Which car would you buy manual trans for hypermiling?

[doomz78]

Hi everyone! Ive been hypermiling my auto 2006 altima for a few months now. Ive increased my mpg from 23mpg to 32 mpg. PSi tires, Front grill block 90%. And weight reduction. And of course driving style. Engine On coasting is my secret weapon. But I feel like I am being restricted because I cant Engine off coast with an auto transmission. So here's my question...

Is it safe for a car to EOC with a manual transm. and if it is which man transmission is the best? Here are my picks because I have a son. And my wife likes a bit of safety in a bigger car. And no Hybrids.
1. Honda Accord
2. Toyota Camry
3. The new Sonata
4. Your picks??????????????

So why would someone drive a hybrid if you can't EOC with it? It seems like the biggest mpg increase would be achieved coasting with the engine off at higher speeds. The maintenance on the hybrid scares me. Even though i like the Camry hybrid and ford fusion hybrid.. Which car has the most potential to be a great hypermiler?

[Angmaar]

Hybrids automatically EOC which is why they get such good gas mileage. Hybrids have just as good if not better potential for hypermiling than typical cars. You can P&G very easily in a Prius using just your foot. Hybrids should have the same amount of maintenance if not less than a normal car this is because the engine is on less often and the friction brakes are used less.

[cleanspeed1]

I would go with a VW TDi with a manual trans, custom programming, free flowing but quiet exhaust, and a few other touches. Still get great mpg without hypermiling.

Chevrolet Cruze Eco with the manual trans.

[cfg83]

cleanspeed1 -

Originally Posted by cleanspeed1

I would go with a VW TDi with a manual trans, custom programming, free flowing but quiet exhaust, and a few other touches. Still get great mpg without hypermiling.

Chevrolet Cruze Eco with the manual trans.

I like both of those choices.

doomz78 -

You mentioned family-sized cars in your list. The Cruze is a pretty large "compact" car, so it could fit your bill. Hyundai also seem to be a good choice these days when it comes to MPG.

CarloSW2

[Arragonis]

Depends on market and where you do your most driving.

I have a TDI and love it for hypermiling but my driving profile (short, local journeys mostly with occasional longer trips) would dictate something with a higher urban MPG rating and not as much a motorway cruiser.

That said a 1.3-1.4 Diesel in a tiny hatchback body would be superb.

The new Ford KA seems to fit that bill nicely, its a rebodied FIAT 500 but cheaper and available with the FIAT 1.3 Multijet for some 70+ MPG goodness...

[Big Dave]

I'm with cleanspeed.

If they didn't sell at such a premium and if I could stuff myself into one, I'd go with a VW TDI.

I engine-on coast all the time with my F-350 which has a manual.

[SentraSE-R]

Yes, you can EOC a MT car safely.

If you have to have a full size car, the Sonata edges out the Camry and Accord by 1-2 mpg in city mpg, 1-2 mpg in highway mpg, and 1-2 mpg in combined mpg. Hyundai reliability compares favorably. I'd buy the Sonata, because its real world price is the cheapest, and I drive my cars until they drop. If you trade yours in, then you have to balance resale value against total investment, and one of the other two may look better.

If you can move down to a slightly smaller car, MT the Elantra knocks the socks off the full-size competition, with 5 mpg better highway economy (40 mpg) and 5 mpg better combined mpgs (33 mpg) than the full size cars you're looking at. That's the one I'd really buy.

[doomz78]

Well from all the info that ivve gotten here I started to look at the VW golg tdi wagon and the VW jetta TDI comfortline, these things are expensive. And I didn't see many deals on anything used. So there is a hefty premium on these cars. I do like the specs of these cars though. I would save about 2000$ worth of gas a year by owning one of these vehicles. Its great but the sticker shock makes it almost not worth it. So here are my front runners at this point:
1. Golf wagon tdi manual 30000 brand new incl tax and dest
2. Sonata manual. About 25000 brand new....
3. Elantra manual, about 20000 brand new...
Used picks
1. Jetta wagon... 10000 to 20000
2. As long as a manual transm exists for these cars I would consider them used... Nissan altima, toyota camry, honda accord, all 4 cylinders of course. These cars tend to be a bit cheaper cause there are so many of them ..

This car picking for hypermiling is not as easy as I thought it would be. Especially with my parameters. Bigger car, 4 cylinders, safe, reliable, easy to modify for hypermiling..

[doomz78]

I've done my research and it looks like the Chevrolet Cruze eco 6 Speed manual will be my pick.

So since this car is built with an adapting grill block and it has a smoothed out underbody and it has been lowered for optimal fuel effeciency. And it comes with low resistance tires... How can I improve my FE even more? Any quick aero tips or anything I may have missed.. It also comes with 200lbs of weight stripped out. (I do plan on EOC in this car, and I don't go above 55mph ever, or above 2000rpm's unless an emergency situation)

Last question.. This car comes with a mpg trip computer. Should I still get the Scan Gauge 2? Is the factory Trip computer a bit optimistic? or are they fairly accurate?

[SentraSE-R]

A couple more things to think about. The Cruze is a compact car, not a mid-size. It's been test driven and reported on at cleanmpg.com. I'm not sure it's been fully reviewed. Because of its small turbo, it did not respond favorably to advanced hypermiling techniques.

VW TDIs have a very mixed reliability reputation.

You should get a Scangauge or Ultragauge. They'll help you compare the effects of different acceleration loads and other variables.