The most luxurious economical vehicle you came across?

[bandit86]

Was looking at a few fuel efficient vehicles for commuting and I find not a lot of them are very luxurious. Like the Mitsubishi mirage, it's great at saving money but it's also a little bit uncomfortable. What cars can you think of where you would give up maybe a little bit of fuel economy where a little bit of comfort. If it's a wagon or something even better, got lots of tools to carry. Thank you

[Isaac Zachary]

I think my Toyota Avalon hybrid kind of fits that description.

• Spacious interior. I'm 6'1" and can adjust my front seat to where I have plenty of leg room and then go sit in the rear seat behind "me" and still have plenty of leg room.
• Leather seats (which I hate).
• Standard front heated seats. Rear heated was an option.
• Standard driver's seat is full adjustable with electric controls (upper and lower lumbar support, seat height, seat tilt, etc.)
• Even the steering wheel slides in and out.
• Heated steering wheel option.
• Optional rear HVAC controls.
• Large trunk.
• Cruise control is standard. One of the first vehicles to have adaptive cruise control as an option.
• Sun/moon roof option.
• Automated rear window shader option.

On the other hand, for a vehicle that started out at around $40,000 brand new back in 2013, I don't see it as being truly an affordable vehicle. But at $15,000, only 50,000 miles and 5 years later (2018), it seemed like it was a pretty good deal. I was getting consistently over 40 mpg for the first few years. Recently I've been getting in the higher 30's.

And the car has been very reliable. While I dread having to replace the HV battery sometime soon, I haven't had any major issues, just some normal wear and tear: new 12V battery, new shocks, new swaybar links. normal fluid and filter changes, one normal sparkplug change, and that's probably all I've done other than fighting with the infotainment/HVAC center that doesn't work quite right. I can't say how much I hate touch screens.

Sadly, I don't think any used Toyota hybrids are worth it these days as their price has skyrocketed into the next galaxy. I'm getting very close to 200,000 miles and I could still probably sell mine for some $5,000 if not more. And seeing how the last Toyota hybrid I bought with almost 200,000 miles on it ended up needing a new HV battery, a new catalytic converter, a new engine, a bunch of electrical issues and bad touch screen (I hate touch screens) I don't think I'd ever buy a used car with much more than 100,000 miles on it. Many car owners are going to 1-year oil changes, and that seems to be killing engines, or at least making the oil rings seize up and gall the cylinders making the engine an oil-burner. I haven't had any such issues in the Avalon, but then again, I've religiously changed the oil every 5,000 miles, which ends up being about 3 times a year.

[redpoint5]

The problem is that comfort is at odds with economy (there's no solutions, only trade-offs). The most comfortable vehicle would be a minivan since it's tall and you sit upright and it's designed to spend long hours in the saddle. The most fuel efficient ones get 30 MPG, which is impressive for the vehicle size.

A car that sits lower to the ground and has a more efficient shape will have your feet out front, which is less comfortable.

Audi A7?

[freebeard]

For me it's a small sample size. The $1500 Dasher diesel was more luxurious than the $6000 Beetle. It had pleated upholstery and a big quartz clock in the dashboard.

An engine swap for an diesel with balance shaft (and turbo?) would have really helped it. The hood would shake sitting at a stoplight.

So now I'm looking for ingress/egress. Arcimoto wins, hands down. It's more like mount/dismount.

[Ecky]

For something mid 2010's, I'd say any of the Lexus hybrids. They all get lower fuel economy than their Toyota counterparts, but I suspect part of this is in the tire choice, and part is in the added weight from sound damping and nice interior materials. As redpoint5 says, comfort is often at odds with economy, but it isn't entirely so.

EVs tend to be very quiet on the road, something to consider.

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Sadly, I don't think any used Toyota hybrids are worth it these days as their price has skyrocketed into the next galaxy. I'm getting very close to 200,000 miles and I could still probably sell mine for some $5,000 if not more. And seeing how the last Toyota hybrid I bought with almost 200,000 miles on it ended up needing a new HV battery, a new catalytic converter, a new engine, a bunch of electrical issues and bad touch screen (I hate touch screens) I don't think I'd ever buy a used car with much more than 100,000 miles on it. Many car owners are going to 1-year oil changes, and that seems to be killing engines, or at least making the oil rings seize up and gall the cylinders making the engine an oil-burner. I haven't had any such issues in the Avalon, but then again, I've religiously changed the oil every 5,000 miles, which ends up being about 3 times a year.

Definitely some points here. The Toyota tax is real. The 3rd gen Prius engines burning oil is a known issue isolated to just 2 (?) model years, but it wasn't always known, and Toyota is apparently not incapable of making major mistakes.

In my humble opinion, there are very few cars that have both comfort and low operating costs, that are not now EVs.

[Gasoline Fumes]

I think a Prius is luxurious, but I drive a 2000 Insight with most of the interior missing!

What's your budget? Like Ecky posted, a new(er) EV is efficient and luxurious.

A Prius V is wagon-like. I'm not sure if they have the same head gasket issues that plague the 3rd gen Prius.

[Piotrsko]

Anybody sit in a top of the line F350 lately? Put a couple hundred pounds in the bed and it's like sitting on the living room couch

And it costs more than my first house in a LA suburb

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Anybody sit in a top of the line F350 lately? Put a couple hundred pounds in the bed and it's like sitting on the living room couch

And it costs more than my first house in a LA suburb

To purchase or to own?!

[freebeard]

To rent?

[mort]

Originally Posted by bandit86

What cars can you think of where you would give up maybe a little bit of fuel economy where a little bit of comfort.

I'd suggest a 5 year old or older Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Not much trunk space however. About 2018 the styling changed, and I think they look good.
-mort