Recommend efficient daily driver
- Thread starter 5.0 Hatch
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My '12 Focus hatchback gets great mileage and the power is misleading. The car makes plenty of torque for anything you would encounter on a typical drive. The DCT is a little noisy, but I like how efficient it is compared to a normal auto.
I had a Civic and the damn thing fell apart on the inside. They're all disposable econoboxes at this price point, so you might as well base your decisions on looks and options. I don't mind the looks of the Focus, and the interior is awesome.
I've got an '07 Honda Civic that's a pretty good little commuter.
09 Civic is my DD throw away car. It does the job well.
Was it the same generation civic?
That is not so good advice for the OP's circumstances. Discard reliability and focus on superficial aspects. Based on your purchases I'd say you waste/lose a lot of money on cars. Since the OP is picking cars with high fuel economy I'd say he is making an attempt to be fiscally responsible. Buying whatever car he likes to sit in the most and ditching it when it gives him trouble (losing a major portion of his I.I.) might not be the best option for him. Not that he gave us much info to go on though.
45,000 miles a year is on the extreme side of use. I'd rather have a car that is one of the least likely to leave me stranded, need accessories replaced, and otherwise nickel and dime me to death. Look at that chart below, with the driving he's doing that 10 year time line is more relevant to 4 maybe 5 years for a new car going 45,000 miles a year. But he's buying used so 3.5-4.
OP there is one other car I'd consider and that is the Corolla.
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Those problems per one hundred are skewed by the sync. If remove the sync complaints then ford is on par or better than Toyota. That being said, my focus se with the only option being the auto is great. I recently had a Mazda 3 try to prevent me from passing him, but his 2.3 didn't have it in it. The focus handles, has good torque for a 4 banger and I get 41 mpg on the highway with the non-sfe. Do yourself a favor and get the focus. The auto is different, but is the wave of the future. Plus, if you drive it hard, the auto shifts and performance are spot on. Stop and go traffic is the only time you might notice any difference from a conventional auto. The only downside I have found on the focus so far is the reverse speed limiter at about 13 mph. J turns are out with this one.
Thats about the worst advice ever. Civics are cheap econo crap, and everyone knows Honda automatics are junk.
The Civic and Corolla are not "built to last" they are built using low grade materials and shitty engineering and sold for way more than they are worth.
Buy a Cruze Eco or Focus, either one is like stepping into a Mercedes after being in a shitbox civic or corolla.
45,000 miles a year? Thats a lot of miles... TDI all the way!
lol wow.
Ignorance truly is bliss.
You will see far more older accord/camry or civic/corollas on the road than any other vehicles, and its the same for all years. Their build quality is solid. Ford/GM build quality now is just as solid, but early-mid 00's and 90's was absolute GARBAGE. How many old Taurus or Caviliers do you see? Probably a tenth of the accords/civics/etc out there driving around with 200-300k on them.
My fusion has a leaky 6F35 (GM/Ford auto 6spd fwd tranny) at 95k. Im now trying to get rid of this boring car more than ever, pass seat now makes a squeak over bumps, the recirculation fan in the cabin makes a high pitched whistle on the 3rd highest setting, Mercedes quality right there folks.
I have a '12 Focus hatch and love it. Interior is great (very important IMO on a car you'll be spending that much time in), good fuel economy, and good build quality.
Why are you buying new if you put that many miles on a car in a year? Buy a manual transmission Honda Civic 07-09 with under 40k miles. It will be one of the few cars actually worth something in a few years with over 150k miles. This coming from someone that prefers American cars to anything else.
ive always liked the mazda's, im leaning on a mazda3 for my next DD myself
Cruze and TDI are best avoided IMO. If you're really looking for a good DD with good fuel economy, I'd recommend the best answer that wasn't suggested yet: the Fiesta.
(But then, it might be too small for your intentions)
(But then, it might be too small for your intentions)
I wouldn't drive a fiesta on a bet unless it was a grocery getter with less than a 5 mile trip. way too small for my tastes and first accident and you are probably pretty much toast
Thanks again for the advice. I'm still leaning towards the mazda 3 but may wait until the 2014s arrive.
About the civic comments. I mentioned in an earlier post I already had a 08 civic Si for 100k miles and hated it. The transmission was a complete nightmare with the popping out of gear and whining sounds. Honda did nothing about it other than tell me it's normal for this particular trans. Traded it in on a Saturn Aura and so far I have 110k miles and not a single issue other than the gauge indicator needles no longer light up. I have never done anything at all for maintenance other than oil and tires so i'm a huge fan of GM at the moment.
Before the civic I had a Tacoma that broke a crankshaft at 37k miles which was replaced and then ate a crank bearing at 66k miles. I know there are many Toyota fans and my wife drives a 07 Tacoma now which is waiting on a 4wd actuator to be replaced but I dont think I'd buy another.
About the civic comments. I mentioned in an earlier post I already had a 08 civic Si for 100k miles and hated it. The transmission was a complete nightmare with the popping out of gear and whining sounds. Honda did nothing about it other than tell me it's normal for this particular trans. Traded it in on a Saturn Aura and so far I have 110k miles and not a single issue other than the gauge indicator needles no longer light up. I have never done anything at all for maintenance other than oil and tires so i'm a huge fan of GM at the moment.
Before the civic I had a Tacoma that broke a crankshaft at 37k miles which was replaced and then ate a crank bearing at 66k miles. I know there are many Toyota fans and my wife drives a 07 Tacoma now which is waiting on a 4wd actuator to be replaced but I dont think I'd buy another.
xXGadfly09Xx
Banned
Ha ha ha this is a joke right?
Talk about a USA nutswinger....
the Civic is more reliable than a focus FACT
the buttons and toys are better in the focus BUT in terms of longevity I will take the civic all day everyday and twice on sunday.
We bought brand new cruze (2011) ($22K) LT auto, put nothing but 87octane drive 75-90mph on highway most of the time and with city calculated it never dips below 30mpg usually 32-33.
So far no problems with the car whatsoever and we put 30K miles on it. My only complaint is the paint could be stronger seems like it gets chips easy. We ended up going with the cruze because we liked the styling inside and out and since we are putting a lot of miles on it that becomes pretty important in my opinion. I can't stand the hondas, focuses hybrids etc. With the 1.4 turbo it has decent mid range power and the turbo spool is entertaining for me.
So far no problems with the car whatsoever and we put 30K miles on it. My only complaint is the paint could be stronger seems like it gets chips easy. We ended up going with the cruze because we liked the styling inside and out and since we are putting a lot of miles on it that becomes pretty important in my opinion. I can't stand the hondas, focuses hybrids etc. With the 1.4 turbo it has decent mid range power and the turbo spool is entertaining for me.
Why is nobody mentioning the new player. The dodge dart.
no surprise here.
Talk about a honduh nutswinger, honduhs are decent but I will take the focus.
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