I currently own a lifted jeep wrangler and the MINI. None of my friends want to take the MINI on road trips because its to "small" for four people. The Wrangler would work, but it gets less than 15mpg. So, due to lack of time to wheel, I think I am going to sell the Jeep when the weather starts to warm again. The question I have is, what should i look at that I can fit 4 people in comfortably for a few hours, gets at least 30 mpg and is less than 3000. I know picky. So far I have come up with Saturn and thats about it. Anyone else have any experience with other cars that are reliable?

 

see if you can find a 1989 toyota corolla wagon.

old protege's seem to work decently and very cheap.

 

I did look at the corolla. Havent driven one yet.

Protege's are okay, my gf has one.

 

What's the reason your friend's aren't driving??? MINI's are WAY too uncomfortable for 4 adults for any longer than a 10 minute test drive!There are ALOT of reliable cars out there.... my Ford Taurus is reliable & boring as.....!*$#@!!!

 

My GF lets us drive her car alot, but she isnt as good about keeping it cleaned out so we can all hop in it. The other friend that we frequently travels with me, outside the family, drives a saturn coupe, thats worse than the MINI.

 

scurvz- you're looking at a $3k car. wat's with this pickyness? just get
one that works.

i think the protege's are a better choice than corolla's.. at least they
are fun (well, sort of....well, not really) vs a BORING Corolla.

in japanese boro means pos. I call corolla's Borolla's. hahaha.
sorry to those corolla fans. i truely hate your car.

 

I am picky because I will be spending lots of time driving to and from work...as well as on the weekend. I am trying to stay cheep so I can end up with money in my pocket for the MINI and hopefully a larger house down payment.

Staying away from corollas. I have also thought about Subaru's.

 

you are a smart man, scurvz!

subaru's are fun too... and they seem to last a long time as long as
you dont get the WRX's with the 5sp gearbox that kids often times
dump their clutch on. ImprezaRS or Legacy might be a better choice
if subaru, but the mpg is not that great. i can barely get 23mpg in
city, barely 30mpg hwy and this is a non-turbo 2.5L.

 

I try. The "smart" part is what got me thinking its time to sell the jeep. There are track days, MOTD, graduation and MINI meet east in three months time that means I would not have time to wheel until July! and thats if i can find someone to go with. Big if.

Yeah, I am worried about the MPG as I said. The new job could mean an hour commute each way until I find some land out in the area. if i can get 30 on the high way i wouldn't be all that disappointed, thats better than i get in the mini.

 

if you want true mpg, i think Civics are the way to go. even the
older ones got great milage.

i can get over 35mpg easily on my 06'. i fill up maybe once every 3 weeks
in the winter, and once a month during the non-cold months. b <= thumbsup

 

I had a Ford escort for work several years ago, never had a problem with it!!

 

As far as the friends are concerned I would tell them to bite me, or, better yet, ask them why they don't drive if they're that uncomfortable in my car. A MINI with the cruise control will get you good mpgs on a highway jaunt for your commute. And for those times when your 'friends' don't wanna drive, clean out your ol' lady's car. It's better than spending $3k on a car you really don't want or need.

My .16 bit.

 

The civic and Saturn wagon appear to be in the running. I am going to drive a saturn this weekend for kicks. A few friends have them and just love the MPG and reliablity. Unfortunatly they live no where near me.

 

Well, I got my GF to use QD on her car and I taught her how to use the PC. I was very happy when she started washing and taking car of her car. One step at a time.

 

Nothing wrong with a Crayola. Boring appliance, well yes, but dead nuts reliable. Saturn.....what you been smokin in that cigar??

 

Only the good stuff.

I was going to talk to you about the scubby. Hows the MPG? I know you had an older one.

 

Carburated BMW (Early 80s; E21) Decent (20s) on the MPG plenty of room, good snow driver, fun driver and pretty durable, easy to fix with basic tools (no computers at all to mess with) laxed emissions standards (amongst other things) and you can find a good one for 2k-4k but it'll have some miles on it.

 

Best mileage I've ever gotten out of Old Scooby has been 28 mpg. The new one is lucky to get 21 in town & 24 on the road. Your mileage may vary.

 

Thats an interesting option. I wonder about back seat room. I am not sure how high the milage would be, a quick search this morning showed some newer 3 series with 120xxx in the price range.

Results may vary. I have driven with you, we have similar throttle usage. Especially when being chased by scary ford pickups.
That is also the same MPG i got out of my sisters outback sport.

 

HMMM. Last time I checked, a Protege WAS a Corolla. Same car dude!

Why not just keep the jeep? Good for the winter.

Whats the big deal on driving anyway? All it means is that you dont have to drive ... Let them drive.

We once had two 2-seaters ... made life real easy. Wanna go out to lunch? Whose driving?

And for Ken ... dude ... WE have had two Corollas ... 93 and 2000. BOTH which never saw the inside of a dealer ... ever. If you wanna talk POS ... think TERCEL ... stripped, no radio, no carpet (plastic).

 

The Jeep is good for the winter, but its also good for the gas station. Just to drive to and from work I am looking at 9 dollars or more. With another car i could cut that in half. Over a week thats a good chunk of change. Also, every time I take it out it cost me about 200 dollars, or so it seems. I doubt I would be looking at selling it if it wasnt always needing work.

Also, the winter this year has been easy, so I am not worried about snow. If winter ever shows up, I may change my tone.

 

nono, you're thinking Geo Prizm.

my bro back in the 80's had the 89' and it was not up to par with my
90' civic as far as being a car. then my wife got that 03' (used, she
paid cash) and it was no where close to par with my 04' or my 06' civic.
corolla is not a car. that thing is like you're driving while standing.
most dash control is out of place, too far of a reach. the pedal is too
close to the seat where as the steering wheel is quite a reach and
facing upwards kinda like a bus. The cloth they use on the seats is
not high quality. Only thing that looked high quality was the wood
trim (hers was a LE). ofcourse fit and finish was also high quality...but
so are Civic's. finally, you get better milage on a Civic in real world.

that's the thing about Corolla's. it's not a driver's car. it's just a reliable
means of transportation... and for most people it works great, but for
car guys that's not going to cut it even if it was just a means of
transportation.

now the new IS500 is kind nice.... 5LV8 0-60mph under 5sec.

 

Well that kinda blows the budget don't you think?

 

yah, probably around $70k.

 

so your gonig to give me the rest arent you?