Time to upgrade car... Which way to go?
 

I am (hopefully) about to be in a position to get out of my old 99vw (transmission woes) and am trying to decide what to get for a ecomodder daily transportation device... and my 102 mile round trip commute says I should really go for it !!! 2 lanes 28 stop lights about 50% in city/50% 2 lane highway....

Lotsa good choices... maybe-

a stick shift yaris...
a used prius...
stick shift TDI...
Stick shift Civic


I don't really know much except I need to start looking.... I am not sure how many trips she's still got in her... But she gets 30+ mpg, but not wanting to throw any more$$$ at her and there's the tranny, tires, no a/c, and the fact the speedo/tach 50ks only 30% of the time....

My tdi is hands down the best motor i have owned. Without any ecomodding skills my car will easily, seriously easily get 50 mpg. If you apply some skill to your driving you will increase it to the point that others have, check the top 10 ecommoder fuel mileage chart for exact numbers the tdi owners are getting, not to mention the 60 + mpg i am getting in my 98 tdi

I'm leasing a Ford Fiesta, with 98% city driving I'm getting a little over 30 mpg. And the dual-clutch transmission is really cool, if you really like stick there's an option on some cars to drive the auto as if it were a stick. Or you can just get the stick model, though the auto is supposedly more efficient.
If you wait a bit they're gonna put the Ecoboost engine in them, more power and more efficient.

Is that a 102 mile round trip? You wrote it a little weird. If so, I would recommend you upgrade your commute.

Anyhoo, if you plan on retaining that commute for a long time, I would strongly consider the TDI. TDIs are wonderful long distance cruisers. They are comfortable to drive and if taken care of, can go a long way. The yaris is a cute little car, but, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be caged in one for 500 miles a week.

Forget the prius. The TDI will beat the pants off it on the non-stop and go section of your drive.

This is an upgraded commute!!! I got tired of Suburbia, HOA's, and a city in need of infrastructure and a falling tax base!!!

I love where I live now!!! The drive is worth it!!

I do lean towards TDI... Used to have an 06 PD stick shift Jetta, but after the 3rd kid, it had to go to make room for 3... 3 kids in the back seat of a Jetta (2 in car seats) doesn't work.... I loved that car:thumbup:

Just have heard mixed on the 2.0 TDI reliability and longevity and the 1.9 are scarce...

definetly get a TDI. But if buying used make sure the previous owner didn't do lots of short trips. some people belive if they get a TDI it will last them 400k miles (just like they should) but only do 3 mile trips which is death for a diesel

I also read that wrong. 102 miles, wow...

You should read this to see what you're giving up by keeping that commute:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...you-21858.html

WOW lots of life coaches out there... Lets stay on topic here...
 

I am surprised how this is coming to be about where I choose to live and why? Nobody on here knows me or my situation... Don't judge me or make assumptions about me...

This is best for me and my family... I CHOSE to move somewhere where the air was clean, the water is pure, the food is fresh, the people are nice, where we could enjoy the outdoors and get away from the RAT RACE!!! I am happy!!! I only make that commute 3 days a week...

So if you wanna talk cars we're good... if you want to question my life choices just pass on by...

3 days a week makes it a little more bearable, I guess. If you do plan on keeping that commute for a long time, and it sounds like that might be the case, I think you should go with the best TDI you can afford. Maintain it religiously and you should get a pretty long life from it.

I'm simply showing you the facts of your commute. Our purpose here at ecomodder is to help you reduce your fuel consumption. We attempt to do this with many different techniques. By far your largest contributor to your consumption is the distance you travel. I'm not trying to 'life coach' you, but simply inform you of an area where you could see a very large improvement. If you don't want to do that that is your choice. No offense was intended.

I think any of the vehicles you've listed in your first post will suit you very well. The conventional vehicles (yaris/civic) will likely yield in the low to mid 40s for mileage depending on how avid a ecodriver you are. The TDI and Prius will yield in the 50s and possibly 60s for mileage and you won't have to put as much effort into driving them. It all depends if you're willing to pay the price premium for the TDI/Prius.

Sounds like a Prius is a good choice with all those stoplights.
Or if you want something cool, the MGeo will be for sale.. :)

Our circumstances are probably very different, but I bought my Yaris sedan because it's cheap, has four doors, and gets 2.5 times the MPG of my old vehicle (2003 Ford Ranger w/ 4 liter V6) The biggest selling point was the price tag, as, being a broke-ass college student, I can't finance much more than a Yaris.

I don't have the time/money/shop to repair a car so I needed something newer, and I wanted to be able to get 35+ MPG. The Yaris has done that, and once I got used to its idiosyncratic clutch I'm doing alright. I'm 5' 7" and have plenty of room in the front seat. I find the driving position actually quite comfortable, but taller drivers seem to hate it. The interior is cheap plastic, so don't expect anything beautiful... The gauge cluster is in the middle of the dash which is super annoying, and the sound dampening is pretty much non-existent... But it's a great econobox and I've got nothing but good things to say about it so far. If you get the good stereo like I have you can even plug your MP3 player into it.

If you're looking for something cheap I'd highly recommend it, it beat the Fit hands-down in affordability and compares well with MPGs. Good enough for me.
Good luck :)

:turtle:Thanks Eco modders... :turtle:

I thought very hard about another TDI... It was difficult as some cars pulled emotionally, some practically.. But after a lot of test driving... I pulled the trigger on a 3 door YARIS M/T.... After driving, Prius C, Hondas, KIA, Hyundai's and a TDI Jetta; The lil Yaris just felt like it was the car that best suited my needs and desires on a cost per mile basis...

But then Lil Japanese made Toyota's have usually been a very safe bet!!!

I hope I am right!!!

I think you made a wise choice...good for you.

..and enjoy your commute and just like you I will continue to enjoy our rat-race free lifestyle :)

So far I've been thrilled with my Yaris, hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. And yes, it is supposed to make that horrible noise in reverse. Oh and it will shudder in reverse too if you don't give it enough gas. I swear, there's Manual trans, Auto trans, and Yaris trans. The first 2 weeks was just spent learning its idiosyncratic clutch.
:P

The Yaris looks like a good choice.

FWIW, I also have a long commute - about 55 miles each way, so 110 mi/day, 5 days /week. I too have my reasons for "signing up" for that ride. Thankfully it's a pretty easy drive with usually very light traffic, so it's quite doable.