Which cars ? (Corolla, Civic, Cobalt, Sentra or Focus)
 

If we consider the FE, comfort, reliability and price.

• I heard the Corolla isn't reliable as they were.
• Civic are a bit pricey (2000$ or 3000$ higher).
• I don't know someone that drives or didn't hear good nor bad things for the Cobalt. Scared 'bout Chevrolet's quality :rolleyes:

So my choices would go for a Sentra or Focus. But which one?
The differences I see clearly is the styling and the transmissions.

darkmaxx11 -

The Saturn Ion is essentially a "proto-Cobalt" (GM Delta Platform). With that in mind, you may find this interesting :

Ion-Centric repair list? - SaturnFans Forums

In the above, the "intermediate steering shaft" seemed to be the only thing I couldn't find a solution for (this is a problem in other GM cars too). It doesn't appear to be dangerous, but it does seem to be hard to live with (CLLLLLUNK!).

CarloSW2

I personally wouldn't have any problem looking at Corollas. Toyota's quality may have laxed a bit in recent years, but its by far not bad at all. I too would avoid the Cobalt though.

If it really comes down to the Sentra vs Focus, I think both are good cars. However, if I had to choose (I haven't driven either of them, but I've ridden in a new Sentra and it is nice), I'd go with the Focus. I've heard very good things about them. Plus, the highway mileage for the Focus is quite a bit higher than the Sentra.

What about looking at a Prius or Insight/Civic hybrid?

Alittle outside of the box.......
Get a 2002 Infiniti Q45. $12k
extended warr to 100k 2k
variuos eco mods 1k
weight 3801, lots of alum and alloy
hp 340,

built in mpg screen,
rear end 2.76,
overdrive aut trans.,
Coeffecient of drag .30
epa hwy 23
eco modded 33+ w/ ac on. heat-reflecting windows.
I have 185k on mine. last major repair was at 110k.
Most 02's have been drivin by "non-aggressive, older drivers" so they are very well maintained.

for comparison:
Q45 3801lbs / 340hp = 11.18 pounds per hp
Sentra 2930/ 140hp = 20.92 pounds per hp
?????which one is working harder???????

in this type of comparison I would ask:
how may hywy miles?
how many long trips?
how many in the car (comfort on trips)

Because, if you don't drivre much it really is 'econcar'.

Does it matter? Any of them would be good cars in the right hands.

I'm still rolling my free car that I got 10 years ago, and it got 42 mpg on the last segment I checked. Happy? Darn right! :thumbup:

Are you looking new or used?
I am considering all the same vehicles (used) once I my truck sells.
My first choice is a cobalt because I can get a 05-06 for $6k with 45-60k miles because of chevy depreciation. You can't get the others that cheap with that low of miles.



I was actually considering this same thought process but with a volvo s40. If I get into grad school (will find out in Feb). my commute is going to be about 100miles a day, so a little bit more luxury would be nice, and I can get 33mpg on the highway before mods.

meh, you can do better than those.

That thinking is completely opposite what will get you good mileage. You want the engine to work harder. The harder it works, the more efficient it runs. Do a search here for 'brake specific fuel consumption' to see why.

Ok, that was a point from out of left field.
ANd I just can't grab onto the logic.......
Then why is everbody coasting and turning of the engine and stripping of accecories .......

Why is a 2.76 rear end called a highway gear
and 4.08 a race gear

The VK45DE 4.5 liter V8 makes 75.55 hp per liter
The 2.0 liter 4 makes 70hp per liter

Do you need 340 HP to go down the road?

Maybe it doesn't even matter.

What fe does it get?