Calling all commuters. What car for 100 miles a day?

A few more points in favor of a Prius:

1. Resale on them is not great right now, so they are probably as cheap as they've ever been.

2. They have a reputation for running forever, so they won't wear out as fast as a lot of other cars.

3. You get built in insurance against fuel price increases. If gas goes up, you'll pay significantly more driving almost anything else.

I will concede that they, like most Toyotas, will be the most boring thing in the world to drive, but at least they are reasonably comfortable.

In reply to Bobzilla:

Most of those 40 MPG cars are new enough to be in used Prius price range, though.

eastsidemav wrote: In reply to Bobzilla: Most of those 40 MPG cars are new enough to be in used Prius price range, though.

So then you're comparing a new car with warranty to a used car?

Acura TL? Our 2008 would be perfect. 31-2 mpg interstate. Well-controlled but comfortable ride. Power when you need it. Nice cabin. Everything works. Ours is not for sale.

I commuted 82 miles each way for a year or so.

• Noise Fatigue is real, spending 10-15 hours a week in a noisy car will slowly take you down.
• Fuel economy is important with a twist. At speeds over 65 the aero does matter and the EPA specs seem to go out the window. I would drive at 65 in a 70 zone just because my instant mpg reading would go from 28 to 15. Some aero affect transition occurred at 66-67 mph.
• Tire noise becomes. I factor, some of the sticky summer tires can roar.
• Think about what you would like different and the same in your current commuter car for comfort, auto climate? Headlight pattern? Cup holder?

I would look at:

• Buick Verano
• Corolla
• Golf
• Avalon
• new V6 Impala
• 300/Charger
• Volt
• Diesel Cruze
• new Civic/Accord
• Acura TLS or whatever the small one is.
• Kia Rio 5

MPG of Genesis sedans suck but would be comfortable.

Kia Cadenza?

I would say Mazda 3 but the most common complaint I read about is noise.

In reply to Bobzilla:

I was meaning used vs used.

Of course, I haven't kept too close a track on what used Elantras that get "40 MPG" go for, but having been in both, I'm inclined to say a 2nd gen Prius is a nicer place to spend time.

At that distance I think it's hard to beat a Prius. They're boring but so efficient and comfortable. If speed is at all important I'd probably go with a V6 accord. Great NVH and comfort while still having decent MPGs on regular unleaded.

Honda Fit: way too buzzy. Not enough MPGs

Nissan Leaf: won't make it - trust me.

Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel

BIL has one and loves it

So my kid is turning 16. I willing most likely be providing the gas money for his vehicle for a portion of the yr. so I start looking for high mpg econo boxes. I wanted to spend about 5k . Everything I found was 130k ratted out s box's. yesterday at lunch I find a 06 Prius with 38k on the dash. Bought it last night for 6500. I figure its got 150k miles left in it. Yeah I'll have to replace the battery sooner or later. Soul sucking boring but gravity reliable. I drove it 50 miles home mostly interstate, if it were me ct200 lexus. Those extra comfort items of the lexus would be nice, but the Prius is doable. How old are you, how much can spend, what are you used to driving?

Budget answer:

Second gen non-RT Neon. As quiet and comfy as a similar vintage Accord, available for a dime on the dollar, and if you find one with a 5 speed, it will give you 40 cdn mpg driven like a madman. When something expensive breaks, take the bus home and get another one.

Non-budget answer:

New Volvo XC70 with the smallest engine available.

Snide aside:

I snickered and rolled my eyes at the Saab people.

It all comes down to what you can tolerate and what you want. I've been doing the 110 mile per day commute for 2 years now, and before that had a near 60 mile round trip daily for 9 years.

Without a doubt, the Prius is probably "the" answer if your commute has traffic. It's efficient, good on gas, cheap on consumables, comfy and just never breaks. Lots of cars can get near 40mpg or better on the highway and be infinitely more fun on the highway. But when traffic stops and you're in gridlock, those 40mpg+ highway cars are still burning fuel while the Prius isn't. So if my commute was all open highway, a Prius would be very low on my list. In traffic, it's a high consideration. Except that it's ridiculously boring and I just couldn't stand living with it.

Cruise control is also useless to me because I'm always in traffic. Even when it's not stop and go, it's and 80mph parade that's 6 cars wide. Cruise control is not advisable in those situations.

For me, the biggest factor comes to need vs. want. I kept pondering...and still do...if it's wise to beat a FoST into the ground, or just get a nice beater such as a Kia Soul or Elantra, or an Accord. They'll run forever, cheap on consumables and aren't penalty boxes to sit in. But they're not sports cars.

The cheapest, lowest mileage C5 Corvette you can find. Light, fun, comfortable, good to look at, reliable as a hammer, and incredible fuel economy for that much fun.

Or a Kia Rondo.

Mike wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: A pure EV isn't a bad idea at that range...a new Chevy Bolt or Tesla 3 (if you could buy one) would do it even if you only charged it every other night. A new Leaf would do it if you charged it every night, but not with much to spare. A used Leaf won't make it both ways for sure, but if you could charge at work you'll be fine.

OP is in a mountainous region that experiences average lows below freezing several months out of the year. There are some very detailed charts out there produced by LEAF nerds that allow a calculation of real world range for a given speed and temperature, and with a given number of battery condition bars. I'd suggest significant research, since a 2011 LEAF that spent its life in the desert, for example, might not be able to climb a mountain pass at 70 on a 20F day and still manage 50 miles.

I'm finally at home on a computer, where this sort of thing is easier.

Nissan gave the LEAF a neat, honest feature. It has an indicator to show how worn the battery is. By the chart above, if your battery capacity is showing 8 out of 12 bars (in the case of an early used LEAF) you might struggle to complete your journey on flat land without driving significantly more slowly, and without climate control.

The newer LEAF with the higher capacity battery might do quite well for a while. Just about any Tesla may do fine. I just fear OP would have elevation changes to deal with that make this completely unworkable.

Tom Suddard wrote: Been there, done that. W126 ALL THE WAY

I have to agree here. I have just over a 100 mile commute and split it between my bmw k1300s and a very nice 85 300sd. I like something with a little personality, so would never go the Prius etc route. However, I think the ultimate commuter, gas mileage be damned, would be a nice v12tt Benz. A buddy of mine just bought an s600 and that car really eats up the miles. I think when my 300sd kicks the bucket I'll look for another 300sd, 560sel, 560sec, or go all in and step up to a v12 coupe or sedan.

I'm going to go against the grain and suggest a Cadillac Escalade. Like the commercial says, you should "dare greatly."

Probably not in the price range of what you are looking to spend but. This was my choice 2011 E350 Bluetec (diesel) Got it for 26,500 with 28k miles on it. I just hit 50k on the car and bought it in August of last year. We drive it everywhere with my wife and two kids 2 and 6 both in car seats. Stereo is awesome, it drives super nice, the torque is like an electric freight train. I cannot imagine a better daily for my commute. I get up to 38 highway but usually about 36 on long trips. My commute mileage with a few miles of street/stop and go is around 30 combined. Oh and I LOVE LOVE having the Distronic plus cruise control makes highway miles so much nicer not having to niggle with speed up slow down all the time. Also I have driven it over to Thermal Raceway two times now and shocked my friends driving M3's and S2000's with how well the big girl handles. (And that was on Bridgestone touring all seasons I now have pilot super sports on it). I used to own a Jetta TDI and while I love those cars I would happily trade the little bit of mileage for what I got in driving the Benz

I so badly wish a Leaf could make my 110 mile round trip. No, I don't have anywhere at work to charge up. I had a Leaf when I lived in PA and loved it. Awesome car. Very excited for the Bolt, but it's out of my price range. Maybe in a few years when depreciation has ravaged its' value.

Came to recommend the C5 Corvette too. With highway miles you should knock down over 30mpg easy and it's a great place to be for an hour at a time. Probably the best $12-15k available right now.

Otherwise go for an Odyssey or Caravan. Good mileage and comfortable, plus radar invisible. Minivans are made for comfortably sucking up the miles.

Mike wrote: Nissan gave the LEAF a neat, honest feature. It has an indicator to show how worn the battery is. By the chart above, if your battery capacity is showing 8 out of 12 bars (in the case of an early used LEAF) you might struggle to complete your journey on flat land without driving significantly more slowly, and without climate control.

A Nissan Leaf with 8 of 12 battery bars remaining isn't going to touch a 50-mile round trip commute, much less a 100 mile commute. If you read the chart you posted, you'll see a Leaf with 8 bars would have to average less than 35 mph to eek out that distance on a level road in moderate temps. I wouldn't trust my Leaf, which has full battery health, to cover 50 miles in sub-zero temperatures without stopping for a charge. It also won't go 75 miles on the freeway in perfect conditions. Believe me, I've tried.

I have been spending about 2 hours a day in my car since I turned 16, mostly as a commuter, sometimes just running errands for our family business. My last 8 years have been a 100 mile a day 95% highway commute, just about 2 hrs. At least 20 minutes each way has the cruise control set, 3 lanes and no cars.

Over the last 8 years I have commuted in a 92 Roadmaster, 93 Tercel, 03 Ranger, 08 Prius, 00 MR2, 92 Miata, and now 95 Volvo 850. The MR2 and Ranger were probably once or twice a week on average. There's been a couple one month stints in a SL1 and Focus. I agree that you NEED to drive something you are comfortable in when you spend that much time in it. BUT where is your comfort level? I was fine commuting in the Tercel for about 10 months until the engine seized while driving, good story. It was wearing on me but I didn't almost fall asleep everyday like in the Roadmaster. Then I tried the Miata but with highway speeds and a soft top the noise was too much, MR2 is quite a bit quieter at highway speeds though. I ended up with the Prius and still think that is a very comfortable and quiet car. It saved me thousands in gas money and lost me $5k through depreciation (2 years and 40k miles). Probably should have kept it but went to a $600 850 getting 25 mpg has worked out financially with cheap gas.

With relatively low gas prices right now either buy the Prius and plan to hang on to it or buy something comfortable and consider replacing it when prices go high. My overall recommendation if you like wagons and will be driving lots of highway would be a V70.

Also, for road noise, I've found it will vary greatly from tire to tire.

What about a Volt? When I worked in Boston I was considering one. I then fell in to the jag and found that comfort and quiet were way more important to me than mpg.

Now I drive 6 miles on a two lane twisty state highway in the country to my office and although I miss my jag the 97 corolla gets the job done perfectly.

I would try a coupole cars out back to back on the highway. Noise fatigue is a real issue. I would pay my local carmax a visit.

Civic Hybrid?

Mazda 3 is OK but the noise will get to you...

bastomatic wrote:

Mike wrote: Nissan gave the LEAF a neat, honest feature. It has an indicator to show how worn the battery is. By the chart above, if your battery capacity is showing 8 out of 12 bars (in the case of an early used LEAF) you might struggle to complete your journey on flat land without driving significantly more slowly, and without climate control.

A Nissan Leaf with 8 of 12 battery bars remaining isn't going to touch a 50-mile round trip commute, much less a 100 mile commute. If you read the chart you posted, you'll see a Leaf with 8 bars would have to average less than 35 mph to eek out that distance on a level road in moderate temps. I wouldn't trust my Leaf, which has full battery health, to cover 50 miles in sub-zero temperatures without stopping for a charge. It also won't go 75 miles on the freeway in perfect conditions. Believe me, I've tried.

That's pretty much my point. Turn off all climate control, over inflate your tires, put your windows up, and do 35, and you might have a chance for one-way on a hilly commute.

Range estimates from the EPA are like mileage estimates - your mileage may vary. You can never take an EPA range, match it to your commute, and assume you can do it. You'll probably be less efficient than test conditions.

oldopelguy wrote: Otherwise go for an Odyssey or Caravan. Good mileage and comfortable, plus radar invisible. Minivans are made for comfortably sucking up the miles.

Moving that much frontal area through the air at highway speeds, you're going to have trouble breaking 21-22 mpg. Quiet and comfortable, yes, but way too much mass and volume for a single person with minimal cargo to drive that far every day. And I'm speaking as a proud and happy T&C owner.

Great discussion so far. I am leaning towards a more comfortable sedan/wagon than a small hypermiler hatch.

CNG availability is pretty good in my area. What about a CNG Crown Vic or Town Car? CNG is currently 25% cheaper per gas gallon equivalent and if the price of oil goes back up, that differential will be even greater.

If I could get 23mpg out of the CNG Ford, it would be the same fuel cost as a 31mpg economy car running regular unleaded.