Fun cheap economical car

Sigh, I need to stop feeding the truck gas as a daily commuter. 17-19 mpg at 74 miles a day is expensive. Especially as gas prices keep going up.

The good news, used cars are cheap these days! I like that.

Now the head scratching. I need something that sips gas, has A/C (a must for me), is reliable (so I can focus on other unreliable more interesting cars).

I love the idea of rationalizing a Miata. It's an excuse to get another CRX. On the other hand, having a rear seat would be a good idea, as I've got a kid, and that makes three of us.

So I also find myself thinking about a Hond Civic or older Accord (yawn), a Geo Metro (the epitome of un-excitement?), A Toyota Tercel or Camry.

I found a 2CV nearby, but... not to sensible as a daily commuter around here.

Saturns seem to be going real cheap, as do Ford Escort ZX2's.

What sort of gas sipping reliable commuter cars would some of you recommend? In the 30+mpg range.

'89-'91 Civic si.

I got a 96 civic dx, bought it from a school teacher with 68k miles on it. She's not pretty but she'll knock down over 40mpg on the highway and over 35mpg around town(with the A/C off) 32mpg is the worst I've gotten in that car.

It needs work to handle OK as the Dx's didn't come with front sway bars. But it's a civic so all the parts are out there.

my fav is an Imprezza 2.5 RS...add a cold air kit, and you should be near the 30mpg range IIRC

The ultra-appliance is a '01 or '02 Chevy Prizm, the sibling to the Toyota Corolla. For those two years with Toyota's variable timing motor the window sticker said 32/41mpg for a 5 speed and 30/40 for the 4 speed automatic.

These cars may not be synonymous with the word fun but you get a respectable car (not funny like a Metro or Echo) with a kid friendly back seat and the fuel economy of a motorcycle. Adding to the "fun factor" is that '02 was the last year for the bosy style before all the economy cars became "tall rather than small." The low to the ground-ness of the Prizm does add to some of the driving experience, a little.

Often the Chevy Prizm version can be found cheaper that the Corolla version but Prizms are had to find with manual transmissions. Also be aware that the Prizm offered a cheaper 3 speed trans that was not geared for the great highway mpg. On Prizms the 4 speed auto was an option and can be distinguished by the presence of an overdrive button on the side of the gear shifter.

Another car out there that seems to be a bargin is the Mitsubishi Mirage. I think these are a value because they are often overlooked for the more popular Toyota and Hondas. The Mirage (in either 2 door or 4 door) carried a window sticker of 32/39 in 2001.

Deathscorts FTW.

I rented a mirage when I was between cars.. HATED it.

I would also recommend the Hyundai Accent. If you can find one with a 5 speed and the 16v engine, they can be zippy (not fast, but quick) little commuters that can be entertaining, frugal, and very reliable.

Skierd (on this forum) used to autoX one

My college age son, Jr.Mini, has been driving the wheels off of a '96 Geo Prizm for the past few years. This thing has been dead nuts reliable and delivers very good gas mileage(37- 39 highway). Being a stick, it's a little more fun to drive and it's big enough that he can take a few friends with him if he wants. A whole lot cheaper than the Corolla, it's bastard twin. Cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, cheap to operate, and invisible to the po-po. Prior to that we shared a Saturn SL-1. With some chubby tires it handled decently, gas mileage was comparable to the Prizm, didn't worry about getting door dings, cheap, reliable transportation, but the seats were horrendous if we had to drive any length of time. I ended up putting in buckets from a newer(wrecked) Saturn and that helped a ton. If you look at a Saturn, again go with the manual trans. It's a slug otherwise.

Im guessing a Suzuki Swift GT or a Volkswagen Golf or Jetta?

Mazda Protege is the ticket here. High 30's on MPG, actually fun to drive, 4 (or 5) doors, and reliable as gravity. If your interesting car(s) break it will autocross/rallycross pretty damn good as well.

I had a '99 Accord EX that we bought new. I just sold it late last year. It had ~115k nearly problem free miles. Window sticker said 31mpg highway. It would do that if you could go 70mph or less.

4cyl / 5sp manual is a fun combo. The handling is fine with some good tires. Not as flickable as a Civic of course, but much nicer, bigger, and quieter inside. I would have kept it if I had other fun cars to play with. Instead, I bought a toy/DD combo car.

What does "cheap" mean to you?

Toyota FX16, if you can find one. These were new when I was in HS and I have always wanted one.

I'd buy a saturn, but at least half of that is just being comfortable working on them.

John Brown wrote: Deathscorts FTW.

My only issue with my Deathscort, is that it gets worse gas mileage than the "race car." Although that may have something to do with the fact that i thoroughly enjoy the rev-happy-ness of it, and abuse it horribly every time i drive it. There is a sick sense of accomplishment everytime i almost kiss 70mph in 2nd gear. (According to the inaccurate, or so i assume, speedo.)

That being said, even with me not being nice to it, it has returned 32mpg mixed driving. I have no doubts that it's capable of high 30s.

I saw that someone said FX16. DO WANT. Tercel. DO WANT. Paseo, anyone?

Obligatory ST-trim Celica, as well. All the gas mileage, about the same guts as anything else i mentioned (barring the deathscort), and very respectable handling.

used Honda Fit if you can find one, but the prices might still be high.

I like my ZX2. Capable of over 40mpg. Good performance. Very reliable. If previous owner was a teenager, shy away.

I really liked by CB7 (early 90s models) Accord when I had it. 30+ mpg easily, cheap parts, easy to work on, etc. (well, the timing belt is a pain). Great, solid cars that are cheap and last forever if taken care of.

Not the sexiest options, but as far as fun to drive goes, it'll be comfortable 70+ miles/day and has enough power to maintain 75-80mph without breaking a sweat. That'd be enough excitement for me if I was on a long commute. I'd add a nice stereo.

P71 wrote: Mazda Protege is the ticket here. High 30's on MPG, *actually* fun to drive, 4 (or 5) doors, and reliable as gravity. If your interesting car(s) break it will autocross/rallycross pretty damn good as well.

Another vote for the Mazda Protege. Fun driving car, inexpensive, looks great, reliable, reasonably roomy.

Ford Focus is also a potential candidate.

Daewoo Lanos hatch? If you can find one in good condition it should cost pocket change to purchase.

Note: never owned, driven, or even sat in these things so take this idea with large grains of salt.

Thanks for the comments. A few cars there I hadn't thought of, and a few year specifications I wasn't familiar with.

My budget is $3,000. And I'd like to come in well under that, but I'd also like dead nuts reliability.

+1 on the Prizm.

Mom had a 91that she bought as a dealer demo in 91 and it is still going strong. The only "major" repair in it's history is when I replaced the radiator because (IIRC) one of the plastic end tanks cracked.

I did all the oil changes and that thing said Toyota all over the place underneath.

The 3-speed auto was slow but it handled OK.

Find a clean, vintage Prizm and you'll probably have enough change to shop for a Miata.

You can't go wrong with the b13 91-94 nissan sentra se-r. It is hard to find unmolested ones, but they are super cheap and parts very inexpensive. They are well designed, get good MPG, handle well and are tough to kill.

The answer is Escort. Parts are cheap and can be attained at any parts stores. I netted 43 mpg on a recent trip up to Montreal averaging 65-75 on the highway. You can make them handle very well with some cheap parts..

Swift GT's aren't exactly the most frugal mileage getters.... my last tank was 26mpg.

I second Accent notion. 01-02 1.6L DOHC with the 5spd in a hatch is a good little car. Mandatory updrage would be suspension (springs/struts) and you'd have a high 30's commuter that can slice and dice traffic.

Protege. I had the late 80's and early 90's version with the 1.6 from the Miata. A rock solid car, lightweight, easy to maintain, and very tossable.