cramming the whole cake in my face

[inanitydefined]

Anyone here care to tell me how its economically beneficial or ecologically responsible for a young single man in his 20s to own two vehicles? I know what I need to do daily. Carry 1-4 people, have enough room in the boot for parts runs and weekend getaways, have excellent traction on snow and dirt.

Those are the things I do. Every Day. Like I said, if a wanted a sporty econo car id get a Miata and be done with it. I need economy and practicality every day, and I want something fun to drive and that does well in low traction (read snow and rough dirt road situations.

I rent a truck when I need a truck. But I see no purpose paying to insure and repair two cars when they both would have to fit 4tires and a transmission in the boot. And I'm not in the financial situation to have a dedicated track car.

Ive been looking more at Subaru. Both the legacy wagon and Forrester seem reasonable. I was wrong, the Forrester is ever so slightly larger inside

[wmjinman]

It depends on your goals and beliefs. When you say "ecologically responsible", some would say to do away with the car altogether & walk (or bike, or take the train, or????) Economically beneficial? Yeah, owning only one car probably wins that argument most of the time. But the beauty of freedom is you get to choose what you want to do.

I like this site and going for the best mpg I can get because I enjoy the challenge. Not because I'm afraid I'll destroy the Earth if my "Carbon Footprint" is too big, or anything like that. And I may spend more gas testing mods than I'll ever save as a result, but again, for me, it's the challenge. If I really wanted to save the most gas possible as my primary goal, I'd probably get the smallest, most fuel efficient car I could find (like my White Gnat), drive only it, and as little as possible.

So again, it's about what YOU want to do. All of us who answer your questions have a little bit of what WE like to do thrown in. Take the advice you like.....

[UltArc]

I am mid twenties, and have two cars. I was late 23, early 24 when I got my second.

It seems more sensible to have a quality commuter, and spend extra on your toy. I did it in reverse, getting my fun/hobby car then a commuter.

[inanitydefined]

Originally Posted by UltArc

I am mid twenties, and have two cars. I was late 23, early 24 when I got my second.

It seems more sensible to have a quality commuter, and spend extra on your toy. I did it in reverse, getting my fun/hobby car then a commuter.

I plan on a toy later. For sooner, I want something that's fun on the way in and out of work. The Lexus is nice but wholly uninspiring. My sisters legacy (I drove it in to work for an inspection) is barrels of corner carving fun even without any kinds of upgrades. I drive like grandma most days, but I don't brake

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by inanitydefined

I plan on a toy later. For sooner, I want something that's fun on the way in and out of work. The Lexus is nice but wholly uninspiring. My sisters legacy (I drove it in to work for an inspection) is barrels of corner carving fun even without any kinds of upgrades. I drive like grandma most days, but I don't brake

So keep the Lexus, and then get your toy. The Rav4 could be your all around toy you can do whatever with, or used when you need it's strengths. Would that not work?

[ecomodded]

I have a car , boat , jetski a 19lbs rocky mountain full suspension mtb and a 17lbs Quintana Roo triathlon bike. its boring having just one vehicle..
The jet costs about $35 to fill and i can drive for 60 miles / all day on that.

[inanitydefined]

My question was simply if the rav4 can be made to get 30mpg+ and what other small SUV can do the same.
I like the rav4 because they are fun stock, roomy, easy to upgrade, have a brilliant AWD system, and come with a great 2litre motor.

My original plan was to find a rav4 with a blown motor and keep the Lexus until its done. After looking around though there are plenty of good condition examples for what I have to spend. And if I have to put tires on my leather seats again I'll lose my mind

My question was not whether or not I should buy a second car. I'm happy that works for you. But it doesn't work for me nor is it remotely on topic

[Xist]

I own two cars, but a friend is making payments on and driving the less-economical one. Honestly, with all of the reliability issues that I have had with computers and cars, I want a spare of each. I have always appreciated brief periods when neither required major maintenance, but this computer is less than a year old, and it completely died the morning of my last two finals. $1,000 should be enough to purchase a reliable computer, but I believe that it needs a new hard drive. Plenty of people need to make car repairs under warranty.

[inanitydefined]

I work in a shop. If it breaks at home I can fix it. If it breaks at work, I can fix it and have 3 other great mechanics to consult.
I'm also working on buying my first home in the next 2 years and being debt free in the next 5. Spending the money on a second car is a complete waste.
Back on topic, awd wagons/small SUV that get 30+mpg and are fun to drive

[wmjinman]

Max tire inflation, think synthetic oil in all the "boxes", max grille blockage without overheating, extend air dam to same level as "lowest hanging junk" under your car, and hypermile like crazy & 30 mpg should be no problem. I have actually hit 30 with my Jimmy when hypermiling like crazy, so....

My top hypermiling tricks are going as slow as I can get away with (get a ScanGauge & figure out your "maximum MPG speed" with two-directional testing). Then try to drive at that speed as much as possible. Get fanatical about reducing your idling time - Watch for traffic so you can throw it in gear and pull out onto the road without waiting within a couple of seconds of starting it. Same thing with stopping - wherever possible, throw it into neutral & kill the engine, gliding the last several (or several hundred) feet into your parking space. Make a habit of going into neutral and coasting IMMEDIATELY when you see a red or yellow stoplight ahead. Like I said in an earlier post - I see it as a game, like a video game I'm always trying to beat my "high score" on. "High score" being the best MPG on a tank of gas.

There are dozens of other hypermiling techniques too. You can search them out & start applying them. I'll bet with a little RAV4 (what size engine is it, anyway?) you can get to the point you never get less than 30. With my White Gnat (1999 Suzuki Swift 4 cylinder), like you and your 30, I was hoping I could hit 50 mpg. Now it's been over a year since I've had a tank less than 53!!! And that's mostly from hypermiling - my mods are minimal - blocked grille & warm air intake & high pressure in the tires. Well, and Mobil-1 synthetic 0-20 in the engine and Redline lightweight MTL 70-80 in the transaxle. Oh, and my ScanGauge - those things are worth their weight in gold!!!

A couple of axioms to live by:
> Idling = ZERO mpg
> Engine off coasting = INFINITE mpg
> BRAKING = throwing away the gas that bought you the speed you're now wearing out your brake shoes to reduce.
> Letting as many other cars as possible "beat" you to a yellow or red light (while you coast) increases the chances they'll trigger the "green" in time for you to sail through without stopping.
> When approaching a red light, braking early & slowing down may buy you enough time to avoid having to stop before it turns green again.