you have done the math about how much gas you can buy for $8000.00

as much as DD sounds good if i am going to spend 2 hours a day driving, i want to be comfortable and as safe as possible.

at the end of the day my truck is...a truck, i bought it to drive and in 6 years i will get another.

how many miles on your 02, trade in and $85 might get you a newer f150 with maybe the 3v 4.6 or a 5.0. both get better mpg than the 5.4

my 6.2 get about the same mpg as my 01 5.4 did.

 

I gave $1500 for my 99' s10. 4 cyl 5 speed gets 25-27 MPG.

 

Around 274,000 miles on my F-150. I would get more out of it by keeping it rather than trading it in. That's why this route makes sense to me.
And I do spend 2 hours a day driving to and from work.

 

Go with the WRX ...

I picked up an '02 about 6 months ago ... Absolutely the most fun car I've ever driven!! 27 mpg, but more important are the "smiles per gallon", LOL!

Another solution you might consider is to somehow get your work and home closer together.

But the WRX is just so much fun ...

 

I solved my daily 100 mile round trip commute a year and a half ago...I retired!!

 

Toyota Camry, Crown Vic, Grand Marquis,Ranger,S10,toyota pickup,focus,escape.. Those should all give pretty good fuel mileage.

 

I absolutely HATE all Japanese cars because I'm just an "American vehicle guy." But even I recommend a Honda Civic. Any year is good and they're cheap, bulletproof little cars. 35mpg vs. 14 or so in your truck makes a big difference. Assuming you're driving 375 miles per week, you're looking at $200-300 a month just in gas savings. A little $10,000 car can, essentially, pay for its own payment. That seems pretty appealing to me. Civics also have a HUGE aftermarket, since that seems to be something you'd be looking to take advantage of.

I like Jetta TDIs too. The mileage they get is stupid good. But, like others have stated, German maintenance ain't cheap. Diesels have high maintenance, that is well worth it, but tuning/modifying them for power will only lead to expensive problems.

If you get a baby truck, the Tacomas and Canyon/Colorados are the only ones I'd suggest. Tacomas are very expensive, though they are very reliable. Rangers are complete POS's and get crappy gas mileage. Frontiers I don't like because I don't care for Nissan, but that's just me. The straight 5 in the Colorado can get 22+ mpg highway and is pretty damn fast for what it is with 242 HP stock. I raced one of my coworker's from a dead stop up to about 70 mph and didn't beat him by much. My '06 5.4 2wd screw (gotts mod, long tubes, 87 tune) vs 2011 2wd crewcab 3.7 I5 with intake and 93 tune. Colorados got updated with new motors in '07.

I work at a dealership (not a salesman, don't worry!) with 2,000 used cars and have driven just about every (common production) car made in the last 10 years. So if you have questions about a car, ask and I'll give my input. I'll also talk with coworkers that are more knowledgable or have more experience with a particular vehicle.

I agree that WRXs are fun little cars! I didn't know they were that good on gas though. Subarus are quirky little cars, but I like that.

 

As much as it kills me to say this, it seems like a focus is the hot ticket. You should be able to get an 08-10 for less than 10k. And they are by no means fast, but will accelerate easily enough from 55 to 70 to get around a few people.

I drove my focus for two years with a 60 mile round trip, 7 days a week, sometimes multiple times a day. Averaged 33 overall, 36-37 on the highway. It was an 11 ses.

 

I totally disagree with this.. Have owned 3 rangers from a 94 Ranger with the 2.3 4 cylinder 5 speed.. Never went to the shop one time in 125000 miles.. Great gas mileage (25 mpg)

97 Ranger with the 4.0v6 automatic, no problems in 75000 miles but not so good mpgs (19 at best)

01 Ranger 3.0 92,000 miles no problems what so ever decent mpg's

Buddy owns a tire test shop and other than f150's the ranger is the only pickup they use.. Have personally seen over 20 rangers with atleast 800k on original engine and a couple trannys.

In my opinion the ranger cant be beat if your looking for a compact pick em up truck.

Just asked him to send me a pic of the odometer on the older ranger they have

The odometer has rolled over one time on this 01 ranger.. 1.4 million miles.. Original engine made it to 875k

 

Rangers are good vehicles from a purpose stand point, from A to B as a runabout or service vehicle. But the interior is built like sh*t, and if I'm complaining about an interior, it's horrible. They're very cramped too. The V6's can't get out of their own way, don't even want to know how the 4 bangers are. They shake at highway speeds and I'm not comfortable being in one over 70 mph. Maybe all the ones I've been in and driven weren't in the greatest shape, but 2 very good friends own extended cab ones with the V6 and both get under 14 mpg (though mostly city miles) ('04 and '07;~40k and ~130k) and I've driven plenty at work. Every one has given me similar experiences. Dad's from the 90s was always having problems. Worst fit and finish on a Ford product I've seen. Even the last gasp '09s have analog odometers because Ford never bothered to update them in any way.

I don't know how any gas burning motor got 875k miles on it, but that's badass haha. If I had examples like you, I'm sure I'd have strong support for them. Those are some of the greatest pieces of supporting evidence I've seen. I still don't care for them at all though.

 

Stick with ford and go with either a Focus or Fusion. Both have good reviews and are highly recommended.

 

A ford 500 gets awd and 28-30 mpg and might i say most comfy.

 

I would honestly choose a used focus or fusion also.

My gfs focus averages about 34 mpgs with the 2.0 duratec. My only complaint is road noise. Its kinda loud, but I'm used to the road noise because of my exhaust on my truck..

My friends fusion averages, i think, about 28 mpgs or so with the 4 banger. Its pretty comfy and less road noise..

 

I bought a new 2013 Honda Civic EX for my daily driver to work and back. I love it! Cheap on gas! Cost about $45 a week to fill it and I can go about 650km to a tank. Plus its comfy and fun to drive. My wife drives the truck to her work which is ten minutes away from my house.

 

Subaru's' are great cars to have. My wife drives one and loves it. She drives a 13 forester Premium model and loves it. She drives about 30 miles each way to work, the average she gets is about 27 miles to the gallon, in stop and go traffic in and out of the capital beltway. Hell my Dodge Charger (Hemi) gets better gas mileage than my 13 f150 at 23 mpg.