• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

Looking for a new or newer vehicle

D

David67

Active Member
So finally I've landed a wastewater treatment operator job. The job is about 60 miles one way from my house and I'm need a car.

Looking for something with good gas mileage. I've been leaning towards the Toyota Corolla hatchback. I'm up in the air about hybrid cars but I've only been in Prius. Didn't care for it.

I'm not stuck on any brand either because this is going to be a commuter car. It's going to get a lot of miles on it for at least the next year.

Any suggestions???

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
Congrats on the job David! Where did you land? As for the car, not much help there as I haven’t had many economy cars. I know Toyotas and Hondas seem to run forever. If you are going to be on I-5 or 99 for much of the commute I would suggest going a bit bigger, like a small SUV. Drivers are idiots out there
 
Thanks!!

I'm going to working for the city of Lathrop. It's a drive but I'm excited for the new opportunity. Yeah I haven't looked at small SUVs. I was only looking at the Corolla hatchback because of it mpg on the freeway and it doesn't look like a regular Corolla.

Hopefully I'm going to pull the trigger next weekend after I sign my acceptance letter.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
Congrats David!!!!
Yes be careful on how small you go. Also consider your comfort. You'll be in the thing a few hours a day.

KIAs have been building a solid car lately and quite stylish too.
 
David67 said:
Thanks!!

I'm going to working for the city of Lathrop. It's a drive but I'm excited for the new opportunity. Yeah I haven't looked at small SUVs. I was only looking at the Corolla hatchback because of it mpg on the freeway and it doesn't look like a regular Corolla.

Hopefully I'm going to pull the trigger next weekend after I sign my acceptance letter.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Sounds like we will be passing each other twice a day as I head to Sacramento.

If you are going new, Mike is right Kias are hard to beat. Some come with a lifetime warranty! Same with Hyundais.
 
Yes comfort is a priority!!! This is the first new vehicle I'm buying for myself. I've always been the one to fix my car before I have to go back to work. Since I'm going to have an adult job, I'm looking for something that is reliable.

I'll look at the Kia's also.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
NEW?

Alrighty then , Cool. Yes check out KIAs. Also check the Mileage ratings and subtract a good percentage as your realistic goal.

But trust me....consider your comfort for all the hours you will spend in it.


That's how I finally considered the vette......;):p:p
 
I love my Mazda 3. At 6'5", you might think a "compact" car would be too small for me. I thought so, too. It's plenty roomy enough for me, and my highway mileage was in the high 30's (I didn't go with the "energy saver" tires at my last replacement, and my fuel economy seems to have suffered a little). The 2021 Mazda 3 will offer the Skyactiv-X engine, which should provide an increased fuel economy of 20-30% over the current engine.
edit: Maybe not in the US for a while. The articles I read pertained to Australia.
 
Last edited:
Warranty, warranty, warranty. You'll be racking up the miles so it's important to consider the warranty terms. Domestics are typically 3 year/36k miles for the powertrain. Kia and Hyundai are both 10/100k. It should be noted that Hyundais have a very bad reputation in terms of engine life. I think that has improved the last couple years but I still hear a lot of complaints from owners and mechanics who say to stay away. It could all be based on past performance but it bears research.

My mother (retired in AZ) recently bought an Elantra. She likely rack up 3k miles a year so not much of a driver. She loves the build quality of it. To be honest its a decent looking car. Drives nice. Under powered though. Hope the engine legend doesn't bite her though.

Recently been shopping for a new ride for the wife. Was sold on the Kia Teluride until I tried to find one and found dealers asking $6-10K above sticker. For a Kia. The top of the line is absolutely loaded with features to the level of a high end European import. They have all the safety tech which I'm sure can be found in lower level vehicles.

Last thought. I have no idea about the charging station situation in that area but electric would be a sweet way to go if you're really talking about a commuter car. Gas is stupid expensive there so the energy savings would be huge. There are some nice electric cars out there that don;t have to break the bank anymore. CA is one place where I think the cost analysis would show electric to be advantageous.
 
Congratulations, David!!

My commuter scooter for the past 4 years has been a Subaru BRZ and it is a blast to drive. Gets great mileage, 25 in town and 35 on the highway with an all time high of 40 mpg on one leisurely trip.
My younger son is driving a Chevy Bolt he picked up on a promotional lease last year so he could use the car pool lanes here in the South Bay. Fortunately, the garage at his work has charging stations so he plugs in once a week for a recharge. While he misses the stick shift experience, the Bolt is an acceptable commuter and allows him to avoid the bulk of the daily grind on 101. Previously he had an e-Golf VW on a promotional lease that was ridiculously affordable at about $120/month.
I agree with Crusty, the Mazda 3 is a nice piece of work. My older son had an '08 Mazda Speed 3 that I drove while he was back East for a year. Really nice performing car. Reasonable on gas (mid to high 20's) so long as the turbo was loafing along but breaking traction on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts is too fun not to take advantage of occasionally !! Mazda would do well to bring back the Speed 3.

Regards, Jeff
 
I agree with Terry on the electrics. Could be a good choice. Mazda also good.
Check out JD Powers ratings:
JD POWERS
2020 Chevrolet Sonic – Highest Small Car in Quality According to Consumers! -
Sounds odd but its the real world. Also Tesla was about 152 on the list....they are still trying to learn how to build cars.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. Not really looking into getting an electric vehicle right now. Was thinking about hybrids but I'm on the fence. With the covid19 climate, I don't know if I can go and test drive cars right now.

The Chevrolet Sonic is too small of a car for me. Small SUVs is interesting also. I'm even looking at 4 cylinder Toyota trucks.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
I think you can still test drive vehicles, just have to find the right dealer. I would not buy one without driving it on the highway first. When I started my commute a few years ago I was debating between the Escape and the Edge. Once I put a few highway miles on them, the answer was clear. The Edge was much more planted on the road. The Escape felt a bit squirrelly. Sure I gave up a couple miles per gallon but considering I am putting 200 miles a day on the highway I figured safety and a secure driving feel was paramount.
 
Congrats on the new job!

My wife has had her Kia optima for about 4 years now. We bought it used, but it has been a great car. No issues just regular maintenance.

She's just turned over 100,000 miles. I would suggest getting a mid to upper level model though as the base can feel kind of cheap. But what you can get for the money is pretty nice.

Toyota's reliability and resale are very good also. The Corolla is actually quite roomy for a small car.



Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
 
So this weekend I went and bought a new Honda CR-V. Looked at the Toyota RAV4 is was okay, felt really blah when driving and the interior was okay. Tried Mazda CX-5 it was really nice but the salesman was a jerk. So I went to the Honda dealership and drove the CR-V they made me a deal on it. I felt it was fair deal for both sides. I wasn't trying to penny pinch but I wanted them to give a little.
6d705a26a64a5f2377b5b1558c5cb4ff.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
David67 said:
So finally I've landed a wastewater treatment operator job. The job is about 60 miles one way from my house and I'm need a car.

Looking for something with good gas mileage. I've been leaning towards the Toyota Corolla hatchback. I'm up in the air about hybrid cars but I've only been in Prius. Didn't care for it.

I'm not stuck on any brand either because this is going to be a commuter car. It's going to get a lot of miles on it for at least the next year.

Any suggestions???

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I use a 2012 Subaru Impreza with a manual transmission. It get 30 mpg, AWD and goes through the snow here very awesome. It has four doors and fits my Grandson's car seat all our stuff and dog.

Maybe you should look for something like that.

Mel

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top