At 7-10 years, the high voltage battery pack will still be covered under warranty.

 

48mpg is not 60mpg. Thats a 20% difference.

I also doubt the 09 will be more uel efficient. Why is there no TDI available now? Because it doesnt meet emissions regs. The next gen will have all of those wonderful emissions controls on it that affect efficiency.

I predict 50mpg tops on the 09 VWs

 

without trying to be too negative, I'd like to know exactly how he calculates out 47mpg on a Focus auto.

 

Hyundai definitely makes some nice cars, and cheaper than buying a Japanese car.

 

I never said 60, I said 50mpg for the old Jetta. The 2009 model has not been tested by the EPA yet. Looks like 40/60mpg cityy/highway are the targets. That's with 236ft-lbs of torque availible. That will beat every hybrid highway fuel economy with more power, and the target is under $20k for the base model.

You are forgetting the rest of the world has 80+mpg diesels availbile, although that do not meet US 2010 emmision regs.

 

Buy a dumptruck.

 

That is all and great, but last I checked diesel was well over $4 per gallon, gas is toying with $3.50/gallon. So which would be cheaper to operate?

If you take out safety and emmisions regs (or drastically reduce them like in Europe) a gas burner getting high milage is possible as well. My brother's 1968 VW Beetle gets 45mpg with a points distributer and a single barrel carburator on a 1.6L engine, think what it could get with halfway modern fuel injection.

 

My girlfriend has the new 2008 Focus coupe and I was driving it on the highway the other day @ 60-65mph and it was getting 38mpg. Why do you guys shoot down the focus soo much. I think that the new focus looks good.

 

I like the look of the new focus, but wish they would offer it in a 5-door hatchback model.

 

A diesel Jetta. Let's eee, 37mph highway rated Civic vs. 60mpg Jetta diesel. 62% better fuel economy for 15% more fuel cost. Actually, it will use about 39% less fuel as fuel economy is the inverse of fuel consumtion, at least in the US.

How useful is that information? OP wants a newer vehicle with good safety ratings. I also infer he wants decent performance. What does a 1968 Beetle look like after an accident? Does it even go 80mph?


New Focus is fine, but 47mpg is 35% better than the EPA rating for the manual and 42% better tha nthe auto. I doubt that is correct.

 

I totally agree that you do not want a hybrid if the majority of your driving is at 70-75 mph. Hybrids are city cars. You also would be running out of battery warranty well before the 7 to 10 year mark, there's a mileage issue too.

There are a lot of decent 4 banger high economy small 4 door automatic sedans out there. The problem with buying one used is with gas prices the way they are, there are only so many of them out there for sale and the competition will be tough, driving up the prices. If you do find a good deal on one that's only a year or two old, the chances are something is wrong with it, if it's a good car, it probably would not be for sale. I'd look at buying new. I'd probably look real hard at a Hyundai - the price is decent, the quality has improved immensely in the past few years, and the warranty is one of the industry's best. Chrysler also has an excellent warranty, but the cars are turds.

 

Hybrids get what 50ish? Crunch those #'s and see how paying at least a more per gallon works out.

European cars that get 80mpg don't pass US safety or emissions regs either, so why were they brought up? I sure as heck wouldn't put my family in one either. At least my off topic vehicle is readily available in the states.

He actually hit a school bus right after he got the bug, welded a new 18" section on the nose, new fenders, hood, spare tire (what took most of the impact) and bumper and is on the road again. Bus got a new hood, spindle and bodywork on the side, $7800 damage to the bus, $2k for the bug. It can get a second gear scratch, and he has had it up to 90 before. Fun little car to rip around in, if it was just myself it would make a great DD around town, but probably not so great for a family.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I have also heard some nasty rumors about VW's and reliability. I haven't heard too much negativity on the civics so that's still on the table.

Anyone know if Ford has any plans to produce a better MPG car. Maybe the ECOBOOST will do it.

I have a great FORD dealer in town so that is also a consideraton. But not for 15+ MPG.

 

OH yea thanks. That solves my problem./

Screw50 will you give me the loan?

 

50MPG-60Mpg cars are great, but they are also raising the prices. Consumption is down but yet the prices keep rising.