Intro and question

[techanic]

I've been reading here a while, decided to register. I currently drive a 7th gen Celica. It does OK on gas, about 26-27 in town, 33-34 on the highway.

However, in a few months I'm moving to the country and I will be commuting 120 miles a day. I'm wondering if I shouldn't get a different vehicle. I haven't *decided* to, but I'm thinking about because now would be the time to do it.

Here are the things that I am looking for....

1) get better gas mileage than my Celica
2) be of model year 2000-2004, can't see putting 25K miles a year on a newer car
3) be capable of having a (well cared for) life of 250K miles
4) not be tiny
5) Have the potential for getting to 45 mpg with some work


The only car I know of right now that I believe meets all of my criteria would be a 2001ish Saturn SL or SC. BTW - my wife has a 2002 Civic with a standard that would qualify in every aspect I've mentioned except I'm over 6 feet tall and I HATE driving the thing, my head is a half inch from the roof

Anybody have a better idea? Thanks in advance

[ex-x-fire]

Howdy techanic, welcome to the site. Those Celicas are nice cars, tell us about it. I know they had 6spd. trannys & 1.8L(?) engines in them. That sound like a good start to a high mpg car. Whats the rpms going down the road? Is the engine running fully warmed up(temp. gauge in the middle)? Any mods already?

[techanic]

Well, first off it's an auto. For mileage I would prefer a stick although the gap seems to have closed recently.

Car does not have a conventional temp gauge, it has a 4-step led-bar gauge. It takes a bit long to warm up (maybe 4 miles when weather is cold) but it runs at the "normal" position.

I've done nothing to improve mileage yet other than pump the tires to 40. I'm kind of trying to figure out if this car is a good starting point or if I'd be better off dumping it and getting something else.

As for hiway RPMs I'm sad to say I couldn't tell ya until I drive it on the hiway again. My sense is that it is geared too "high" i.e. RPMs could be lower on the hiway. Could maybe put some taller tires on it.

One good thing is that the car has an excellent wind profile, the bad thing is that it sits so low it is not easy to get out of

[Daox]

Hello and welcome.

Get a Prius! 45 mpg easily right out of the box with no mods. The 1st gens are pretty darn cheap too (under $4k). In 2004 they introduced the 2nd gens which are a bit nicer IMO. However, real world the mileage difference isn't that huge.

[techanic]

... but I have two reason not to.

1 would be that the gains a hybrid makes in mpg are mostly for city driving, I will be driving 120 highway miles.

2 I worry about long term maintenance costs. That battery bank has to be expensive

I should have mentioned that cheapness is a big factor here!!! I want to get a car that has depreciated most of its value already !!!

Thanks for the welcome, I'm going to learn a lot here.

[Daox]

Yes, the Prius gets amazing mileage in the city, but they also get way better mileage on the highway than almost anything else out there. I get 50 mpg at 60 mph just by setting the cruise on the Prius. Its very hard to find a car the same size as the Prius that gets as good of mileage on the highway. The Civic hybrid or Jetta/Golf TDI would be the only other vehicles that comes close. But, they both cost more too.

Battery failure is rare and there are companies that have sprouted up to repair packs for much less than a new pack. The Honda's seem to have more battery problems than the Toyota's. The first gen Prius' have a slightly higher failure rate then the 2nd gens which basically don't have problems AFAIK.

[Thymeclock]

I'd definitely keep the Celica. I had an '89 Celica convertible that I just sold recently, and I also have a '99 convertible that I only use during the summer. You won't be happy with anything else, IMHO. You won't find a more reliable car, nor one that will get any better mileage, considering its size. you are already getting very good mileage. Sometimes we need to realize it doesn't get much better than that. BTW, My '89 used to exhibit weird handling if I overinflated the tires more than 35 psi, so be cautious.

You mentioned a Saturn. About a year ago I was considering buying a nice, clean 2004 Saturn wagon from a dealer, as they supposedly get good mileage. It wasn't bad to drive, but in researching it I found they are loaded with electronic controls and accessories and are notorious for developing weird problems. I nixed that idea, as I wasn't about to give up a reliable car for a potentially unreliable one. Also, since Saturn was scuttled by GM it's not going to help matters any.

[Bicycle Bob]

If your size is the only thing keeping you out of a Civic or other fine car, consider a seat swap as your first ecomod. On my 1st car, I just drilled a new set of holes to mount the seat farther back.

[Ryland]

How about something like a VW TDI golf? 50mpg and pretty simple, they tend to cost a bit more to maintain is their big draw back but a turbo diesel seems ideal for highway driving.
You might also look at an earlier Civic HX, it's their higher mpg non hybrid, does you wifes car have a sun roof? I'm 6 feet tall and can't drive cars with a sun roof due to the head room but it seems the older the civic the more head room they have so try some other years.

[techanic]

Thanks for the replies guys.