In my situation which car would be best?

[Frank Lee]

Something I'm amazed never gets mentioned, How much is you life worth? Safety should be a primary consideration here since all the fuel savings in the world won't mean crap if your dead or seriously injured.

The presumption of a fatal or near-fatal wreck is faulty- the odds are against it. Waaay against it. The presumption that a certain vehicle will fare better because of what- size, weight, safety ratings- is also faulty. I have seen a VW Rabbit and a Grand Marquis collide; the Marquis got totalled while the Rabbit needed simple repairs. Real collisions aren't as perfectly lined up as the NHTSA crashes.

[nemo]

Physical damage to the car in an accident is a poor indication of how safe the car is. It what happens to the occupants that matters. My grandmother died in a accident in which the car sustained very little damage, the car would have only required a door replacement.

That said the biggest safety feature is not being involved in a accident.

[Eco_Bob]

Thank you all again for your replies!

The Jeep isn't going anywhere - My wife loves it too much to sell it...My Mustang isn't going anywhere because its relatively cheap to insure (the main reason I got it in the first place was that its actually cheaper to insure a Mustang convertible than a Civic in Miami), it was involved in an accident - and from time to time I like to drive without a roof. - with the top down if I park under a mango tree I'm picking it acts kinda like a pickup :-p

Unfortunately a motorcycle is out - If you have witnessed South Florida drivers in general you'll understand my reasoning ;-)

Yes - was primarily looking at Highway mpg hence me primarily focusing on the tdi and the insight. The insight is the only hybrid I'm considering because of the highway mpg capabilities - Open to options for cars that get 55+ mpg when going 65-70mph.

From more searching around - it looks like a 92-95 Civic VX may be another option? How long do these last before they are useless? - the ones I have found are in the 200K+ miles zone going between $3500-$4500

Thanks again,

Bob

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Eco_Bob

From more searching around - it looks like a 92-95 Civic VX may be another option? How long do these last before they are useless? - the ones I have found are in the 200K+ miles zone going between $3500-$4500

As long as you don't neglect the maintenance they can run nearly forever. I still see a few of them in a good shape back here in Brazil, and their owners usually are satisfied with their fuel consumption.