Opinions from the Eco gods
 

OK so i posted a few weeks ago asking for thoughts on best highway commuter for a 120 mile round trip. Ive since narrowed it down and am going to make my decision this weekend. Its between a very clean 2000 mitsubishi mirage 1.5L 5 speed with 166K miles and a pretty beat up 2007 toyota yaris sedan 5 speed with 250K miles. Both are rated 40MPG highway. The mirage has the 4G15 engine which people say is pretty bulletproof, many going over 300K and I found a couple with 900K. Both look like they have pretty good aero CDs. If all things were equal id take the yaris since it has timing chain and people report easily getting 44-45 mpg highway but all the guy is saying is runs and drives, needs TLC. The yaris is also $400 cheaper. What do you think?

Make sure your AAA subscription is up to date. That's a long commute for a high mileage beater, but between the two I'd go with the lower mileage one since you're going to rack up miles quick

I would take a 200k Toyota over a 166k Mitsubishi any day.

If I were choosing between the 2 I would keep looking personally. I would keep looking because I feel like options are available beyond just those two. When car searching I tend to look outside of just my local area and push for the markets roughly 100miles from us.

But if we were discussing just these 2 I would look at the Toyota, it's newer , has a chain vs belt , better creature comforts for long roadwarrior style employment.

And it's a Toyota...

Not knowing either of these two engines I can only offer an opinion on the mechanical side......

As for timing chains v. belts, yes belts stretch and can break and leave you stranded. Are either of these engines "non-interference" engines? That might help with the chain v. belt question. Given the option, my choice would be "non-interference". It might break, but no engine damage. But both are high mileage cars and many other things can leave you stranded, so.....

I've bought cars that were high mileage and, with proper maintenance, anything can last a long time even if the previous owner was lax on maintenance.

I've read that Toyota makes great long lasting engines. Haven't really researched Mitsubishi.

Another option is continue to search or expand the search area. I personally haven't been here long enough to know everything about ecomodding. But purchasing vehicles with a large family has shown me I need to shop for the best deal because every penny counts in our household.

So if you leave this discussion with anything I would consider expanding the search you have. And maybe look at larger vehicles known to get 35+ that are more comfortable for those types of long haul trips.

Somewhere in your area is someone with a sweet ride and personal problems that force the sale at any price.

Your task is to find that situation.

You'll be spending somewhere around $250 month in fuel if you commute 5 days per week.

If it were me, I'd finance a used Chevy Bolt EV to avoid paying for all that fuel and to avoid maintenance costs. The fuel savings would make up for the higher monthly payment, and you'd have a much nicer car.

This is probably the right answer. With those kind of miles, even if you need to take a loan it probably makes more sense. The monthly ownership cost may be quite a bit lower, with the double benefit of that money going mostly into the principal of the loan rather than into fuel.

Ricer me says pick the Mirage and put some WRC-inspired graphics on it :D

On a sidenote, its engine is one of the most copied ones, not only in China but in Malaysia and South Korea too, so sourcing replacement parts might not be much of a nightmare. Odd enough, even a Chinese SUV retailed by Ford in some overseas markets resorts to a turbocharged copy of the 4G15.