Good family car with good gas mileage?

[NewJeffCT]

The time has come for us to move on from our minivan since we probably won't be having more kids and my in-laws won't be visiting again for at least a few years...

A couple of years ago, we were thinking of a Subaru Outback or along those lines, but an Outback is not great on gas.

I'm guessing most hybrids have a pretty long wait list as well.

Toyota Camry? Honda Accord? Anything else?

[LeftyMom]

1. Pay close attention to the safety features and tests.

You'll be moving down in safety quite a bit going from a minivan to a midsize, just because of the drop in weight, but you can mitigate that by looking for one with side curtain airbags front and rear, a fully adjustable headrest in the rear center (safest seat for your daughter,) stability control, etc.

http://www.car-safety.org/carguide.html

[Shakespeare]

2. How many people will routinely be riding in it?

I'd go for the Honda Fit. Scores VERY high on safety, has multiple configurations that make it great for hauling stuff, and it kills on gas mileage.

For those who would immediately dismiss it because of its small size: European families make do quite nicely with cars of this size, so I don't understand why we can't. We're a tad spoiled in that regard, I think.

[NewJeffCT]

3. Mostly 2 or 3

mostly myself & my daughter, but sometimes my wife as well on the weekends.

[Shakespeare]

4. The Fit might be a great Fit for you, then!!

They're also quite zippy, and fun to drive (I've test driven three times now--kind of holding off to see if they introduce a hybrid option for '09). And inexpensive, and loaded to the gills.

[JeanGrey]

21. I wasn't impressed with the Fit. I found it cheaply made

and not as tight as my Vibe, I'm tall and not much leg room and the much smaller engine doesn't have go.

[Shakespeare]

24. You liked a Pontiac better?

Okay. I have an unbashed bias for Hondas over anything else, but especially over American cars, so I had to snark at you a little. ;-)

My 6'3" boyfriend loved it--had no head or legroom issues with it. I test drove the Fit Sport, which has a little more powerful engine than the base (not sure which one you tried)

Besides, it's an econobox--I didn't expect muscle car performance from it. For what it is, and for the mileage you get, it's pretty darn zippy. btw, one of the big car magazines that does performance tests on cars found that it handles better at high speeds than (drumroll) a Ferrari. They were stunned.

[PBS Poll-435]

31. The Vibe is built jointly by Toyota and GM at

New United Motor Manufacturing in Fremont California.

The same place most US-bound Corolla's are made.

Great plant

[JeanGrey]

33. Yup - exact same car. And a great one.

[JeanGrey]

32. It isn't a "pontiac". Its a Toyota Matrix - the exact same car.

It's the "twin" car. And the Vibe comes (or did) come with more standard equipment, and I was able to get my electric cart and a lift in the back.

The Honda to me was very cramped, I kept trying to put the seat back farther and it was "as far as it would go".

I also thought it was cheaper made than any Honda I've seen. My vibe is tight and sturdy.

[Shakespeare]

35. I was just teasing you.

The Vibes look like neat cars. :hi:

[JeanGrey]

37. They are but they changed it darn it for 09. I thought the earlier

models much nicer looking!! :-)

[mopinko]

50. we love our fit. amazing how much stuff you can cram in there.

we spent $600 at costco once, and brought it all home in our fit.

[flvegan]

5. Mazda 3 is great on gas.

The hatchback will rival your minivan in capacity. High quality, good on gas, good looking, great crash tests, 6 airbags, etc.

[alarimer]

8. I second this.

I get 24 mpg in town routinely and about 30 on the highway (probably closer to 33). Plus it is FUN!

And surprisingly roomy in the backseat. We took my car to my grandmother's funeral last fall. 2200 miles with four adults. The backseat is larger than the backseat in my dad's Mercedes C230

[NewJeffCT]

10. I added that to my edmunds comparison

With the prius, Camry-hybrid, Saturn Aura hybrid and Chevy Malibu hybrid

[alarimer]

11. It should be cheaper than the hybrids.

By how much, I couldn't say. Hybrids of all brands are probably in such high demand that there won't be much negotiation on them. Or at least I would guess that would be the case.

[MissMillie]

47. my sister loves her Mazda 3

it's got a peppy engine for a little car.

[jobycom]

6. There are 41 2004 or later Priuses listed on EBay right now.

Best car on the market. I bought mine off EBay in early 2004. Literally it was the only one listed when I did. I recently checked the resale value--it's almost $15,000 for a car we bought four and half years ago for $21,000. More equity than the house!

There's also Autotrader, and if you are motivated, you can contact rural dealers in your area--some of them don't sell Priuses as fast as others.

Just thoughts, if you wanted a Prius.

[begin_within]

7. My 1997 Toyota Corolla gets 40 mpg/highway, 27 mpg/city, and

it has been a very reliable car, with virtually no breakdowns in 110,000 miles driven so far. Corolla is the best-selling car model of all time, so parts are easy to get if something does break.

[NewJeffCT]

9. We have a 2002 Corolla now

but, it has 130,000 miles on it...

The minivan has 112,000 miles.

No problems with either car, just looking for something smaller than the van that gets better mileage.

[harmonicon]

12. I can't report on it yet...

but my girlfriend's parents just got a Toyota Matrix, which they're going to give to her when she moves to California later this year. She and I will drive it from Connecticut to San Diego, so I'll know a lot about it by then. I guess they wanted to get a Prius, but there was a 6 month (!) waiting list, and she'll need a car by august.

editing to add that the reason for choosing the matrix is that it's supposed to get over 30mpg.

[NewJeffCT]

15. I drove a Matrix about 5-6 years ago

The Corolla we had struck a deer and the insurance I had paid for a loaner, which was the Matrix. For some reason, there was a miscommunication between the insurance & dealer and I ended up with the Matrix for about a month. I didn't like it that much - didn't seem too secure on the highways when driving at highway speed, almost like a heavy wind would carry it away. Of course, that was 5-6 years ago, so it might have changed since that time.

[SallyMander]

36. I love my Matrix!

We get about 32 mpg, and you can fit tons of stuff in it! The back seats fold down flat so it's a perfect road trippin' car. :)

[LiberalEsto]

55. I hate my 2005 Matrix

Everything on it is flimsy and easily damaged. The exterior paint scratches practically if you LOOK at it. The plastic lining the rear hatch door is all cracked and pieces have fallen off. The plastic thingie around the driver side window controls broke off recently. This shouldn't happen.

This car is mostly driven by me, a 56-year-old woman, for going to work - 2 miles each way, or shopping, or church. Once in a while we drive 195 miles to NJ to visit my father-in-law.

We used to own a 1989 Toyota Corolla. After 16 years and about 160,000 miles traveled, often with two kids and a large dog, it was in far better shape than this Matrix is after 3 years. It showed hardly any scratches on the exterior, just two very small rust spots. No part of the interior ever broke off. It was a wonderful car.

I am fed up with Toyota, since our daughter's 2001 Camry is also a piece of crap for different reasons. We had to replace its engine after less than 5 years, for no explicable reason. It just developed a hole in it and died. The manual transmission has been replaced at least twice.

They just don't make Toyotas like they used to.

[PBS Poll-435]

13. New 2009 Toyota Corolla

Does NOT ride like a Corolla any more.

Dimensions similar to 1993-1999 CAMRY.

Standard Side & Side-Curtain airbags.

Pretty good stock stereo.

Very peppy.

I, however, sprung for the XRS edition.

It has the bigger engine from the Camry, 5 Speed Auto w/ manual shift mode. Moon-roof, 440 watt JBL stereo, skid/traction control, ABS, and my favorite, BLUETOOTH.

[NewJeffCT]

18. sounds pretty good

is their a hybrid version of it?

[PBS Poll-435]

28. Unfortunately, No

It gets great mileage though.

And its ULEV Tier II

[PBS Poll-435]

25. ...

[NewJeffCT]

29. what does

ULEV Tier II mean?

[PBS Poll-435]

30. Really clean emissions.

Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle - Tier II

[JVS]

14. If you want to save money, take a look at the Nissan Versa wagon.

$12K and fuel efficient.

[trof]

16. Why I love my Prius:

1. OK, obviously the mpg. Just averaged 48 on a 1500 mile road trip. Doing a few hypermiling techniques, I get 50+ around town.

2. It's surprisingly roomy and comfortable. I'm 6'2"/235 and I'm very comfortable as driver or passenger.

3. Surprisingly roomy 'trunk' space. I guess you'd really call it a hatch-back. And with the back seat folded down I've hauled 8' lumber home.

4. A/C & sound system leave nothing to be desired.

5. The center dash mounted monitor is really neat for us technophiles.

I paid $21,000 & change for my '08 last November. Bought the low end model and added cruise for a little less that $300.

[NewJeffCT]

17. I'm thinking about the prius

or possibly the Camry hybrid.

[underpants]

19. Accords are basically the best car ever made (so far)

and the most stolen.

:shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

23. Honda discontinued the hybrid version, though

so, the mileage might not be good enough for us...

[PBS Poll-435]

26. And even when they had a hybrid version

It really didn't do much for mileage.

It was more about adding power to their V6 engine.

[JeanGrey]

20. If you still want a vehicle with some cargo room, I have a

Pontiac Vibe the twin car to the Toyota Matrix. You an pick one up for about 16 or so, if you get the 1.8 engine you'll get almost 30 around town and more on the freeway. It is VERY reliable!

[Shell Beau]

22. I am a Honda fan. They are just good reliable cars.

[NJmaverick]

27. Here check out this link. If you want a vehicle with good utility and good MPG

http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007_station_wagons.html

[Phillycat]

34. Well, you could always try the motorized cooler.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7835076

Don't drive it drunk though. :shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

38. I don't think anybody has to worry about me driving drunk

Unless I do a complete 180 and start drinking regularly.

[jmowreader]

39. Accords get 22mpg in the city...so do Chevy Malibus

I like the Malibu. It's a nice car, and it's union made. It's got OnStar in it, but there's GOT to be a fuse to turn it off if it really offends you.

Accords are Ohio-made with something like 95 percent US content (at one time the Accord was the car with the highest percentage of American-made parts), and they're REAL sweet. I'm using my company's 2006 V-6 Accord to commute to work (my 86 finally gave up the ghost--years and years of deferred maintenance will do that to a car), and it's just a joy to drive. Plus it gets better gas mileage than my old one.

I was going to say Chevy Impala and Ford Fusion (plus its Lincoln Mark Z and Mercury Milan siblings), but they get 18 (Impala) to 20mpg (Fusion) in the city. If that's okay mileage for you, try one of those.

[NewJeffCT]

42. I like the Accord, but

the gas mileage ain't all that great. The Odyssey we have now gets around 20mpg with its mix of highway & city driving. I'm hoping to find something that gets at least 30mpg.

[jmowreader]

43. Two people, no kids? How about a Chevrolet Cobalt?

22 city/31 highway.

[nytemare]

40. Not sure on reliability yet, but the Dodge Caliber

Is about the size of an outback, and gets 30 or 32 mpg on the highway. That was going to be my rental car on vacation.

[NewJeffCT]

41. About a year ago, we were thinking of the Subaru Outback

but, the mediocre gas mileage turned me off - I think it's like 27 highway, 20 city?

[1gobluedem]

44. I have a Dodge Caliber

I love it. And the gas mileage is pretty good.

[av8rdave]

45. I've had a Compass (mechanically same vehicle) for a year and a half now

It's been very trouble free and pretty good on gas.

[nytemare]

54. It is a fairly decent size, especially for the gas mileage.

And seems affordable.

[av8rdave]

46. My daughter is driving an 07 Hyundai Elantra

I'm pretty impressed with it...mileage is high 20's to mid 30s. The car itself is very quiet, comfortable and surprisingly roomy.

[snooper2]

48. I have Pontiac Grand Prix

Computer says getting 25.3 avg currently, gets around 30 on trips down the highway...

Comfortable car and good looking

[Burma Jones]

49. I have a Camry Hybrid and a family of five

I waited two weeks for my Camry because I wanted a particular color. I could have picked a silver one up that day.

I love the Camry, it's roomy, it can scoot if you need it to, the electronic amenities are very good and I'm averaging about 36 mpg.

[TrogL]

51. I've got an Outback

Actually it's a Legacy, but close enough.

It's gets double the gas mileage of my Windstar.

[WhollyHeretic]

52. Toyota Yaris

It perfectly comfortable for me, my wife and my son. We even drove in it to Florida (from Connecticut) with my niece as well and we were all comfortable.

I drive a lot for my job (I'm also 6' 2") and it's plenty roomy for me.

The car averages 37-38 city/highway combined mileage. It has saved me a ton of money. With the driving I do for my job I can make most of the car payments with the money I save in gas over my old car.

[Redstone]

53. Volvo S60, if that's in yor price range. Ours has all the stuff: AWD, cold-weather package,

leather, sport package, and it gets 31 MPG on the highway.

And, 44,000 miles on the clock, and not ONE squeak or rattle.

Not to mention the most comfortable front seat in the universe.

Redstone

[Release The Hounds]

56. Mazda5. Seats 6, under 20K

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=MZ5&bhcp=1