Daily Driver

[WH401]

Not saying it can't be done, but your chances of getting 22 on the highway in a 6.2 F-250 are about the same as Smart putting a 5.9 Cummins in their next U.S. car offering. If 6.2's were getting that kind of mileage, the 6.7 Powerstrokes would never be selling. If your biggest thing is travel, a used or new TDI would be the ticket.

 

[bp fick]

You aren't alone in this conundrum.

My thinking is this, FWIW. I don't intend on buying anything car like unless it can meet the following criteria.

1. Get near 40 mpg. More would be better, but not realistic.
2. Be comfortable enough to actually drive 2 or 3 hours at a sitting.

If I want true comfort or utility, I already have those in my other vehicles, as most of us do. I see no point in buying yet another mediocre 28 mpg vehicle. That's slightly better than our C-RV, but slightly less than my Ranger, so there's no point. The savings on the fuel won't even pay the insurance cost.

The next puddle jumper MUST get great, not just good, mileage so my wife doesn't have to be concerned about shopping, running to church, go the senior center, visiting, etc. Period. Still looking.

 

[Haoleguy]

A newer VW Golf TDI will get you >40 mpg, comfort, and fun in front wheel drive. Use your 4x4 truck for heavy snow days. Second choice for the commuter would be a used VW Rabbit with the 2.5liter 5 cylinder gasser. Well engineered, 30mpg, comfort, and front wheel drive. Only downside to the VWs are lower number of dealers......Gary

 

[crashz]

Thanks for the opinions guys!

Without doing a detailed cost analysis, I was initially thinking that I wanted to keep costs down by keeping only one vehicle in the driveway, besides my wife's car. Less insurance, excise tax, maintenance ect.

The more I look at this issue and the advice given, the more I realize that there is no way to get around having a little commuter car for daily use and a truck for truck duties. Buying a new truck and putting tons of miles on it commuting is throwing money away in gas and maintenance costs as well as just plain wearing it out.

So an economical car is definately in.

For the trucks, I guess I'm leaning towards fixing up the two "toys" that I already own (see my avatar). The reasons I haven't considered it, is that I wanted to be able to tow them to my house and work on them at my leisure. I have the 87 1 ton dump pictured, and an 83 3/4 ton, both of which were going to be long term project vehicles. The 1 ton is roadworthy, but not reliable at all. The 83 needs a full restoration. I estimate that the 87 would need about $5000 worth of work to make it reliable, functional and trustworthy enough to drive across the state when I need it. Considering that would be less than a years's payments on a new truck, I'm having a change of heart. Especially with this truck, as its meant to work. So rather than work on it on my timeline, I'm thinking about sending it to a shop to have the laundry list of issues taken care of, then the body shop after that.

BTW - I'd love to a get a TDI for a commuter, but I think they aren't sold here in MA. Maybe thats changed in the last couple years, but for a while, you could not buy a new one here due to the TDI not meeting the MA emissions standards.

 

[Runner]

I drive this 2007 Toyota Yaris every day. It gets 40 mpg in summer and 37 mpg in winter in mixed driving and is very comfortable/roomy for 4 people. I have 56,000 miles on it with no problems whatsoever and it was $12,500 new, out the door.

I use the 2004 F350 for heavy-duty stuff or deep snow.

Works for me.

 

[Haoleguy]

Thanks for the opinions guys!
BTW - I'd love to a get a TDI for a commuter, but I think they aren't sold here in MA. Maybe thats changed in the last couple years, but for a while, you could not buy a new one here due to the TDI not meeting the MA emissions standards.

crashz - Look at New & Used Cars for Sale, Auto Dealers, Car Reviews and Car Finance Advice and you can see that VW Golf TDIs are sold in MA. I'm thinking I might be in the same boat as you are with a 150mi round trip/day gig in the near future so I started looking at options and the 2 I mentioned are what I came up with. Safety and headroom are a must for me especially in a smaller car...Gary

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I drive this 2007 Toyota Yaris every day. It gets 40 mpg in summer and 37 mpg in winter in mixed driving and is very comfortable/roomy for 4 people. I have 56,000 miles on it with no problems whatsoever and it was $12,500 new, out the door.

I use the 2004 F350 for heavy-duty stuff or deep snow.

Works for me.

We know somebody who has one, and I would not describe it as "roomy"...

 

[Egon]

describe it as "roomy".../QUOTE

Think the "Roomy Thing" was back in the late fifties and the sixties.

 

[Runner]

"We know somebody who has one, and I would not describe it as "roomy"..."

Yeah, I guess it depends on the size of the person. It's roomy for me....

You want 40 mpg, you're not going to be driving a Lincoln Town Car.

 

[mojoinco]

Used Forester. Manual trans. Can get over 30 mpg, especially at your elevation. AWD, high roof, lots of space. Fancy version has seat heaters. Ugly. Wait until summer, when prices are less. Easy maintenance (timing belts in front). 1/2 shafts easy to remove (only thing odd is they use roll pins to hold the inner cv to the diff). Always right at the top in ratings. Imprezza would be ok, smaller, lighter, better mpg. Underneath about the same vehicle (supposed to be based on the same design). Anyhow, about 3 hp engines to choose from (including a turbo).

The newer Forester is bigger, less mpg. Looks nicer -- oddly enough, just as the rest are getting uglier.

If you are going to bust snow banks, use something that you aren't in love with.