RWD cars with good MPG? (Looking for a highway commuter)

[19bonestock88]

A side thought related to large engine for good MPG... I used to have a 1995 Ford Ranger, 2wd, 4.0/manual with 3.08 gears... even with those gears it really could move out(225lb/ft TQ at 2600) and driven sanely I seen low-mid twenties (high of 25mpg) and now that I think about it, I never hypermiled it at all... maybe going up to a 2.73 gear(and adding limited slip) and some aero mods it coulda done 30mpg with ease and still done all the truck stuff I used it for...

[ALS]

Volvo 940 non Turbo a 94 or 95, they came with a 2.3 Liter motor and automatic transmission.

You said you're driving mostly on the highway and at sane speeds 65 mph they will consistently pull low thirties like, 32-33 mpg on the highway.

Cheap to buy and easy to maintain. Those red block Volvo motors will easily last 250K with oil changes and timing belt changes.

Can be had cheap, Checked the Craigslist by me and there is a 94 with 105K miles on it for $1,450. Stay away from the Turbos, most are beat and highway fuel mileage is in the 25-27 mpg range

[357]

'96+ BMW 318i sedan or coupe (which i think was exclusively called the 318is)? I think somebody eluded to those early in the thread. They're rated right at 30mpg highway, but you've got a lot of options to play around with the final drive ratio. Manuals came with a 3.46, Auto's with a ludicrous 4.44, and there are ratios available all the way down to 2.93 (my advice would be to just buy an entire used diff of the desired ratio--it'll likely be less than $100). Easily available for less than $3k from what i've seen, and generally in better shape than a comparably-priced 6cyl car, since they just aren't powerful enough to be thrashable.

[Hersbird]

I wonder what makes that BMW a "mechanics special" That car is smoking awesome for $2600.

oh here is the dealer's page http://www.dorianford.com/used/BMW/1...4a23c84612.htm

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I wonder what makes that BMW a "mechanics special"

Neither do I, but in my country there is a trend of swapping engines from Volkswagen and Chevy into old Bimmers when their original engines have been so poorly mantained that it becomes cost-prohibitive to fix them properly.

[Grinder74]

I don't see me driving a beemer, although they do look good.

[drew2000]

My '87 BMW 325is e30 would get 27mpg on the highway. A 318 can get into the mid 30's mpg.

[drew2000]

Originally Posted by Grinder74

I don't see me driving a beemer, although they do look good.

haha. just saw your post after I posted. They really are good cars in the '90's until you start having to worry about automatic slushboxes and double vanos intake seals in later models--you really can't go wrong with a straight 6 without double vanos. An early '90s 525i or 528i wagon, for instance, I believe is one of the best used cars out there. They are easy and inexpensive to maintain.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

but in my country there is a trend of swapping engines from Volkswagen and Chevy into old Bimmers when their original engines have been so poorly mantained that it becomes cost-prohibitive to fix them properly.

Originally Posted by drew2000

They really are good cars in the '90's until you start having to worry about automatic slushboxes and double vanos intake seals in later models

Meanwhile, in another subforum...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ild-36203.html

jackbauer has taken the bull by the horn.

[Daschicken]

Used BMWs may lure you in with their low asking prices, but maintenance and repairs can quickly make that shoot up.

My experience working on BMWs has been pretty bad. Recently I tried to help out a friend of my little brother with his 325i that had a bad thermostat. It turns out that the automatic transmission versions have an additional fan, a mechanical fan that gets in the way of thermostat replacement and is not straightforward to remove. I spent a few hours trying to get it out, but there was one bolt that I couldn't get to, and I couldn't remove the fan, so I put it back together and gave up. He had to get it replaced at a mechanic, and then later it blew a head gasket(probably related to previous overheating).

Previously, a friend and former coworker had bought a 325i of the same generation as the one in the story above, this time with a manual transmission. It had a blown head gasket that wouldn't allow him to leave the radiator cap on when cold, so he had to warm the engine up then put it on. I had never driven an inline 6 car before so I wanted to try it out. Battery was dead of course, so we went to bump start it. I went to shift into gear and it didn't do anything! Of course the moment I get in the car the shift linkage disconnects.

Even less recently, I had a 325i come into my workplace that was all sludged up at 60,000 miles. I used to want one of these little inline 6 BMWs, but these experiences have made me re think that decision. Unfortunately I can't convince my little brother otherwise, he still wants one.