On the way to work today my turbo blew again. This is officially the 3rd time on a 2006 car, with only the first time being under warranty. Here's my problem. The TDI has phenomenal fuel economy, it will be hard to go back to some crap fuel economy. That said, I don't want to go the price range of a hybrid. I actually want to stay as cheap as possible if i am buying a new car. One of the properties I manage is an 80 mile round trip that I have to visit at least twice a week. I am not looking for luxury or even sport, just the cheapest cost of ownership/fuel economy/reliability mix with the majority focus on overall lowest cost of ownership. In Florida Diesel is always about 10%-15% more expensive than gas, so that is a factor. A gas car within ~15% efficiency of my TDI would be nice. Any suggestions? I am not vain, I will drive just about anything that is cheap, can accelerate within reason and will fit my 6'4 / 240lb body.
Typically, if fuel efficiency is important, smaller is better. I like the KIA Rio. Might even get one myself. Although you might wanna hurry up and get one while South Korea still exists.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov is always a good page to check out. It has the Gov fuel ratings. It, also, has a section where people report their actual MPG. Don't forget application. If you're driving mostly highway your selection is probably better with a diesel. If you're driving mostly city your selection is probably better with a hybrid. Maybe you simply go for a newer VW Diesel? Too bad the turbo is so weak in that car. I've had Ford and Subaru turbos. While other things have failed it was never the turbo. As a 6'4" do you need leg room or head room? My wife and I are both 6'. Her inseam is 35" mine is 32" - so what cars fit best are sometimes interesting. Add a sun roof and it tends to hit my head. For leg room the Prius, Focus, and Mazda3 are all close to 42".
re: Turbos: I've heard from many turbo owners that after a long drive on the highway, it's good to let your engine idle for a bit before shutting off the car. This allows the oil to cool the turbo for a bit. Shutting off a hard driven car is likely to generate lots of heat that will eventually wear down a turbo. That's why some people install turbo timers along with their alarm system. Plus you live in Florida, which only adds to the problem. The other option might be to upgrade to a bigger ceramic turbo. Bigger is better in terms of performance and longevity and the ceramic coating greatly reduces heat transfer. But it may take longer to spool up and you'll notice the lag more. There must be an upgrade path for that thing, I'd look into that first.
Yeah... I think lowest cost of ownership is the way to look at it. Personally, when purchasing a car, I optimize for lower initial cost and lower maintenance costs. Fuel economy really doesn't make that big a difference to TCO. Figure over a 20,000 mile run, a car that gets only 25mpg but has no breakdowns will still be cheaper than a car that gets 35mpg but eats $1,000 in parts/labor/downtime rental. And that's not even counting initial cost or depreciation. If you go with a reliable late model used car, that $8,000-10,000 you save up front buys a awful lot of fuel. Even under the best conditions, a hybrid is very unlikely to pay for itself during it's lifetime, compared to that.
That went, errr, well... I probably need my head examined but I am happy with my purchase. I went to the local Toyota/Scion dealer to check out the 2013 Scion IQ. No way I could be comfortable in that, not enough leg room. Next I went over to the hybrids to check them out and my son points out a sweet 2010 Dodge Challenger RT that is nothing like what I intended to go out and look at. What is one to do? I bought it... Eeer, not exactly what I was looking for but it will be a fun ride...
Your son must really love you now! The most I got from car shopping with my dad was picking the color, still got stuck with a Ford tempo. Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
If gas jumps to $10/gal in the near future I may win an idiot of the year award Go shale oil, go fracking! But seriously, it is rated at 23MPG highway which is really quite a feat considering the horsepower it has. My kids certainly like the car. It has more looks and personality than the old Golf...
It's 23MPG if you drive that 4000lbs, 375hp beast like a civilized human being would. Good luck with that.
Nice purchase! Having a high powered daily driver myself you find it hard to drive "normally", on a good week I can get the fuel usage down to around 14L/100km (~16MPG), however I have seen it hover around 20L/100km (~11MPG) on one particularily bad week. Bare in mind all of these figures are based on combined consumption, a week in the countryside will bring the averages down to 10L/100KM, pure city driving you can forget the whole concept of fuel "economy". Enjoy your new ride!
Meh. I don't think you have much to worry about, there. If gas goes much past $4/gal, the economy collapses, and gas prices drop back down, anyhow. It's sort of self-regulating, at this point. It's a nice looking car, though. I dunno... I usually get better than posted economy from my SVT Cobra in normal driving. Of course, as you say a weekend out on some twisty roads, and all bets are off. But for a freeway commute, roll down the windows, drop it in 5th gear (or 6th, if you have a 6 speed), and enjoy some great sounds on a nice leisurely stroll down the freeway at 75mph and only 2000 rpm. If I drove it crazy enough to get 11mpg, I'd get arrested pretty quickly, and I don't have a get out of jail free card, anymore.
I hope you are right. The market for gasoline has seemed to do some self regulating to a point. I hope that continues while I own a guzzler. That is good to hear as I continuously do a bunch of highway miles for my day job. The problem with my highway miles is it rarely is possible to put on cruise control. Next time I visit my parents in Crystal River, FL I'll put on cruise control and behave to see what I can get. If I get 23MPG I will be pleased. My wife's Expedition is a horror-show that never gets over 11MPG no matter what. It is rarely driven except for short commutes.
Yeah, those big SUVs turn in some eye-wateringly bad numbers. They have all the aerodynamics of a concrete block. My Cobra routinely gets better mileage than my (small, as SUVs go) S10 Blazer got, and the Blazer had over 100 less horsepower and 2 less cylinders. The better aerodynamics of a car and the overdrive gearing to keep the RPMs low really gives performance cars pretty good highway mileage. (Provided you have the restraint to leave them in the highest gear, which isn't too hard, as you'll still have more torque than the average car on the road, even without downshifting.)
My 99 Cobra had a 4.6L V8 w/ 320+ HP. The best MPG I got was around 26MPG. Daily driving it was 21-22MPG. Ford is doing some seemingly good thing with it's Mustang. The current V6 Mustang has 300HP and makes better than 31MPG. With the upgraded Mustang GT handling package the V6 is a good ride. The GT makes 420HP and gets 26MPG. Though the Cobra w/660HP and 24MPG is really a surprise. Though I was reading an article that pushed the Cobra hard and they got 13MPG. It's got a turbo so Red might want to stay away from that engine. The Mustang's with a straight rear end handles better than the Chevy Camaro with independent suspension. It will be interesting to see the 2015 Mustang. Rumors are independent suspension and a diet. It's also being sold in Europe for the first time. Along with the 2.5L Turbo, 300HP power plant. I think Ford's smart enough that this won't be a 'ricer' and will continue it's pony roots.
That's too bad, you almost had me excited. I think I still prefer the Hyundai Genesis 3.8 GT. The only Ford I'd consider paying good hard cash for is this one: Better than any Viper to Vette I've ever seen. Hard to believe this car was discontinued.
Btw Red, I just wanna say that I hate you for being able to drive year round with summer timers. I HATE YOU! Sorry, just had to get that out of the way.
