Best gas sipper?

hunterdan

hunterdan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Location
Morganton,NC
Looking at cars for my wife and son. With gas prices were wanting something with high mpg. Also, looking for dependability/ longevity.
We have owned a 2009 Yaris since 2011 and it's been our best car ever. The only thing it's required is gas/oil changes and tires. At the moment it has 180k and could last to 300k from what I see.
We were about to buy a 2016 Yaris but found out it's made.by Mazda now. I think they started that in 2013. Reviews of the Mazda toyotas are not very good.
Anyway, anyone have suggestions from experience?
Looking for Yaris size sedan or hatchback with dependability. Any suggestions other than a Japanese produced older Toyota?
 
Really depends on what you definition of "gas sipper" is. I'm assuming thats the 27-32 mpg range. IMO getting higher nets a diminishingly tiny savings in actual dollars per month compared to the sacrifices in comfort etc.

I've had Mazdas and loved them. My '18 Mazda3 w/ the 2.5 and a stick averages about 29mpg. My old '02 Protege5 (also stick) w/ 2.0 was around 27. We had a '10 Mazda5 for 7 years and it was no problem. IMO a 15+ Mazda3 is a great car that is still reasonably simply engineered, reasonably reliable, and still quite fun to drive.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Really depends on what you definition of "gas sipper" is. I'm assuming thats the 27-32 mpg range. IMO getting higher nets a diminishingly tiny savings in actual dollars per month compared to the sacrifices in comfort etc.

I've had Mazdas and loved them. My '18 Mazda3 w/ the 2.5 and a stick averages about 29mpg. My old '02 Protege5 (also stick) w/ 2.0 was around 27. We had a '10 Mazda5 for 7 years and it was no problem. IMO a 15+ Mazda3 is a great car that is still reasonably simply engineered, reasonably reliable, and still quite fun to drive.
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I bought my wife a 2019 Chevy Equinox. It is pulling down a consistent 31+ in all around driving (good mix of city and highway driving) and can fit 5 people if needed. I wouldn't take it on an extended trip with the whole family, but it's good enough for around town if necessary. Also has decent size trunk for her work crap or groceries.
 
My 2021 Mazda 3 (2.5 non-turbo/6-speed automatic) gets 32-36mpg hand calculated depending on how much highway driving I do. I don't do any city only driving, so might get a little lower in that situation. Personally, I'm a Mazda fan. Wife and I have owned several over the years and they have all had low operating costs and never had anything other than typical minor issues as mileage progressed. Our 2000 Mazda Protege (1.6/4-speed automatic) has over 250k miles on the engine and transmission and still gets 30mpg mixed driving, around 33-35mpg highway.
 
A great resource for seeing what vehicles ACTUALLY get for mpg is www.fuelly.com. I'm a big diesel fan. I drive the piss out of everything I own, and my diesels still deliver 30+mpg. Every gas car I've ever driven has lived in the sub-20mpg range, regardless of the EPA rating.

VW TDIs are hard to beat from a cost/comfort/fun/economy standpoint. Also don't rule out the Chevy Cruze diesels that they made for a couple years (2014-2015 I think).
 
I have to say I am really impressed with our 15’ Altima. It regularly pulls down 36-38mpg hi way driving. It is also one of the most comfortable cars I have owned. Can’t wait til next year when I upgrade the wife and it becomes mine!
 
Anyone have praise for the Hyundai Elantra or any of the Kia's?
Another car were looking at is the Ford focus. Mother in law has a 2012 and has had no issues. Then again it only has 30k miles🤔
I can get a low mileage near new focus for under 8k.
 
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Danger_Ranger said:
Ford Ranger!!! 4 cylinder though. The 6 cylinders suck on gas.
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Yours must be different than mine, it isn't horrible but not a sipper, Mine is a auto 2wd with Regular cab. Paid for and a bed, or it would be gone.
 
jeepinmatt said:
A great resource for seeing what vehicles ACTUALLY get for mpg is www.fuelly.com. I'm a big diesel fan. I drive the piss out of everything I own, and my diesels still deliver 30+mpg. Every gas car I've ever driven has lived in the sub-20mpg range, regardless of the EPA rating.

VW TDIs are hard to beat from a cost/comfort/fun/economy standpoint. Also don't rule out the Chevy Cruze diesels that they made for a couple years (2014-2015 I think).
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I loved my 2014 tdi manual until my wife totalled it. I have been looking for another but manual trans models are hard to find and have been for a year or so.
 
hunterdan said:
Anyone have praise for the Hyundai Elantra or any of the Kia's?
Another car were looking at is the Ford focus. Mother in law has a 2012 and has had no issues. Then again it only has 30k miles🤔
I can get a low mileage near new focus for under 8k.
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That year Ford Focus (2012-2016) has the PowerShift transmission if its an auto, which is notoriously bad and had a class action lawsuit over it.
On the otherhand I have a 2014 Ford Fiesta (manual) for driving around town and I average 37-40 MPG. I have 130k and never had an issue and its similar in size to a Yaris.
 
GentlyUsedYJ said:
That year Ford Focus (2012-2016) has the PowerShift transmission if its an auto, which is notoriously bad and had a class action lawsuit over it.
On the otherhand I have a 2014 Ford Fiesta (manual) for driving around town and I average 37-40 MPG. I have 130k and never had an issue and its similar in size to a Yaris.
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Thanks for the heads up. That's a pretty good record on the Fiesta. Hmmm?
untchabl said:
My Mom has a 2004 Honda Civic LX sedan (1.7 non-vtec/5-speed manual) that gets 42mpg on the highway.
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We thought about a Honda.civic but still have a bad taste in our mouths because of a Honda element. Everyone said what a great car the element was. Well...we had to replace the struts at 120k, alternator which required the engine mount removal. Also, a mechanic told.me to change water pump required engine removal. Maybe the civic is more user friendly?
Wife was looking at a Mitsubishi that gets about 40mpg. Turns out they fall apart around 60-80k
 
A friend has a really nice truck but due to fuel cost he's been rocking a 90's festiva and getting 40+mpg. So far it's just needed cv joints at 230k
 
hunterdan said:
Anyone have praise for the Hyundai Elantra or any of the Kia's?
Another car were looking at is the Ford focus. Mother in law has a 2012 and has had no issues. Then again it only has 30k miles🤔
I can get a low mileage near new focus for under 8k.
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I wanna say the 2012 Focus had notorious transmission issues, I could be mistaken though. I believe my brother had one that year and it had a shudder to it during take off, almost like when you don’t quite work the clutch correctly on a manual and it kinda shudders before slipping into gear and going, although this was an automatic. I believe it had something to do with a seal? Anyways, he ended up getting rid of it and got a Hyundai (I believe Elantra) don’t recall year maybe a 16-17 but he has driven the piss out of that thing and we have only done routine maintenance thus far on it

Definitely did not see @GentlyUsedYJ response before I posted. But I’ll second the transmission problem I guess
 
93redzj said:
I wanna say the 2012 Focus had notorious transmission issues, I could be mistaken though. I believe my brother had one that year and it had a shudder to it during take off, almost like when you don’t quite work the clutch correctly on a manual and it kinda shudders before slipping into gear and going, although this was an automatic. I believe it had something to do with a seal? Anyways, he ended up getting rid of it and got a Hyundai (I believe Elantra) don’t recall year maybe a 16-17 but he has driven the piss out of that thing and we have only done routine maintenance thus far on it

Definitely did not see @GentlyUsedYJ response before I posted. But I’ll second the transmission problem I guess
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Festiva did that. They had an "automatic" that was basically a manual transmission with an automatic clutch. There was a huge issue with those transmissions that at first was blamed on computer programming, but come to find out they just start to overheat and shudder to the point that they won't even move until you shut it off, let it cool and start again. Ford finally acknowledged the problem and bought a bunch back after several lawsuits.
 
Personally, I would avoid any car that uses a dual-clutch automatic. I was cross-shopping the Hyundai Elantra N-Line before I got my Mazda 3 and the dual-clutch 7-speed auto was having some issues. And I would avoid any CVT equipped cars except for Toyota, they seem to have the best track record with their CVT's holding up long term.

One of the major deciding factors for getting my Mazda 3 was the drivetrain. It has a 2.5 non-turbo 4-cylinder that Mazda has used for years so it's a proven powerplant. And it uses a normal 6-speed automatic rather than a dual-clutch auto or a CVT. Most cars now are CVT and have small displacement turbocharged 4 cylinder engines and I'm not sure how much I trust those long-term (aka 100-150k+miles).

I cross-shopped all these before I bought my 3
1. Hyundai Elantra N-Line - was over $3k more than the Mazda and had the dual-clutch auto that had some negative reviews. Did like the car during the test drive.
2. Honda Civic Sport - was my 2nd choice after the Mazda. 1.5 turbo with CVT. Basically same cost as the 3.
3. Toyota Corolla Nightshade hatchback - could not find one within 200 miles on a dealer lot to even be able to test drive. Same price as the Civic and 3. Really wanted to test drive one.
4. Mazda 3 Select hatchback - what I bought. I got the lowest trim level, Select. Only thing I wish it had was heated seats and steering wheel but that was only on the next trim level and not worth $2k more

I was basically shopping "sporty" econo-box cars to use as a daily driver. Everyone of those above were approx. $24k except the Elantra N-Line was around $27k. Didn't look at anything VW, Subaru or Mitsubishi because I'm not a fan.
 
My ram megacab gets amazing mileage...
 
untchabl said:
Personally, I would avoid any car that uses a dual-clutch automatic. I was cross-shopping the Hyundai Elantra N-Line before I got my Mazda 3 and the dual-clutch 7-speed auto was having some issues. And I would avoid any CVT equipped cars except for Toyota, they seem to have the best track record with their CVT's holding up long term.

One of the major deciding factors for getting my Mazda 3 was the drivetrain. It has a 2.5 non-turbo 4-cylinder that Mazda has used for years so it's a proven powerplant. And it uses a normal 6-speed automatic rather than a dual-clutch auto or a CVT. Most cars now are CVT and have small displacement turbocharged 4 cylinder engines and I'm not sure how much I trust those long-term (aka 100-150k+miles).

I cross-shopped all these before I bought my 3
1. Hyundai Elantra N-Line - was over $3k more than the Mazda and had the dual-clutch auto that had some negative reviews. Did like the car during the test drive.
2. Honda Civic Sport - was my 2nd choice after the Mazda. 1.5 turbo with CVT. Basically same cost as the 3.
3. Toyota Corolla Nightshade hatchback - could not find one within 200 miles on a dealer lot to even be able to test drive. Same price as the Civic and 3. Really wanted to test drive one.
4. Mazda 3 Select hatchback - what I bought. I got the lowest trim level, Select. Only thing I wish it had was heated seats and steering wheel but that was only on the next trim level and not worth $2k more

I was basically shopping "sporty" econo-box cars to use as a daily driver. Everyone of those above were approx. $24k except the Elantra N-Line was around $27k. Didn't look at anything VW, Subaru or Mitsubishi because I'm not a fan.
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One reason I got my 2019 accord 2.0t is all these reasons. It’s honestly pretty damn fun to drive and not beating it will get like 29 city and 33 highway
 
untchabl said:
Personally, I would avoid any car that uses a dual-clutch automatic. I was cross-shopping the Hyundai Elantra N-Line before I got my Mazda 3 and the dual-clutch 7-speed auto was having some issues. And I would avoid any CVT equipped cars except for Toyota, they seem to have the best track record with their CVT's holding up long term.

One of the major deciding factors for getting my Mazda 3 was the drivetrain. It has a 2.5 non-turbo 4-cylinder that Mazda has used for years so it's a proven powerplant. And it uses a normal 6-speed automatic rather than a dual-clutch auto or a CVT. Most cars now are CVT and have small displacement turbocharged 4 cylinder engines and I'm not sure how much I trust those long-term (aka 100-150k+miles).

I cross-shopped all these before I bought my 3
1. Hyundai Elantra N-Line - was over $3k more than the Mazda and had the dual-clutch auto that had some negative reviews. Did like the car during the test drive.
2. Honda Civic Sport - was my 2nd choice after the Mazda. 1.5 turbo with CVT. Basically same cost as the 3.
3. Toyota Corolla Nightshade hatchback - could not find one within 200 miles on a dealer lot to even be able to test drive. Same price as the Civic and 3. Really wanted to test drive one.
4. Mazda 3 Select hatchback - what I bought. I got the lowest trim level, Select. Only thing I wish it had was heated seats and steering wheel but that was only on the next trim level and not worth $2k more

I was basically shopping "sporty" econo-box cars to use as a daily driver. Everyone of those above were approx. $24k except the Elantra N-Line was around $27k. Didn't look at anything VW, Subaru or Mitsubishi because I'm not a fan.
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Wow! thanks for all the info. We are definitely going to drive a Mazda 3. Last year I saw one at a gas station and really liked the look. I actually made sure to see the maker and model. It kind of looks like something that would.be styled by Jaguar.
 
hunterdan said:
Wow! thanks for all the info. We are definitely going to drive a Mazda 3. Last year I saw one at a gas station and really liked the look. I actually made sure to see the maker and model. It kind of looks like something that would.be styled by Jaguar.
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Mazda has always had a very specific target audience of people who enjoy driving. Some people refer to them as "drivers cars". A similar thing I like about the 3 is that the interior is still a very simple but elegant style. No bunch of fancy switches and big gaudy center panel, IMO it seems designed to feel like a car, not a space ship. Notable in this vein they have been among the last holdouts to still have stickshift cars.
And as mentioned, it's been the same drivetrain for a long time and is well tested. There's a new fancy motor option in the '19+ models that cranks out crazy power for a N/A 2.0 but is't proven yet.
 
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