My commuting situation is about to change to an 80 mile trip each way. That's about 40K miles a year, if my math skills aren't failing me. Unfortunately this means that fuel economy is a top priority. I am looking at a fairly obvious choice - a Prius: Simple. Economical. Reliable. Boring. Are there any other cars you would recommend in this scenario?
Spending that much time in the car you also want it to be a nice place to be. I'd also look at the Avalon Hybrid and an Accord hybrid.
Are VW diesels still taboo? About the only other choice other than a hybrid or full electric.
I used to commute about 100 miles every day, which is why I bought a plug-in hybrid Honda Clarity. It's not exciting to drive, but it's very comfortable and gets the job done while keeping you safe on the highway. My coworker at that job, who had about the same commute I did, was very fond of their Prius.
I really like my Avalon Hybrid. Its a 2015 and i am averaging 37-40mpg, drives so much better than the prius or volts i have driven.
Honestly either a Camry Hybrid or an Avalon Hybrid would be my choice.
I picked up a 15 Avalon Hybrid limited with 95k miles on it for $13k. Which is top trim level so leather, heated and cooled seats, good sound system, etc. $46k msrp
It is much faster than a prius, and it does 50-70 really well.
Thank you for all the suggestions. I will start looking into these.
It is a long commute, and I do want something more luxurious than a Prius. (This isn't a knock on Prii - my wife drives one.)
I had a 2012 Fiesta that got 41-42mpg. Pretty nice little car, just avoid the DCT. I did 70 miles each way when I had this car.
Now I have a 2019 Fusion that gets right at 30mpg with the 1.5 ecoboost. I like the car alot, very comfortable and it has the adaptive cruise control which is nice. They make a hybrid version of this car that I'm sure you would be happy with. I commute 50 miles each way.
My wife drives 40 miles each way, and she drives a Buick Encore. It is not exciting to drive, but its got a 1.4l turbo and has all of the interior niceties and tech and leather. Sadly, they didn't make a comfy Buick version of the Sonic sedan, but it has a sports suspension at least.
Based on this list from 2019. I would go with a Golf SportWagon.
German road manners, good mileage, practical and good-looking.
I’ll third the Avalon Hybrid. When I was used car shopping at the end of 2019, the few that I saw for sale seemed to be a really good bargain. I really liked the one I test drove. If I had a highway commute, it’s what I would have bought.
In reply to V12 :
Is there any hope for free electric charging at the ofice side of the commute?
I like my Prius but I would LOVE to have an Avalon Hybrid.
Also note that just average (read cheap to buy) 2011+ Elantras and Sonatas are rated for 38hyw. Not hybrid, just the old pain 4 cyl version. Might be cheaper buy-in resulting in cheaper ownership.
Spend some time with fueleconomy.gov and try their "compare" feature. You can customize the setting to see what kind of annual fuel costs you'll be facing. I recommend this so that you don't spend $10k more on a vehicle that might only return you a $1.5k savings per year for 4 years. Said another way...gas has been cheap. This means fuel might not be the greatest consideration for your transportation costs. Also, use the site to eliminate anything that calls for Premium fuel. Given that 60 cents is the common delta from Regular to Premium, when gas is $3/per gal that 60 cents is a 20% fuel cost increase. When regular is $2/per gal that 60 cents is a 30% fuel cost increase. Not buying a Premium vehicle could easily save you 25% on your fuel cost!
What car do you currently have? The car you currently have might just be the cheapest option.
Sonic said:Spending that much time in the car you also want it to be a nice place to be.
Totally agree. It should be comfortable cruising, but you also don't want to hate it. Sensible options have already been mentioned so here's some less sensible alternatives:
- Civic Si, 38 mpg
- BMW 428i Coupe, 35 mpg
- Cadillac ELR, 35 mpg
- Mercedes C 300, 34 mpg
- Subaru BRZ, 33 mpg
I find Priuses to be a slight chore to drive, and worry about the fatigue you might experience.
I vote for Camry Hybrid if your budget allows. 160 miles a day is a lot, and you want to be very comfortable for your sanity.
I used to commute about 100 miles per day. My 2003 TDI wagon was made for doing that and did it well for 329K miles.
My minivan is better for the long multi-state commute from home to a hotel when I get paid for the mileage, but it definitely gets about half the MPG of the TDI. The TDI also carries about half as much stuff and isn't quite as comfortable. The minivan also has 14 year newer ICE tech, but I'll eventually do those updates in the TDI (assuming I keep it).
Sonic said:Spending that much time in the car you also want it to be a nice place to be.
This is probably the best advice. Get something comfortable. I do 85 miles each way and my current car, a 2014 Buick Verano is light years better than my previous cars, a Malibu, Cavalier, and Escort. Seats are great, radio and AC perfect, the only thing I miss are heated seats. It's screwed together better than the cheaper cars as well. After 200,000 miles of daily flogging I have no shakes and rattles, and at the height of the Pandemic I was able to get my ride down to 70 minutes without breaking a sweat. I miss empty unpatrolled roads.
I'm going to be the contrarian and say a Hyundai Ioniq.
You can't beat the battery and powertrain warranty. Plus the interior is pretty nice for the price.
What state are you in? Does having a hybrid allow you to use the commuter lanes? If so, I'd consider one. If not get something that will get decent mileage and be a little more fun to drive.
Personally I'd look at a Camry Hybrid or a Civic Si.
Keep in mind that whatever you buy is going to be worn out by the end of a typical 5 year loan. I wouldn't buy any more car than I needed.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:What car do you currently have? The car you currently have might just be the cheapest option.
Especially with gas so cheap, the concept of buying a new car to save on fuel often doesn't really work out financially. If you know this is a commute you're going to be doing for the rest of your life or your current vehicle is like a truck from the 80s or something valuable enough that it's close to an even trade for the replacement, it's reasonable. But if you're going to be doing that commute for less than a few years and spending real money on the replacement car, the math just doesn't work out in your favor.
What car do you currently have? The car you currently have might just be the cheapest option.
My current daily is a E60 550i. Bought it used about 6 years ago while waiting to take delivery on a M5. Was going to keep it for a few months, but it's still here years later. Moved me from Chicago to Florida. It's a decent DD for a shorter commute, but I'm not sure how much I'd trust a N62 V8 in a 160 mile/day scenario.
In reply to dps214 :
My current DD is a premium-swilling V8. Even switching to regular would make a large cost difference.
Agreed, a 550i is probably not the budget commuter. It does however provide some insight in "they way you define comfort." I can not see you settling for a Gen2 Prius.
If you could get the free charge at the office...Tesla.
More plane jane...there a lots of Lincoln MKZ hybrids out there. Cheap and AC seats! 38 mpg and hybrid system lisenced from Toyota. But, if the price is not cheaper than Avalon then Toyota (or Lexus) would be my choice.
Is moving an option? How long will you be spending 3+ hours a day behind the wheel?
My commute is 4 miles each way and I'm really spoiled by it. Short commute FTW!
In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :
Unfortunately the Tesla is beyond my budget at this time. Divorce was expensive but well worth it. Trying to keep this at around $25K. Doesn't have to be new.
V12 said:In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :
Unfortunately the Tesla is beyond my budget at this time. Divorce was expensive but well worth it. Trying to keep this at around $25K. Doesn't have to be new.
Yeah, my Tesla (model 3) recommendation was only if you could get free charges.
that avalon is the same spec as mine. The infotainment system is appaling but that is just a toyota thing
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