Top Five available eco-mod vehicles??

[offroad1994]

So what can be found for the top five vehicles that are available and can be bought any time?? Vehicles that can be worked and modified for terrific practical MPG improvements, and can always be found.

Here are my criterea (yours might be slightly different).

A) Can be bought at a dealership in the used lot, or can be found for sale by owners. Not really a high demand vehicle, but definately an undervalued vehicle.

B) Can be fixed relatively cheaply. My mechanic says that HONDA anything is well designed for fast easy repair, and parts are always available. I think some of the older vehicles might have a hard time with parts. I am thinking a vehicle at least five years old, but not older than ten years is ideal (so looking at 1998 or newer).

C) Has a fully stripped version (manual windows, NO AC, etc.); as well as a fully loaded version. Then you can decide on what you want and how that effects MPG. What are the MUST HAVE options for people? I personally think traction control is a great option, but I do not see that everywhere. Not sure about the automatic, or manual transmission choice (driving in traffic with a manual really is annoying); but obviously manual is easy to fix and saves lots of gas.

D) Well designed for getting crunched in an accident. Not wanting to buy the high MPG vehicle that is rated the lowest for crash protection.

E) Has good available cargo area. This is highly optional, as cargo space means more stuff, that has weight, that eats MPG. Bad idea, but thinking on this.

Looked for Geo Metro - and literally can not find one for sale within 200 miles (and I live near NYC area - so it is not like I do not have lots of people around). Guess they are all heading to the dump from rust out?

Looked for a Toyota Prius - and they can not be found used anywhere (people snap them up - regardless of whether they know what they are doing with them). Not sure I want one, as it is the "generic" eco vehicle now with an over priced value (for new buyers of used or new vehicle).

Looked at a Chevy S10 - they get upwards of 30MPG in manual transmission, but also can not be found. Not good for road traction either, with the rear wheel drive.



Honda Civic maybe? What model? (CRX?)
Toyota Corolla? or Yarus? or Scion xB?

[whokilledthejams]

I can tell you first hand, the xB sort of hits a wall with highway fuel economy unless you're willing to make major aerodynamic modifications, or drive really slow.

The Yaris, Echo, xA, and Prius are on the same platform, but more efficient due in large part to their shapes. On the other hand, if you find yourself having to haul bulky things often, the xB makes a lot of sense (I always wanted one anyway, and it turns out to be extremely practical for me).

The Echo can be had nearly for free, and was even available without power steering. There's nothing wrong with those cars other than the lousy resale value.

The Yaris, xA, xB (and Prius, as you've found), tend to have much higher resale values. The xA and xB also come with power windows and locks, air conditioning, and traction/stability control. Basically, the only factory (as opposed to dealer) options on those cars was the choice of transmission and color.

A RWD S10 isn't bad in the snow if you have decent tires and some amount of driving skill. I drove one for three years while living in Rochester. Interestingly, it was a completely-stripped model, yet still weighed over 3400lbs. The four cylinder is the godawful Cavalier engine. It tears through head gaskets, and universal joints give out like clockwork every 30k miles. On the bright side, I normally got 30mpg highway, and mid-20s city, before I ever heard of hypermiling.

[apgrok1]

I know Saturns came without PS or PW, sister in law had one. How about these:
1. Dodge Omni
2. Ford Fasteva (Festiva)
3. Ford Aspire
4. GM N-cars (Calais, Grand Am, Skylark)
These have more of a chance at being found.

[IndyIan]

1995 Neons were available without PS, 13" wheels with no wheel covers and black bumpers is a clue you might of found one. These have better highway ratings than a toyota echo in Canada. Any 5spd SOHC 95-99 neon even decked out with PS and AC should easily get 40 MPG doing any hypermiling at all.
Hyundai Accents might fit your criteria too?

I agree though for a non mechanical person Toyota Echos are hard to beat, you might find a 1995 neon for $800 in pretty good shape but if you find a 2000 echo for $3500-4000 you probably will never have a major repair in the next 10 years. I think there is slightly more space in an echo too.
Ian

[99metro]

I have to side with the Geo Metro, of course. Try to find an XFI model. At least if the motor goes, you are looking at just over $300 plus shipping, and a day to replace if you aren't a mechanic - like me.

I had a 1984 S-10 with a 1.9L 4-speed, bought new. Turning the distributor, I got 33 mpg at 65 mph. I imagine with hypermiling and slowing down, I coulda/shoulda got mid 40's. If you had a limited slip in the rear and a set of BFGs, you's do ok with traction in the snow. My 87 S-10 2.8 had that and it did just fine for a few winters in Syracuse.

[whatthe]

Any of the Suzuki G10 or G13 clan should get you 40-45mpg depending on how you drive.

4 cyl - Suzuki Swift base and GT

3 cyl Chevrolet sprint, pontiac firefly, geo metro

In Canada, I don't think a/c was even an option, but in some areas they do exist.

You'll never want to be in an accident with an 1800lb or less car with a 7000lb Cadillac at high speeds. The math just isn't favorable despite whatever crash design may exist.

[offroad1994]

But of course I would consider a classic Metro in some flavor of manufactuere (Geo, Chevy, Suzuki, etc.) if I could find one. The Toyota Echo is one I never thought of. Get AC in that and I have a nice commuter car. The 5speed neon sounds interesting too.

[Joe_Bloe]

I think the '91 - '02 Escort with the CVH (SOHC) engine gets short shrift for ecomodding. Stone simple, cheap (bought mine in great shape with 100k miles for $1,000), you can find them everywhere, and I'm getting almost 36 mpg city in my wagon with very mild hypermiling (some EOC). It does EOC really well - even with power steering, the car is lightweight, and steers and stops well with the power off.

[Deezler]

There really aren't any VW diesel drivers on here huh....?
99.5 - '03 Jetta and Golf Diesels ftw.

With hypermiling you can easily hit 55mpg - and you don't need to live without creature comforts and conveniences. (i.e. leather, all power options, fit & finish, quiet ride, etc). What really counts for some people is the 45mpg in ALL stop and go traffic.
Yes, diesel is about 10-15% more expensive/gal than gas. But the mileage return is even greater. Admittedly a little complicated to work on, and not the cheapest in maintenance (though the service intervals are much less frequent).

Oh and btw you don't need to use a single drop of imported petroleum for fuel either.

[i_am_socket]

For cheap and available:

Honda Civic
Ford Escort
Toyota Corolla
Dodge Neon
Chevy Cavalier

Most (all?) had barebones options, were cheap to begin with, and got good mileage. I'd have no problem finding a dozen of these by tomorrow if I had to. For cargo area, I agree with the Escort wagon.