What car to get, new used or otherwise

[bgd73]

alot of civic replies. I am the anti civic. the anti sideways FWD. Even cras with aftermarket markets are a markup for bad market.
I did see you like to mod. go find a little boxer somewhere, you already got a slob of a fake one.
vanagons, older subes, and maybe a hacked old porsche with a liquid cooled 3 main, or beetle. These are my personal seeks, and you would really need to be a modder.

[99LeCouch]

The Fit is a very nice little car. My fiancee has one, and we're looking awfully hard at one for me in a year or two once I'm out of grad school. Great driving position, a ball of fun to drive, and it has gobs of interior room. Almost as much as my car, in fact.

FE-wise, my fiancee gets 34-35 mpg combined out of her automatic, and she's no hypermiler. Best she's seen is 42 mpg highway, with the car stuffed to the point it had 1/2" of fender gap. Hypermiling it you ought to see better. It's ripe for a grille block, and has okay underbody aero from the factory.

[cfg83]

ESmooth -

I also vote for the Fit for practicality. That Yaris does look righteous, though. Do you haul a lot of stuff or are you pretty "spare" in your traveling? I think any Honda/Toyota will have good aftermarket support. A manual Honda Civic Coupe would be nice, look nice, and have a good aftermarket. Assuming it was possible with the aftermarket goodies, you could try to "downtune" it's 140 HP base engine. But, I think it keeps getting harder with the newer drivetrains.

CarloSW2

[Blue Bomber Man]

My roommate has a Yaris.

I have seen 49 MPG using some hypermiling.

The car is a joy to work, everything snaps together/apart easily. Engine bay has plenty of room to work with.

I would definitely at least test drive one.

Good luck!

[caveman]

I just bought a 2009 fit base manual and I am very pleased I chose it. I can get over 40 mpg on the interstate if I'm careful, and it is a blast to drive. I have been getting 37.5 mpg average but I have been driving inefficiently.

Despite its small size It feels much roomier than the mazda 3. The back seats fold all the way into the floor easily, even with the front seats all the way back. Even the front seats lay back completely flat. It is a very practical car, so it gets my vote.

[1337]

I test drove a first-generation Fit and absolutely loved it. It felt much faster than it was, handled well, and had a very nice interior. If I were looking for a car right now, the Fit would be high on my list.

[Ryland]

what do you need and want out of a car, do you want something that might still have a warranty? can you afford a car that new? how many people of what sizes do you need to haul with you? cargo?
If I was buying a car I would go with the first Honda Insight 65-70mpg with the 5 speed, if you do want something brand new the Yaris would be my first pick as it's simple and solid so it will last forever, nothing fancy just good.

[ESmooth]

Thanks for the replies. I dont really haul much of anythign so the added space of the Fit doenst really do much for me. I actually ended up test driving a new Fit Sport 5sp and have to say I didnt really like it. The interior was just too odd, definitly got the the feeling the designers were trying too hard. Interior plastic felt really cheap too, it is a cheap car though.

Anyways, in the end found a jewel of a 2000 Civic EX 5sp that I ended up buying instead. I really liked everything about my 98 civic so it was an easy choice:

Out with the old:



In with the not nearly as old:

[chuckm]

Dude, I can't believe you didn't want to repair to 98! Most of that would just buff out!

Seriously, I'm glad you're okay. When the 100+ hypermiling tips section mentions braking hard, I doubt this is what they had in mind.

[cfg83]

ESmooth -

Cool Beans!

CarloSW2