MkIV TDi Golf
MkIV TDi Golf
What are your driving preferences? Do you have to have a manual or can you live with an auto?
My commute is almost exactly the same distance as yours. It's 55 miles each way. 85% of that is highway, and a bunch of that highway is in Atlanta traffic. I at one point had a 2010 Prius. It was masterful at doing it's job. Quiet, comfy for long grinding commutes, super efficient. But it was so boring and so awful to drive on an open, twisty road that I just couldn't stand it. Switched to a beater Chevy HHR w/5spd. It was actually easy to commute with, but I wanted something more luxurious and faster. Currently have a FoST. It's a damn fun car to drive, but I will say it is NOT a happy camper in traffic. Just feels antsy. As much as I know it would make sense, I don't know I'd be willing to give up my clutch and do an auto again. I just like manuals too much. A great compromise is an Accord. Available in manual, athletic chassis for a family sedan, great on gas, nice place to spend time and downright unbreakable.
Yamaha FZ1
I did similar with a 1g insight and wouldn't recommend it for any interstate or hilly driving. ALSO, it is just about the least comfortable car from an NVH stand point I have owned. Swapped it for a ecoboost fiesta. Plenty of comfort, you will get 43+ mpg on that drive. Used knew are 10k already.
NOT a Mazda2 on 700lb springs 
I'm doing 85-100mi daily now, put 28k on it since July of last year.
So know that ANYTHING is possible.
A stock(ish) Mazda2 would be a fun and comfortable enough commuter, and I may buy another.
36-39mpg regularly.
Buy a Touring model(for cruise contol), an armrest to add on, some lowering springs and a rear sway bar, and it'll be a fun comfy car to drive.
For ME, the temptation to buy a hybrid is high, because I can use the HOV lane alone, legally of I do that. A new Avalon Hybrid would be pretty sweet but pricy.
General motors mid size somethingerother, think impala or bonneville or lacrosse or lucerne. 30 mpg highway, room to get comfy, big enough to not fear instant death on the highway, reliable as gravity and they are easy and cheap to fix when not.
Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: Yamaha FZ1
If you were in Canada, I would recommend financing a brand new Mazda 3. We have an unlimited mileage warranty up here. 5 years for powertain, 3 for bumper-to-bumper and roadside assistance, and 7 for corrosion. Pack on as many miles as you want, and the warranty will still cover you up until the date it expires.
Only reason I wouldn't consider a Fit or Mazda2 for my commute is that they're buzz boxes at 80mph. Owned a Fit and have driven the 2 as a rental several times. Tons of fun for urban and suburban use, but not a great highway cruiser.
MPG+tank size also matters a lot. One thing driving my batty about my FoST is having to fill up every 260 miles. That means pretty much every other day I have to get gas.
Klayfish wrote: MPG+tank size also matters a lot. One thing driving my batty about my FoST is having to fill up every 260 miles. That means pretty much every other day I have to get gas.
That's part of the reason the Optima with the small turbo motor is so appealing. 18.5gallon tank + 40mpg = 700+ miles.
Very interesting reading everone's takes on the question at hand....
I am in a similar situation, commute about 75 miles a day. About 10 miles in town and the rest split between highway and 2 lane. All in my 77 Corvette... some days it is exhausting, others it is perfect, but I get 16mpg if I'm lucky.
So really I have nothing productive to add
One of the reasons I suggested the 10 year old Saab is that a commute of this length is going to use up cars. If you buy in for $3000 and drive it till it dies you'll be better off than if you buy a 15K car and in the same time period run it's value down to 3K and sell it.
One path costs you 3 grand for say three years, the other upwards of 12. I know this is a simplification and there always outliers but a car that is understressed and overbuilt should hold up and return a nicer experience than something built for purely cheap buy in (Econoboxes/hybrids).
35 MPG is a decent middle ground between a gas sucking SUV and a penalty box eco-car.
1G Insight didn't come with cruise control. It's possible to add it with non-factory parts, but I wouldn't commute 100 miles a day in a car without it.
I like the Saab 9-3 and Lexus CT suggestions. Another good one would be a diesel Passat if you can find one for sale.
1G Insight didn't come with cruise control.
Seems like it could have worked with the CVT but on the 5spd you literally CANT just stick it in 5th and set it to cruise because you actually have to downshift to maintain speed on a lot of hills.
Keeping in mind 5th is ~.5 and 4th is ~.75 (double overdrive trans) so it's not like you're hitting 4k rpm trying to climb a hill.
Ford Festiva? Cheap, great mileage, and I hear they are fun. I doubt they are overly comfy tho.
I like little light cars, too, but the newest Festiva is what, 25 years old now? And not exactly made for loafing along the interstate.
In reply to Duke:
It's true, it's probably gonna be buzzy as heck. I'm just always interested in small cars that are cheap, sort of fun, and get good mpgs. The Festiva is sort of the opposite end of the spectrum from the LS400.
If you are okay with a sedan, I'd try to find one of those Chevy Cruze Eco's with the 1.4 turbo/6 speed. They seem to get around 40 mpg on the highway and they are cheap.
I'd second the HHR option. They are pretty cheap, available with a stick shift, tons of room and good on the highway.
Quick math, 100 miles a day, 50 weeks a year is 25k miles. A Prius getting 50mpg burns 500 gallons, $2.50 a gallon for $1250 a year, plus two oil changes plus probably half a set of tires. Put yourself in a more comvortable semi-luxury car at 30mpg (being optimistic) and that 25k miles costs $2083 plus oil plus tires. Two years of that and driving a Prius saves me enough to build a challenge car.
Maybe that's important, maybe not.
All of this is brought to you by the guy who consistently gets 14mpg, premium gas, in his 505hp minivan. 
I'm a die-hard stick shift guy. Thing is if you're doing 90% highway driving, transmission becomes a non-issue. For your commute, I wouldn't worry about stick vs. auto.
I do 100-120 a day in a Mazda5, previously I had a e39 touring and before that I had a diesel rabbit pickup. All good for a commute, just good different ways.
In reply to mazdeuce:
That's right, but think of the price difference between a Prius and said 30mpg car. It's pretty easy to spend $800 less dollars, especially when you're shopping non-hybrids versus hybrids. I think of cost of entry, and comfort, are probably the biggest factors over MPG.
mazdeuce wrote: Quick math, 100 miles a day, 50 weeks a year is 25k miles. A Prius getting 50mpg burns 500 gallons, $2.50 a gallon for $1250 a year, plus two oil changes plus probably half a set of tires. Put yourself in a more comvortable semi-luxury car at 30mpg (being optimistic) and that 25k miles costs $2083 plus oil plus tires. Two years of that and driving a Prius saves me enough to build a challenge car. Maybe that's important, maybe not. All of this is brought to you by the guy who consistently gets 14mpg, premium gas, in his 505hp minivan.
But there are plenty of 40mpg cars on the market now that aren't hybrids. That cuts that down to $1560... or $300 per year. To make up the difference it'll take a looooooonnnnnggg time.
Here's a tip for fuel expense comparison...
Go to www.fueleconomy.gov
Find a Car
Compare side by side
Once you have a couple vehicles chosen, toward the bottom of the page is a link to "Personalize"
This will let you change gas prices or percentages of hyw vs city, etc and give you an annual expense per vehicle.
It's an easy way to make price comparisons.
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