I've been looking at the 2014 Toyota Corolla Le Eco
 

I cant seem to find a plain Le Eco for the price I want. I have a dealer who will give me 2300 off msrp for the Le Eco Plus but when I compare the 2 the
Le Eco gets 42 hwy versus
Le Eco Plus 40 hwy

I found on Toyota's website I think that the Cd for the 2 is
Le Eco .28
Le Eco plus .30

A dealer told me it was from the wheels, does that sound right to you guys? It doesn't seem to make sense to me that Toyota would drop the CD for the one with alloy wheels. Anyways the wife and I are just looking at a cheap new car for our second vehicle that is dependable. Let me know what you guys think.

You ask for what I think. Here it comes: Forget that Corolla, buy an Insight.
Just my heavily biased opinion ;) but you can get great deals on them nowadays, IIRC.

The Insight is a good car, but it sounds to me like you're not looking for used. Speaking as a Corolla driver, you can't go wrong with one. They're good cars, how could they not be and be the #1 sold car in the world.

It sounds like you've done your research, have you narrowed it down to two or three cars or is this the one, it's just a matter of trim level?

If the plus has features you like (including cost) that the regular doesn't then I would say go for it. That .02 you can easily make up for with mods. And if it really is the wheels, then just switch the wheels (although you should also check the weight of them too).

Wha, not looking for used? Did not say that?
I did not mean the 2000-2006 Gen 1 Insight, great as that small car might be.
The Gen 2 Insight is for sale right now and will be next year. After that, probably not. Hence the good deals you can get.
OK, back to work.

The Insight does not interest me as I am looking for a high mileage family car that isn't a hybrid. We did drive a Mazda 3, wife and I really liked it but was a lot more money. I liked the Civic but my wife did not. I want to wait for the 14 Civics to come out but don't want to pass this deal up.

Tell them to find you the car you want! Salesmen will usually work hard to put you in the new car that you want.

Countryboy - I figured you out.
You do not want a car that is cheap and dependable.
You want a car that you like.
And that is the only right thing to do! Never get stuck to a car you hate!
You dislike hybrid???? Beats me, but don't get a hybrid, then.

My first car was a '85 Honda Civic. My dad sold it to me when it was 7 years old. He had almost bought a Honda Integra instead of the Civic, I craved that car... nearly could have owned it! I hated the Civic for not being an Integra.
But it was reliable, cheap to maintain, zippy, elegant in its simplicity. It grew on me.
12 years on, rust killed that technically still perfect car. I still miss it.
My Insight is the first car that really is better than that Civic. It uses less fuel than even my old '86 Diesel Rabbit, it is roomier than my '98 Nissan Almera, it is more advanced than the laptop I'm typing on. I cannot imagine... but that's me.
Just do what you like, and like it for that.

Well here is the deal.

This salesman has the Le Eco Plus that I can get cheaper from him even if I end up putting new wheels and winter tires on which would be a plus for me compared to every other dealer in MN that I have contacted and that is comparing a cheaper model from the rest to a better model with this dealer.

Any other non hybrid cars I should be looking at as far as mileage goes?

I, too, am looking to purchase a new Corolla soon. The idea is to get the base model eco with steel wheels. The way I figure it, I can simply add a set of Prius takeoff alloys. The plan is to have it paid off by the time my oldest daughter is of driving age and give it to her. It should be plenty reliable and spacious enough to use as a college vehicle. Plus, the Corolla, by then should only have something like 40k miles.

wheels
 

You might compare tire width and wheels between the two cars.Together,they can easily alter the Cd by that much.
The CRX,Trans Am Firebird,and Renault Vesta II all had this much difference depending on tire size.