Zetec Focus with manual trans will get ~35 mpg on the highway and has great headroom for a big driver, especially without a sunroof. There's plenty of them around $2k, very reliable, and parts are dirt cheap. They handle very well, and there's lots of aftermarket support.
A ZX2 Escort (also a Zetec engine) may also be an option as long as there is no sunroof. My son's has a sunroof and my head rubs the headliner............
i recently went through the same process looking for an under $2K beater and ended up with an 87 4 dor 325e. i dont regret it at all but i dont think i would have made that decision if i hadnt already been elbow deep in fixing another beater e30 i use at the track. they have small gremlins in the si boards and other do dad that will drive you crazy if you arent prepoared to do battle with them or alternatively ignore malfunctioning guages etc. perfect ones can be had, but they arent under $2K. one other car i test drove and really liked was the 01 to 03 sentra. it was a good car, rode nice, had a good feel, good headroom etc. but finding a good one with a sunroof meant at least $3500 and i didnt want to go that he=igh. sounds like you may be willing to. one issue the board brought up though is engine dissolving issues with the SER model pre-cats. so i wouldnt look at anything other than a base 4 banger model. they are still peppy for a commuter car though
My father (70 years old this July) has a first gen saturn sc2, gets 29 mpg city and 36-38 highway. I gotta say, it is the funnest FWD car I have driven. It is an automatic too, could prolly get a little better mpg with a stick.
just my $.02
i'm a smidge taller and prob a lot fatter than you... i'm still amazed at what I can fit into... IF I WANT TO...
i'd def get a basic idea of what you want and start looking on CL... don't be to picky on what it is... but be picky on it's condition more than what it is... :)
when it comes to a ford focus, what should I be looking for? Which years have the zytec motor, and how would I easily tell? Also, are some years better than others?
I have read that the SVT suspension bolts right up. How much does something like this run, and are there better options for a good handling focus?
The idea of a e30 sounds like fun, but it seems like a better project car, I feel like i would spend more time working on it(not a bad thing), than using it to commute.
I have to agree with what everyone has been saying, with the caution to take an extra critical look at any VW you look at. theres good ones and bad ones and the bad ones are pure murder to take care of. They are like the GM of Germany. notice no one is recommending cavaliers??
one really fun but super underrated for it car is the toyota corolla/ chevy prism. they can be found under 2k with a lot of miles on em and a lot of miles left in them. They also feel really quick unless you are trying to accelerate against any other car thats not an economy car. granted that I installed koni yellows in mine, but after that it was more fun than my previously most fun car to drive an 88 VW GTI 16v. The corolla also won me regional class 2 out of 4 years I autoxed it. I still have it and I bought it new in 01. it has 180k miles on it and will easily do another 100k miles. I wont let it go for less than 5000 though, so a bit out of your range. sorry didnt mean to devolve into a car commercial. something to think about though. I was reading another post and it reminded me that Im still on the original clutch and its strong. ok Im done now. good luck in your search
Protege. I gave $1500 for my '91 DX with 85k miles. I've put 25k miles on it (in like five months...I have a 125 mile round-trip commute) and it's given me no problems.
My DX gets 32-34 mpg at 80 mph. The LX (mechanically identical to the Escort GT) will probably do a little worse, but it also has an extra ~20 hp. DX suspension is a little floppy, too, but that can be fixed with ZX2 struts. Headroom in mine is not an issue. I'm 6'1" and long of torso, and have a good three or four inches between me and the headliner.
I was actually looking for a DOHC five-speed neon when I came across this thing. The rub on those is the build quality is a little lower and it's damn near impossible to find one in nice shape.
A Saturn SC2/SL2 would also be a good choice. They're quite spunky, get 35 mpg when driven hard, and are generally pretty reliable. If back seat room is an issue, DO NOT buy a coupe.
A friend of mine with a turbo Miata picked up a Prizm as a cheap daily driver. He was pleasantly surprised by how fun it was, and he came from a Fit Sport, which is no slouch. Best of all, his Miata wheels are the PERFECT size for it! So, a note to all who get this vintage Corolla/Prizm: Miata alloys are an instant, lightweight, and cheap wheel upgrade.
I've owned 4 Saturn S series cars - coupe, sedan, and wagon, all DOHC/manual. Decent cars, cheap, easy to work on. Parts are still around, but what few performance upgrades once existed are quite rare these days, as the car's been out of production for 9 years. Contrary to popular belief, they DO rust under their plastic skin - the bottom of the rear door sills (and equivalent area in coupes) and the front subframes in particular. I've never owned an automatic version but the many reports I have on them tell me they're among the better slushboxes out there.
I don't know if it work in the Protege in but a simple yet effective upgrade for the 91-96 Escorts was a rear sway bar from a wagon or Escort GT. It is worth a shot since they are sister cars in a way and share parts. I had a 91 Protege lx for a year and that was a very fun car. It reminded me of a poor man's Beemer and its a shame they are getting up there in age. I think a Focus is a great idea also. The SVT suspension swap kit runs around $300 I do believe.
carczar_84 wrote: when it comes to a ford focus, what should I be looking for? Which years have the zytec motor, and how would I easily tell? Also, are some years better than others?
All the Focus motors are winners, I think. In your price range, you'll probably be looking at all Zetec motors, since they were the ones in early Foci. But the later Duratech is a great motor, too, so I wouldn't get too hung up on it. Wiki breaks down which engines were available when, if you feel the need to know.
carczar_84 wrote: I have read that the SVT suspension bolts right up. How much does something like this run, and are there better options for a good handling focus?
SVT suspension swaps in to anything '00-'04(? '05?) that's not a wagon. The wagon had different rear suspension from everything else. I did this on my '00 ZX3, and it's a fantastic mod for the money. The SVT suspension is an ideal balance of sport and comfort. It won't let you down in spirited driving, and it won't beat you up when you just want to get from Point A to Point B. Full kits of new parts are on eBay for around $300 last time I checked.
So I spend this morning looking around and found a couple good looking miatas in the area. I might go look at one after work tomorrow. I have seen alot of information about cutting foam out for taller drivers.
How much room is there to be had?
I am 6'4" with a fairly tall torso. Compared to the new miata, is there more or less room? I have had a chance to sit in a 2010, and i wasn't pretty.
Would a helmet, roll bar, and track day be possible/
Also, going to look at a 2003 focus zx3. Totoally different cars, but I think they could both fill my needs.
Anything glaring obvious that I should look for with either of these cars?
carczar_84 wrote: So I spend this morning looking around and found a couple good looking miatas in the area. I might go look at one after work tomorrow. I have seen alot of information about cutting foam out for taller drivers. How much room is there to be had? I am 6'4" with a fairly tall torso. Compared to the new miata, is there more or less room? I have had a chance to sit in a 2010, and i wasn't pretty. Would a helmet, roll bar, and track day be possible/
You're kind of bumping up against the ragged edge of fitting....as for a helmet/rollbar/track day....I'm going to guess probably not with a stock seat, even with a foamectomy. I am three inches shorter than you and in my car with a Hard Dog Sport bar (which admittedly is not the option with the furthest set-back from the driver's head area), with stock seat foam, wouldn't pass a broomstick test.
For that matter, at your height you're going to have to try one on to see if you even fit in the car. The seat only goes back so far, and the wheel doesn't adjust, which means it's hard for taller people to get comfortable. I had to modify my driving position to fit in mine. My gf (who is the same height as me) could not get comfortable in that car.
A couple of things to consider:
1) Gearing in the Miata is pretty steep. Over the same commute that my Protege gets 33-34 on, I usually got 28-30 in my '93 Miata.
2) Miatae are not much fun for long highway slogs in top-up weather. They're cramped, loud, and visibility with the soft-top sucks. Adding a hardtop helps significantly with the noise and visibility, but they're still not a great highway car. Course, if you live in an area where top-down is year-round, then that doesn't matter so much.
escort gt. swap in eibachs and sr struts. sway bra from a zx2 in the front and one from zxtuner for the rear bar.. short shifter and throw some 205 50 15's on the stock wheels. power will still be lacking but itll be extremely fun to drive,
carczar_84 wrote: when it comes to a ford focus, what should I be looking for? Which years have the zytec motor, and how would I easily tell? Also, are some years better than others? I have read that the SVT suspension bolts right up. How much does something like this run, and are there better options for a good handling focus? The idea of a e30 sounds like fun, but it seems like a better project car, I feel like i would spend more time working on it(not a bad thing), than using it to commute.
Not all Foci have the DOHC Zetec - stay away from the pedestrian 2 liter single port injection (SPI) - single cam, I think. The ZX3/4/5 had Zetecs, and the SVT had the best Zetec, built by Cosworth. I don't think you'll find a Duratec 2.3 in your price range - they came later, and are also very good.
The SVT suspension can be had new, very cheap - dampers, springs all 4 corners for ~$250. SVT sway bars are easy to find used on focaljet.com or focusfanatics.com. Or plenty of new options as well. The Focus chassis handles great - no, excellent - shaming much higher priced cars I will not mention............
Ford's depreciation make them a great value in the used market. As for reliability, I pound on mine all weekend at the track and then drive it home. I DD my other one - ~60k miles so far, and just a clutch master cyl ($45). The Focus had several dinky issues/recalls the first couple years, so get a 2002 or later. Just make sure it's got the DOHC Zetec or Duratec 2.3 (I think the Duratec 2.0 is okay, just not enough HP).
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