anyone dump their suv for an econo box?

B

Backwoods_VT

Joined
Mar 27, 2006
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142
I have 2 suvs and both get around 13 mpg city. with gas prices creeping back up im thinking about geting an econo box. While a little 4 cyl 4 door car is soooo not me, its pretty cool being able to get 30 mpg highway. Has anyone done this, and if so are you sorry you did. p.s does the whole 100 hp thing get old after a while?
 
In 2003 we bought a Honda Element and have loved the car. It gets about 22-25mpg, but has a ton of room inside. The floor plan is such that the rear seats can be folded up agaist the sides of the car, or removed in about 30 seconds each. It's comfortable on a long trip, ( Washington D.C. to Atlanta GA.) has room for the other half and I to have airmattress and sleeping bags on the floor in back. Can also haul our kayaks, or mountain bikes, or items of furnature. Came with a great sterio.

My son bought one of those Toyota Scion box on wheels thing. Lots of room in that one too, and he gets 30mpg or better.

We lover our boxes.:D
 
Why limit yourself to an econobox? I had a Chevy Suburban and got 13 mpg in the city, too. It had over 170,000 miles and the engine was heading south fast, so I bought a 2002 Nissan Maxima SE. It's got a 3.5L 6-cylinder engine with 255 HP, handles and rides well, looks great, and gets 22-23 mpg in the city. It's probably close to 30 mpg on the highway. And it's MUCH more fun to drive than any econobox. :D

Here's a pic of the car.
 
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While a little 4 cyl 4 door car is soooo not me, its pretty cool being able to get 30 mpg highway.
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It's a fallacy that you must buy a crappy, ugly, gutless, economy car to get that sort of mileage. My '95 Lincoln Mark VIII (280HP V8) gets 28-32 mpg highway and my Honda S2000 (240HP, redlines at 9,000 rpm) gets about 30 mpg highway (only checked mileage on one short trip so far).

Haven't checked Wife's Lexus RX (ie "family wagon") yet, but I'm confident that it's significantly better than 13.

Toyota Avalon is supposed to get over 30, I'd expect around 30 with a Lincoln LS, and any of the Lexus sedans do well too. Miata is supposed to get great mileage, and talk about fun!!

Have you considered a motorcycle? My Volusia gets 35-45mpg even running hard, and Wife's Vulcan 500 gets around 50mpg. Many other cruisers do better than the Volusia (most cruisers are in the 30-50mpg range), sportbikes and touring bikes do better than that, and there are scooters on the market that get nearly 100mpg.

I'm sure you'll find something better that what you're thinking of.
Best Wishes,
-Bob
 
By the end of this year Toyota Yaris (hatchback) will arive at these shores. Without carrying the hybrid car penalty of $8K for new batteries after 100K miles, it still gets around 35 mpg in the city and around 40 mpg on the highway. Enough room for two people with sizeable luggage. Decent ride, too.

In a similar vein, Honda Fit (wagon) will be showing up around here as well. The hatchbacks and small wagons are coming back.

I like big cars (I've always adored the pre-1998 Licoln Town Car and any-year Ford Expedition), but I cannot bring myself to stuff my money by bucketfulls into the pockets of terrorists.

Perhaps if we finally elect someone with cojones who can promote exploration of local resources and building of nuclear power plants instead of holding hands with Middle Eastern dictators, I will reconsider. Until then, I will grin and drive small cars.
 
Why buy an econo-box? My '05 Impala (3.8L) V6 gets 20mpg around town and I just got 31 on a trip to NYC this weekend with 3 adults, luggage and AC on part of the way. My son has a Vibe (Toyota Matrix) and doesn't do a heck of a lot better (maybe a few mpg better).
 
I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee completely built on 35"s. I got about 11-15 mpg with that beast. it went to the shop and for the time it ws in the shop I drove our miata. I realized I filled just about as often as was a little disturbed until I remeber that the gas tank is litereally less than half the Jeeps tank. The miata is also built with a turbo and race suspension so its mileage is not as good as a stocker. I now drive a Tundra and get ~17.
 
ronsec said:
Why buy an econo-box? My '05 Impala (3.8L) V6 gets 20mpg around town
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Let me answer that. While I like the Impala, I drive mostly around town (and in serious traffic in SF Bay Area). 20 mpg vs. 35 mpg in the Yaris is a big difference. We're talking almost twice. Now, for one person/family the difference may not be critical in terms of the amount of money spent, but there are other reasons for not buying any more gas than absolutely necessary. Read my previous post.

However, I am certainly no anti-big car activist. I just believe that parking the monsters in the garage Monday-Friday and driving small cars in everyday commute traffic could make a major difference in the overall fuel demand.
 
beefangusbeef said:
Yeah I bought a jeep liberty CRD. It's great and has more torque than some 8 cylinders.
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This sound like the Jeep for me. :thumbup: Better mileage plus I could make my own bio diesel! Wooohooo! :D

I read that it gets better mileage than the lexus, toyota and ford hybrid.
 
Ehhh, err I think the ford hybrid still edges it out, but even so with a hybrid you still have to rely on oil. You can't easily tow 5000 pounds with a ford escape and it's not turbocharged. Bio diesel is the stuff!
 
Still have my ML320. But I did buy a Scion Xa back in 2004. Doesn't factor in all that much, as my 3 season commuter is still my BMW motorcycle. 50mpg, access to HOV lanes, and half price EZ-Pass.
 
Personally I have never seen the need for 8 cylinders or anything over 2000cc and I have drove over 800 miles a day in the UK sometimes, but obviously some people do.

A wonderful car to drive distance in is an Opel Vectra. I dont know about the new ones but the one I used to drive would do 100mph @ 2400 RPM. The gearing was fantastic and unless you live in the Himalayas you would get great MPG's from it.
 
I have a 01 Chevy Blazer and get about 17-19 around town and 20-23 hwy.
even after every mod and tip to save fuel it still isnt enough...

Dont see getting another vehicle to save a little would help....maybe cheaper gas might be the answer ?? someones getting fat on my money-:grumpy:
 
Well, I know that I wish my wife hadn't gotten rid of her Altima (25-27 mpg) and traded it for a Honda Pilot (20mpg) just as her commute lengthened and gas prices shot up!

I have an 02 Ford Ranger FX4 with a 4.0 liter six in it. It has certainly adequate power, but only gets 17-19 mpg. I don't think it would be "cheaper" to buy an economy car and park the truck; I don't need two vehicles and I don't really want to get rid of my truck and I'm probably upside down on it anyways:grumpy:

I do wish I still had my 1995 Geo Prizm with the five speed. Best car I've ever owned. Okay pep, handled nice and got at least 35 mpg on a bad day!

I don't understand why some small cars don't get better mileage. My secretary has an 06 Ford Focus wagon with an automatic and she only gets about 22-23 mpg with it.
 
I have an '05 Chevy Silverado crew cab and a small Chevy Optra5. The Optra is our little beep-beep with far better fuel economy for around-town driving and I have taken three kayaks on its roof. That said, there's no way I'd ever really say I enjoy driving it more than the truck, even with fuel prices. As terrible as it sounds, I figure I might as well drive what I like while I still can. I know I'm making a luxury out of a neccessity with the truck, but you know what? I only have to justify it to myself. As long as I can swing it, I'll be driving what I want, and right now it's a truck.
 
Just sold my Chevrolet Blazer and going for the compact, better gas mileage deal too. I hated to see it go but at 2.66 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline I get better mileage out of my Chevy S-10 truck, the Blazer was not a full size SUV but you could put 10.00 worth of gas in it and steadily watch the gas needle go down, darn good ride though. Looking for a user friendly car! Crap.:eek:
 
Its amusing to read about you guys talking about an economy car being one that manages 30 mpg and is larger and more gas hungry that my 'extravagant' ford mondeo!!.

That would be verging on a gas guzzler here in the UK! an economy car here is something like a Ford Ka (~ 40 - 50 mpg), VW Lupo (~60 mpg) or a smart car

:D
 
bladefixation2 said:
Its amusing to read about you guys talking about an economy car being one that manages 30 mpg and is larger and more gas hungry that my 'extravagant' ford mondeo!!.

That would be verging on a gas guzzler here in the UK! an economy car here is something like a Ford Ka (~ 40 - 50 mpg), VW Lupo (~60 mpg) or a smart car

:D
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Its equally amusing over here to hear you referring to those vehicles as "cars" :D
 
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