New guy needs help picking a vehicle.
 

Alright here's the deal. I got $5000.00 that i am willing to spend on a car.Im going to College in January and it's a 70 mile Highway drive that i will be doing twice a week. I would like to have a vehicle that gets great mpgs. I aint the type of guy that usually cares to much about mpgs. my first car was a 1970 C/20 that We built up to a 383. But anyways, I aint interested in to many of them foreign cars,in fact the only to import brands that i'm considering are Subaru and or VW.DO NOT SUGGEST ME A HONDA. I've always been in love with f150 with the 4.9 inline 6 but they are not necessarly the most fuel efficient engines,unless someone can prove me wrong.However the 4.9 is a bullet proof reliable engine. I am considering GM cars with the 3.8. i've always had a thing for the 3800, its not really my first choice. i'm kind of a muscle car and truck kind of guy but i need mpgs.

PLEASE GIVE ME SOME SUGGESTIONS!!!! :D

VW Jetta TDI or Golf TDI from the late 90s or early 2000s will be the highest mileage cars you can get given your criteria.

As long as you select a small, competently engineered, reasonably efficient car, you'll do fine. Saturn S-series, Foci, Priora, and Escorts come to mind. Hondas are popular here because they meet those criteria, but you can find plenty of good, small American-badged cars for $5000.

It sounds to me like you're in a large-displacement mindset. That's very reasonable for a muscle car, but if you want good fuel economy, you'd do well to cross a car off your list if it has more than 2.0L.

You don't have to have lots of displacement to have a fun car. Just look at stick-shifted examples of: S2000, MX5, Paseo, CRX.

Well, I appreciate the suggestions.but needless to less i am looking at a gas hog tomorrow and maybe purchasing it. 1995 Ford f-15 4.9 inline 6, 5speed manual 4x4.
Any suggestions on how to improve mpg on that beast? i figure i'll do a cold air intake and probably some exhuast work, it all ready has a Tauno cover on the bed any other suggestions? Thanks and try and deal with my stupidity of buying something that sucks in that much gas.:rolleyes:

A CAI and better exhaust will not help your MPGs. Just so you know.

An aerodynamic rear cover like this (homemade or commercial product) would make a big improvement.

I am not expecting a drastic from either the cold air intake or exhaust. Cold air intake and exhaust can effect mpgs , How affective are is debatable but any improvement is nice. Do you have any suggestions?

firstly, welcome:)

Secondly, i know why you like large engines-same reason as i do-lots of torque, lazy drive, easy acceleration etc.
They are a bit juicy though..

I'd suggest something similar to what i'm drivng just now. Its a saab 9-3 turbo.
As a 2.0 when your off boost, the mpg is decent compared to most of the us cars in the same class.
The turbo can be fettled to give decent power-the car is light so you dont need as much hp to shift it.

They seem fairly popular in the US and Š3500 would get you a good one and some tuning:)

Failing that if you go for the f150 you want a WARM air intake to boost mpg's!

Either not buying it, or having it recycled would be a great improvement.

Thanks for saying it yourself so others don't need to say it ...

Also, thanks for polluting the planet on a grand scale and for doing your damnedest best to help drive up fuel prices by excessive consumption of the stuff.

I presume you set out to buy a car that would save you money on gas for your expected long commute. The Ford FISO does not accomplish this, and is not the correct vehicle for you.

As to how to get better mileage out of a pickup, scrap it and buy a Ranger / S10 with a four cylinder and a stick. Or a small car, which is the right tool for the job of transporting one human 280mi a week.