Best affordable commuter car

[Bird]

Which is why the we should all be driving nothing smaller than an excursion, preferably school busses and semitrucks.

How about a new Ford Transit Connect? I'd never heard of it until I saw a story in the newspaper a couple of days ago and today I saw one at a Ford dealer. I guess it's the same size engine (displacement anyway) as a Focus, but there was a sticker on the driver's door window that said the transmission was from USA, the engine from Spain, final assembly in Turkey.

 

[LBrown59]

Couldn't say.
Haven't owned a car for 20 years.

 

[aczlan]

Which is why the we should all be driving nothing smaller than an excursion, preferably school busses and semitrucks.

No, we should be (as we currently are) free to choose the size car we want to drive. Some people need/want to drive an SUV or a truck, others prefer to drive a minivan, a small car or something different. My wife and I currently have a 2002 Caravan and a 1993 Volvo 940, they both get weigh ~3500#, get 19-25 mpg and cost us less than $4000.
Crash safety is just another thing to keep in mind when looking at a car. When you drive a smaller car you are going to have less of a crumple zone and less mass, smaller crumple zones and less mass mean more of the force of impact is transferred to the people in the car.

If I hit or get hit by another car I dont want my accident report to say "After striking the front of the C class, the Smart went airborne and turned around 450 degrees. This contributed to excessive movement of the dummy during rebound a dramatic indication of the Smart's poor performance but not the only one. There was extensive intrusion into the space around the dummy from head to feet. The instrument panel moved up and toward the dummy. The steering wheel was displaced upward. Multiple measures of injury likelihood, including those on the dummy's head, were poor, as were measures on both legs"
Now, the C class (at least the 2009 C63) weighs #3649 according to Yahoo, about the same as a Dodge Caravan. So, the same (or close to it) could probably be said for a head-on collision between the Smart Fourto and a Caravan.

As for me and my wife, we will never have a minicar, she was in a very bad accident while in college and now isn't comfortable in a small car.

Aaron Z

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I used to get 36 mpg with my 5 spd 1996 accord. good mileage, very dependable and roomy. Went with a civic after that, it only got 35 mpg with a 5 spd. never did figure that one out. Both of them did over 200K miles with no maintenance but oil changes and tires. Now I drive a chevy, only because I got a "good" deal on it. It gets 27 mpg with an auto. Howie Long can make all the jokes he wants, a Honda will outperform, outlive anything that chevy ever put out. I also have a honda pilot that gets 24 mpg. It's a great vehicle, with lots of room. I drive at least 40K miles a year.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Mornin Guys,
On the highway the other day I saw a white Toyota Prius with a license plate that read, " 51 MPG +". All I could think of is passing this Prius out next year in a Chevy Volt, with a license plate that reads " 230 MPG + " !


Ahhh but alas, Im still driving my 2000 Dodge 4x4 getting 12 / 17 mpg !

 

[jinman]

How about a new Ford Transit Connect? I'd never heard of it until I saw a story in the newspaper a couple of days ago and today I saw one at a Ford dealer. I guess it's the same size engine (displacement anyway) as a Focus, but there was a sticker on the driver's door window that said the transmission was from USA, the engine from Spain, final assembly in Turkey.

Bird, it kinda looks like a mini-Dodge Sprinter van. The fuel mileage is about the same for a much smaller vehicle, but I'm sure it's pricetag will be smaller too. I bet Ford has found a new niche market for a kinda-ugly but very useful vehicle.

 

[Bird]

Jim, it really is a miniature. The one I saw at Ford Country of Lewisville was the delivery van (no back seats or windows). It was air-conditioned, automatic transmission, and some kind of radio, but manual seats and mirrors; pretty plain and the window sticker showed a price of $21k+. It was also marked "Sold".

 

[dmccarty]

We had a pretty bad car accident seven months ago. Both cars were about 3,000 pounds. The lady the pulled in front of us was knocked almost 180 degrees. We drove, well skidded through the intersection. Since we were drivng 55mph before I put the brake through the floor we had more energy than she did. Her air bags deployed and she had a least a broken ankle. Our air bags did not deploy.

The wifey has had multiple CAT and MRIs as a result of the accident. I have only had one Xray. We are both still in pain but at least we are alive. Though she is some what crippled at the moment.

I have always been concerned with the crash worthiness of a vehicle. Now its more so. The "new" used car is a Toyoto Sequoia with a bazillion air bags. MPG sucks but we don't drive the vehicle far or much. In any case, I can buy lots of fuel for the Sequoia at 16 mpg and $5 per gallon for what I am paying in medical bills. Eventually the other insurance will pay but not until we are "healed." Not sure when that will be if ever. And I don't think they can pay me enough for the pain we have been in for over half a year.

The only way I will be in a small car is if I have no other choice. I might was well right a death cycle. A guy on a death cycle just died a few days ago on a road I drive twice a day. He somehow wrapped himself around a power pole.

Filled up the F350 yesterday. 7,500 pound truck got 21.7 mpg hand calculated. Been getting 21+ mpg all summer. Unfortunately they DON'T build them like this anymore.

Later,
Dan

 

[Cat_Driver]

I bought my wife a gas saver and it was great for saving gas, but you could actually pinch the door with the window down and watch the metal flex.

You know when that little thing talks to you and most of us ignore that "little voice" well this time the voice was SCREAMING at me, so i gave in and sold it at a huge loss.

About three months after I sold it and bought her a HUGE gas guzzler American car she was hit head on by a drunk driver. When I got to the scene the car was a mess, but my lovely wife was standing there talking to the police and not a scratch. I said a quick thank you prayer and now realize why that voice was screaming at me.

Needless to say she wouldn't bee here today if she was in the gas saver. With what I saved in medical bills etc. I figure I'm ahead till the year 2050 versus the difference in miles per gallon, even if it hits $10.00 a gallon.

So for me - no thanks on saving fuel. I'd rather jump from gas station to gas station and have a loved one rather than have more money in my pocket. The price is too high to save at the pump.

Way too many drunk drivers driving around and way too many large vehicles on the road for me to ever get roller skate with air conditioning.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Seen a smart car driving around the area that has a wind up thing attached to the back, it's funny seeing it go by.