Cars that can go the distance.

I'm potentially in the market for a sub-$15k car that can get 500 miles (give or take) on a tank of gas. Must be manual transmission & I would ideally like something with projector/HID lights or the ability to install them. My search started with the Jetta TDI Sportwagen but now I have been eyeing the MK6 Golf TDI. I haven't given much thought to other vehicles because I don't know what to consider. What should I be considering? I do like that the TDI prices are dropping, may just be the way to go.

I don't know that I would ever describe a VW as being able to go the distance...

Didn't Chevy advertise that all their cars could go 600 miles on a tank or something like that for awhile?

What you're looking for is a combination of fuel tank size and fuel efficiency. Should be pretty easy to do the math.

Of course, you can increase your range pretty quickly with a 5 gallon jerry can

I recommend looking deeper at the current body Elantra.

Edit: Google tells me 13 gal tank so 38.5 mpg would get you 500 miles. Reports of over 40mpg.

My Mercedes will go 500 miles on a tank, although see my other recent post as to why I wouldn't recommend one to someone. I know someone with a vw corrado vr6 swapped to a tdi that gets 1100 miles on a tank.

It's not quite there, but our '14 Mazda6 routinely gets 430 on a tank in mixed driving. It's an auto but they made the lowest trim level with a stick and the same engine, so there's that. Not sure if the high mile, low trim ones have hit 15k though.

Going to be hard to hit those marks - cars with that high mpg are usually small, which means small fuel tanks. That keeps you under 500 miles per tank even if the mpg is really high.

Why that mileage, specifically?

Why 500 miles?

And what's the driving cycle? 500 miles as part of an all day drive is quite a bit different than 500 miles a week or a 20 mile commute that you just want to not fill up every 500 miles.

If it's the all day drive- I think the longest I used to be able to go was 6 hours before having to stop. Now, that's probably closer to 4....

E39 525i

It will JUST get 500 miles on a tank. A lot cheaper, which could help in putting a 22 gallon cell in there which will ensure that capability.

fwiw I get ~550 miles/tank on my mk6 (2011 Golf TDI 6-speed) driving 85% interstate at 80mph with no effort towards fuel savings at all. 39.5mpg lifetime average.

I like the range as well because my commute is roughly 150 miles/day. At 550 miles I can pretty much go 3 full days without having to stop, and hit my preferred local diesel station that also happens to sell a nice selection of beer. So I can fill up on the weekend at my leisure, and then only have to stop once in the middle of the work week.

When you're already spending an hour+ in a car trying to get to work each way, or on your way back home... it sucks having to add additional time on stopping every other day when you just want to be home.

The 500 is a give or take. Sure you can get 30-40mpg in a small car but is it really making any difference when you have a small tank & fill up every 300 miles. I had an 08 Civic Si that saw 30-38 on long highway drives & my E39 528it could get 450 on a straight highway drive.

Commute for the area I'm looking at working is all highway & about 100 miles (roundtrip) daily. The 03 Matrix XRS I have now can muster about 29mpg on long hauls.

A TDi is the easy button here, not sure about the lawsuits though. Might help or hurt them.

FWIW, a Bentley Continental GT V8 S gets 25 mpg, has a 24 gallon tank and should be able to go 600 miles. It ticks all of the boxes if you can stretch your budget...1800% or so.

Hyundai, Kia, Honda and Toyota all offer hybrids that will meet your requirements, not sure on current prices though.

You might be able to find a base Dodge Ram work truck with the manual and 36 gallon tank and get around 550 highway miles on a tank. 2WD with some toys, they make a heck of a distance commuter.

Funny side note: you can go up to 243 miles IN a tank...the latest M1 Abrams. LOL

In reply to pinchvalve:

With the exception of the CRZ none offer a manual, to my knowledge. And the CRZ doesn't seem to be the most practical option when it's no better on a tank than my XRS. Sharp looking cars though.

Saab 9-5, 18.5 gallon tank, regularly 30+mpg highway. My old 9000 turbos, with the same motor, regularly got over 30 highway, even fully loaded with 4 people, and with a 17.5 gallon tank we would regularly get around 500 miles between highway fill ups. The newer 9-5 had projector HID lights, are reasonably priced, and should be pretty well available in New England. Great highway cars.

Outside the box: C5 Corvettes are getting cheap. The manual trans cars were rated at 28mpg highway, and are known to actually knock down that much on the highway. They have an 18+ gallon tank.

If you can keep your foot out of it that should theoretically yield a range of 500+ miles.

Most people don't buy these as commuters, so the Fuelly results may be skewed, but I'd like to think it's possible. Plus LS/manual reliability. Application of loud pedal may yield more smiles per gallon

C6's will too, with a nicer interior, but that's pushing your budget.

MA$$hole wrote: I'm potentially in the market for a sub-$15k car that can get 500 miles (give or take) on a tank of gas.

Does it have to be gas?

Try the 1985 Mercedes 190D. 35MPG highway x 14.5 gallon tank = 507 miles per tank.

In reply to EvanR:

It does not, but it should be something more modern that I don't have to be concerned with.

f150s. HUGE gas tanks (just a quick look at 2008 shows 26, 27, and 30 gal tanks depending on body style) and 20 mpg means 500 on a tank usually isn't hard.

The first couple of years of the Powerstroke in the F250/F350, you could get dual fuel tanks. 19 and 18 gallons, as it seems, and with a tuner for fuel economy getting 22mpg you would get 814 miles.

Not to thread jack, but I saw recently on the television a company (maybe on shark tank, I don't remember) that has a fuel truck that you can hire to fuel up your car while you're in bed or at work. Seemed like a pretty good idea. Maybe I should look into this as a business. I don't think I would ever want to use such a service, but I see that some /many people may like this.

'99 suburban gets 15 mpg (booo) which combines with the 42 gallon tank () to give me a range of a bit over 600 miles. I've never been tempted to run it that low however, bad for the fuel pump.

I feel your pain. I looked at this too, because my commute is 110 miles round trip. I had been using an '09 Chevy HHR, with the 2.2L and 5spd. It would go around 400 on a tank, though I tend not to let it drop much below 1/4 tank, so I probably could have gotten 500 if I ran it bone dry. When I shopped for a replacement, diesels were just a no go for me. Not interested, especially anything VAG. But fuel range was initially a calculation. The Accord and Altima can go pretty far. IIRC, the Altima had a near 20 gallon tank. In 4 cyl trim, it'll go 500 easy.

I wound up buying a FoST because I wanted something fun. Damn thing has a 12 gallon tank. I average 27-28mpg. Therefore, if I run it down to 2 gallons left, my range is roughly 270 miles....sometimes it's a bit less. I knew this going into it, but I thought it would bother me less than it does. It's honestly driving my nuts. Having to stop for gas basically every other day SUCKS. Unfortunately, the "magic" car I need for under $20k doesn't exist...manual trans, at least 4 seats, lots of fun to drive (i.e. good handling, 200+hp), reliable and can go long distances on one tank of fuel.

Let's rule out trucks. I don't need to haul things or feel the urge to roll coal & shout "MURICA" behind the wheel.

How about an EcoBoost Fiesta 1.0?

43 highway x 12.4 gallon tank = 533 miles.

Here's a 2015 with under 1,000 miles on the clock for $12k:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/661084031/overview/

Nobody has said Prius yet?

11.9gal tank, rated at 51/48. You'll easily get over 500.

Cruze eco would be the easy button. Even with the smaller 12.6gal tank, a conservative 40mpg will net you just over 500 miles per tank. Supposedly you can install a regular 15gal tank from the other trim levels to boost that even further