naviathan Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 As the title says. I'm about to head home from Iraq and with the baby coming soon I need to get the wife a newer car (not new) that's good on gas. I was thinking the VW Jetta TDI because the diesel engines get 50+ mpg and VWs are just good cars all around. Anyone else have any ideas? On a side note, if all goes well I'll be picking up ANOTHER Z when I get home. This one is an 82 Fairlady 280Z that's in pretty good shape as opposed to my current fairlady that needs to be stripped to the bare metal, patched and rebuilt. Anyhow, on with the FECs! (Fuel Efficient Cars) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I like the VW TDI's but they are spendy, although they do hold their value. I'm looking for something new(er) too. The newer Carolla gets 35 hwy and is a decent looking car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 You need to be looking for a 1. vw golf gasser with the 2.0. You do not want the electric windows they are broken all the time. Look for a base model with a five speed. 2. A toyota echo ugly as sin but gets good mileage and would be cheap on all accounts 3. a nissan 200sx a sporty little 2 door that gets about 34 on the hwy, these can be had for about 3K or less. 4.Mazde protege these are fun little sedans, they will return 30+ mpg and be somewhat sporty. 5.If you want a domestic a cobalt wouldn't be horrible but I would be rid of it beofre 50,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 We bought a 2007 VW GTI for my wife about a year ago. The only options on it are floor mats and iPod adapter (6 speed manual). Vortex people would call it a pkg0 car. It gets 33.5 actual mpg on the highway. We really only looked at VW because I had a chance to get an outstanding deal and we needed something for her with 4 doors. I have been really impressed with this car. Build quality seems very good. It has much better power than the 2000 Focus ZX3 it replaced and it gets better gas mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Geo metro, not the safest car. Use the money you saved and put in a roll cage. My friend on the coast says he hits over 45mpg on the freeway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 How did you get a Gti with four doors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 4 door GTI was added for 2007 I think. I have had a few people accuse me of dressing up a Rabbit to look like a GTI though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 Well I think 2007 is too new for my pocket book. I was thinking 2000-2003 time frame. The Geo Metro is too old and too much of a tin can, I wouldn't be risking my wife and child in that. The Golf is only 2 doors which would make the baby seat hard to get in and out of the car and storage would be horrible for traveling. The Toyota Echo is a thought, but I've never had an interest in the hybrids because of the money they cost to repair if something goes wrong with the electric portions. The Mazda Protege is viable, mileage isn't excellent, but it's doable. The Cobalt, is just way too small, remember, kid on the way. Needs space. Thanks for the ideas guys, keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 In that case I'd consider getting a 2002 or 2003 Ford Focus ZX5. My wife had the ZX3 and the only reason we sold it is because the baby seat just wasn't going to work with the 2 door. That Focus was extremely reliable and parts have been surprisingly cheap. The only problem I ever had with it was a hole in the PCV hose at about 110,000 miles. 30-31 mpg highway with the AT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 we have a civic that does great....12 gallon tank...350 mile trip...still have 1/4 tank left. we recently bought a 2.5 legacy gt...fun car...and cruising a i get 32mpg...plus awd which was great in the snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janaka Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 i'll second the civic idea. i drive a new one and this thing is amazing on gas, my friend has a TDI jetta and he says he can't get anywhere near the rated milage on it. around here deisel is MORE expensive than gas... eek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firm Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I've got to say that if you don't mind a car that does 0-60 in 14 minutes, I would definitely recommend a civic. The newer (06+) civics seem to have a few problems in the quality dept (rattles, cheap dash, etc), so I would get a 2005 or older. I have a 2005 Civic coupe that I generally get around 39 highway in, and the d series in the 7th gen civics are extremely reliable as long as you don't beat up on them. I've personally put this one through complete hell and it has yet to give me a single problem (knock on wood!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Jetta or Gold TDI with manual tranny. Make sure its between 2000 and 2003. After 2000 they changed the injector pump to a crappy one. With a TDI make sure you get the oil records, if not changed with the right oil the cams are ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 1.You can get a golf in four doors 2.The toyota echo is not a hybrid that Im aware of. 3.The protege is not that bad of a car really, look up the sport model. 4.The hyundai sonanta is a large car and pulls down 24 city and 34 hwy with the manual trans 5.You could always srping for the mazda3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage42 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 With all this talk of Volkswagens......my buddy just picked up his Porsche that he custom ordered 2 years ago & arrive in Spokane, WA this week! I'm thinking with a twin turbo, AWD, 700 HP convertible that does 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, I'm thinking that it doesn't qualify for the mileage you are looking for, right? I guess the $200k price tag would disqualify it for all of us, anyway. (Sorry! Couldn't resist) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I have an '04 jetta tdi tiptonic auto. Bonafied 42.5 mpg average city and highway if you drive nice. The manual does better than that on the highway. I've gotten 50 driving 55 while in mexico. I have a couple of friends that have the manual and commute alot of miles. They swear by them. Oil that I use now is rotella t synthetic, gallon is $17 at walmart, filter is $13. They hold their value well, drive for a couple hundred thousand miles as well. Exhaust never rusts out, longer oil life, cheaper to operate IMO. Gets my nod. Oh, BTW, they will spin the front tires from the light without any problem, definately haul some butt for a diesel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I've been a fan of the corolla/prisms. upper 30's to 40 on the freeway. My friend has a 2000 auto w/OD. It's been good for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 The lastest Consumer Report magazine wrote a small article about VW's.. VW has the highest amount of problems per 100 cars than any other company tested! heads up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firm Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 ^That's what I was thinking.. Not to just go against everyone else, but I have quite a few friends that have owned vw's and they've all had nothing but problems.. From Corrados to gti vr6's, every single one of them broke down and had the kind of electrical problems that nightmares are made of. I actually had a buddy that had a jetta with 30k on it (he bought it new) and it broke down on his way back from Fla. to Texas. He had to have it towed the rest of the way into Ft. Worth and just told them to keep it since he had nothing but problems with it for the entire 30k miles. FWIW they look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Here you go 4 doors, MT, sporty looking, 2 liter motor, You could get the car for 5K easy. http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3793643 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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