Long commute for work and painful fuel bills lead to a search for best mpg at most reasonable cost.I'm guessing 80s vintage small cars like 40 mpg CRX.
Long commute for work and painful fuel bills lead to a search for best mpg at most reasonable cost.I'm guessing 80s vintage small cars like 40 mpg CRX.
My 98 Mazda Protege knocked down 32mpg with ice racing tires and 235k miles and I paid/traded an 800 dollar truck for it.
Metro/Swift seems like a good option, also the Festiva, especially if you get some factory upgrade bits from an Aspire.
CRX HF, 1st-gen Insight or 3cyl Metro/Swift. There's been a big surge in these questions on here recently.
The answer is always MX6 GT. A 5th gear swap from a 1st gen Probe V6 would help as well.
As a bonus, you wouldn't be making a long commute in a rattletrap-feeling econobox with terrible seats.
Festiva, Aspire, Metro.
You'll generally pay a premium for a Honda, though I've seen some DX crx's go pretty reasonably. The best value there is a HX coupe, IMHO. The VX hatches get snatched up quick, and carry a premium. The HX's seem to be a little more reasonably priced. Those bizzaro vtec motors get crazy mileage, especially when hyper-miled. Be aware that the 02 is a 5-wire and not cheap.
poopshovel wrote: Festiva, Aspire, Metro. You'll generally pay a premium for a Honda, though I've seen some DX crx's go pretty reasonably. The best value there is a HX coupe, IMHO. The VX hatches get snatched up quick, and carry a premium. The HX's seem to be a little more reasonably priced. Those bizzaro vtec motors get crazy mileage, especially when hyper-miled. Be aware that the 02 is a 5-wire and not cheap.
Whats about a CX? We used to see mid 40s on the highway with a D16Y8 powered EX coupe with a CX trans and a mild Crome tune. I imagine a similar setup in a lighter EG coupe or hatch would be the business.
There's an endless plethora of cheap cars that can do mid-30s. Protege, Sentra, etc... Take your pick. If you want 40+, probably the above mentioned Swift/Metro or HF models. My old '81 Prelude got darn close to 40.
Swank Force One wrote:poopshovel wrote: Festiva, Aspire, Metro. You'll generally pay a premium for a Honda, though I've seen some DX crx's go pretty reasonably. The best value there is a HX coupe, IMHO. The VX hatches get snatched up quick, and carry a premium. The HX's seem to be a little more reasonably priced. Those bizzaro vtec motors get crazy mileage, especially when hyper-miled. Be aware that the 02 is a 5-wire and not cheap.Whats about a CX? We used to see mid 40s on the highway with a D16Y8 powered EX coupe with a CX trans and a mild Crome tune. I imagine a similar setup in a lighter EG coupe or hatch would be the business.
Mid 40's? Wow. I'd occasionally get 40 out of my EF 4-speed hatch. Dear god, that thing was un-fun to drive though.
poopshovel wrote:Swank Force One wrote:Mid 40's? Wow. I'd occasionally get 40 out of my EF 4-speed hatch. Dear god, that thing was un-fun to drive though.poopshovel wrote: Festiva, Aspire, Metro. You'll generally pay a premium for a Honda, though I've seen some DX crx's go pretty reasonably. The best value there is a HX coupe, IMHO. The VX hatches get snatched up quick, and carry a premium. The HX's seem to be a little more reasonably priced. Those bizzaro vtec motors get crazy mileage, especially when hyper-miled. Be aware that the 02 is a 5-wire and not cheap.Whats about a CX? We used to see mid 40s on the highway with a D16Y8 powered EK coupe with a CX trans and a mild Crome tune. I imagine a similar setup in a lighter EG coupe or hatch would be the business.
Oh yeah it sucked bad.... 2nd gear would hit like 80mph or something with that setup, and you weren't passing anyone in a hurry in 5th gear at highway speeds.
I just bought a filthy Saturn.
DuctTape&Bondo wrote: I just bought a filthy Saturn.
There's gotta be a Uranus joke in there somewhere.
RossD wrote:DuctTape&Bondo wrote: I just bought a filthy Saturn.There's gotta be a Uranus joke in there somewhere.
Much like Uranus, that Saturn needs copious amounts of bleach?
Swank Force One wrote:RossD wrote:Much like Uranus, that Saturn needs copious amounts of bleach?DuctTape&Bondo wrote: I just bought a filthy Saturn.There's gotta be a Uranus joke in there somewhere.
My kid's was NASTY inside, it made my skin crawl. It took me two solid days to get it presentable. Good thing I got it for WAY WAY under NADA, Kelly etc values.
Saturn SL for cheapest buy-in.
Honda Gen1 Insight for best return.
Curmudgeon wrote: My kid's was NASTY inside, it made my skin crawl. It took me two solid days to get it presentable. Good thing I got it for WAY WAY under NADA, Kelly etc values.
Yikes. Mine took me the better part of a day to clean out the garbage, then shop vac before I could remove the carpet to throw away. I was totally expecting cockroaches and rodents. Pics in the project forum. And that was after the bulk of the trash was removed by the seller.
Curmudgeon wrote:Swank Force One wrote:My kid's was NASTY inside, it made my skin crawl. It took me two solid days to get it presentable. Good thing I got it for WAY WAY under NADA, Kelly etc values.RossD wrote:Much like Uranus, that Saturn needs copious amounts of bleach?DuctTape&Bondo wrote: I just bought a filthy Saturn.There's gotta be a Uranus joke in there somewhere.
Can i suggest that maybe it wouldn't have been great to quote the two posts preceding yours before posting what you did? 
Motorcycle? Chosen well you can easily get between 40-50mpg, some models will do 60-70mpg.
GRM's own list of fuel sippers (if you didn't already know about this article): http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/20-fuel-sippers-wed-gladly-drive/
In reply to Swank Force One:
Oh my lawd. I don't even...
Back to the topic, here is a very recent thread with more discussion; http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/cheapest-high-mpg-fun-commuter/60759/page1/
One idea is the 1996-00 honda civic HX. ricers think they suck so they are much more likely to be unmolested, and unlike the VX, the HX has the same sized valves and ports as the 128 hp Y8 so it breathes and has the nifty roller cam set up that lowers friction. 40mpg no problem, the last of the a arm setup Hondas, all the suspension bits fit as the would on a SI EX DX or CX.
Another Saturn vote. While the single cam is the mileage champ, the twin cam only gives up a few and is a nicer car to drive.
BoxheadTim wrote: Motorcycle? Chosen well you can easily get between 40-50mpg, some models will do 60-70mpg.
my dad's old Vespa 200 use to break 70 mpg regularly 
In reply to oldeskewltoy:
He said 'motorcycle'.
Ninja 250R with EFI pulls something like 75mpg in mixed use, I believe, and doesn't seem like a horrible device. Not sure what the replacement 300cc model that just came out will do.
Don't forget the Saturns cousins, the Cavalier and Sunbird/Sunfire, with the Ecotec engine and 5-speed. Plenty around and a good bit cheaper than a Honda or other imports. I got 36 mpg on the highway and 31 combined with the 03 Sunfire I had. Wish I had kept it, thinking about finding another one to save some gas.
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