges and the older Imprezas that were FWD are? In terms of Hyundai/Kia, I think the models I can afford are older :(.