I drive a Honda Civic, which I bought new in 2001. It has 150,000 miles on it now and has never had any work done on it other then routine maintenance. I think the biggest things I've had done are a new timing belt (at about 80000 mines - old one didn't break, I did it because my son recommended it) and new brakes.

I love my Civic and expect to get at least 300,000 miles out of it. I have lived in Minnesota and Michigan since buying the Civic and the biggest problem with it is that it doesn't put out much heat on the floor during cold weather, that it slides around a bit when there is a slushy/snow build up of say 6 inches or more on the road, and that it sits low to the ground (you're going to high center more easily and hit more curbs with the front bummer than with a lot of other cars).

We bought the Nisson Versa four months ago, the upgraded version, love - love - love it. It is comparable to the Honda Fit, but we found that we liked the Versa better and got a much better deal on it.

I've driven both the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa (BF has the Fit, DB has the Versa) and they are both nice and very economical. Either would be great.

Barbara

Hi Sam
My car isn't an economy car, but the ol' taurus gets 24 in town and 30 on the freeway. lol

A friend has a Chevy Malibu and gets 33 (I'm pretty sure) on the freeway.. don't know about town, and another friend bought the honda civic, better price than their other little car and gets better mileage and a little more room .
think she gets around 25 or a little more in town and 36 or a little more on the freeway.

They both REALLY like their cars. My sis in law has a scion, the boxy one, and my DS's Girlfriend has the scion sporty one and the do okay, but not anybetter on the freeway than mine. A little better around town. One of my bros has the honda element and doesn't get as good of gas mileage as I do.

My friend, Laura, purchased a Prius, that she LOVEs. And gets VERY good mileage around town... and freeway, not as good as advertised, but VERY VERY good. Just have to figure if the diff. in price is worth it. I know if the battery goes bad it is expensive to replace... plus, how do you get rid of the old one? I assume that the repair place takes them in, but how much would that cost you?

Through the years I've discovered that when asking owners about cars, 50% hate the make and would never buy it again, and 50% have no problems and would buy again! lol

good luck!

I don't know if it is considered small, but I bought a Honda Certified '05 Honda Civic EX in November '07. I previously had a Honda Civic that I drove for 21 years.

I loved the old one and also love this one. I don't drive much now, but I wanted something comfortable and easy to handle. I don't remember the stats on expected mpg, etc. because that wasn't my priority.

{{!gwi}}

Sue

I love these Honda stories!!!

I currently drive a little Honda hatchback we bought new in 87. I won't take it on the freeway or any where further than about a five mile radius which is where I stick to in my every day driving, but besides regular maintence (religious about that) we have replaced only the air conditioner and the clutch.

It was always driven with care, but it did go clear across this continent twice in it's life. If it can last two more years, it will be retired to the big Honda Heaven in the sky and I will get another Honda Fit or Nisson Versa (upgraded versions) for my personal use. My husband uses the Versa we have for a 48 mile round trip to his work (loves it) and we have a big truck for our camping trips which we use only once a week - I won't drive the truck.

I'm wanting a little something in a deep, deep red. Maybe with a moonroof :)

We absolutely adore our mini cooper! The only advice I can offer is that you have a larger, normal sized car for errands that require more room.

of course, my 1983 Toyota Tercel 4 WD station wagon got 40+ mpg's on the freeway and 30+ around town.. back in 1983 ! and when I sold it 18 years later, it was still getting 30+ on the freeway and 26 around town!

Honda or Toyota - the only way to go. Great mileage, very little maintenance, they last forever and still look great.

Bought my '88 Mazda 323 upwards of 2 years ago: with 1.6 litre engine it sips gas. Standard tranny helps, as well, as they're easier on gas than automatics ... plus, when I see a signal light go yellow, 3/4 of a block away, I push in clutch and turn off ignition, turning on ignition and letting out clutch just before I arrive at the stopped cars ahead ... and, if I'm lucky, the light has turned green and they're moving by the time that I get there ... starting a car that's not moving takes more gas.

I often coast down hills, too ... unless I'm interfering with the travel of cars around me. Several years ago, travelling a road daily, often with little traffic, I found that I could coast up to 16.6 km. of the full 20 ... but it wasn't efficient use of gas, as I'd usually restart in 3rd gear, rather than 5th, and push the throttle hard when going uphill ... which is hard on gas. Have you ever managed to coast 80% of your travel mileage?

I claimed over on "Money Saving Tips" that I thought that I must be getting up near 100 miles per gallon ... but some disputed that claim.

You get the quality that people hear about related to the Toys and the Hons ... but at a much lower price, used, due to lack of the high profile of the other two.

Mazda has a certain rep. for performance, and a number of car buffs like it for that.

My little 323 got clobbered within a year of my purchasing it ... and I paid more to fix it than I paid in the first place, but I figured that to be my contribution to reducing global warming and pollution, plus the amount of precious energy needed to build the portion of a new car that I might retain after fixing this one.

Prior to the Mazda, and after my little red 1.5 litre, standard tranny Colt that I had for several years, I had a '93 Taurus wagon (automatic), and was surprised at the low level of fuel consumption that it provided.

Another that you might consider is a Nissan - some claim that, due to somewhat lower reputation than the two Japanese majors, prices asked for used ones are lower.

Good wishes for finding one that meets our needs and that you can manage, with good maintenance, to keep running for many years, Sam Karen.

ole joyful

I have a Ford Focus which hasn't given me any trouble but I've only had it 1.5 years and just over 20K miles so I wouldn't expect to. Still too soon to judge it long term.

I LOVED my Nissan Sentra. I had it 11 years and put 178K miles on it. Had the starter go twice (or maybe it was just something similar that happened the second time) but no other major repairs were ever needed. I did have an accident a few years after I bought it and I had the very front end rebuilt. It had a chain not a belt so that never needed any attention. They're supposed to last the life of the car. I really wanted another Nissan but I got a better deal on the Focus.

Right now we own a 1997 Honda Civic and 2003 Toyota Canry. Love them both-get good gas mileage, built to last, didn't rust and rot like prior US-made cars we've owned.

I drive a 05 Toyota Matrix and love it. Gets 36 mpg highway. We got it because of the gas miliage for trips to St. Louis. Bought it used and have had it for 1 1/2 years. No repairs as yet.

love my 08 VW Rabbit- about 30-32 mile per gallon and with a 5-cylinder, it will move nicely on the interstate. Also lots of air bags. Only regret is that we got the 2-door version and I didn't realize they offered heated seats. Will buy another.

We have an '05 Matrix, too. We don't get quite as good as Donner. Usually we get 33-34 on the highway and 30 in town. We need to have air put in the tires--that always seems to help our mileage.

Best thing is, if you have a large purchase (like our Christmas tree), the back seats lay down flat for lots of cargo space.

DH has a VW Jetta diesel. I get 49-51 MPG on the hwy. He doesn't get but 45 b/c he drives FAST. We have really enjoyed it. I thought I wouldn't when he first got it, but I prefer it to my Tahoe. It's loaded--heated seats, GPS, etc. I'd buy another one in a New York minute. Highly recommend it.

Another mini cooper fan here. LOVE that car. Even long distances like OKC to ABQ! :)

Moni

Have and just love our Toyota Scion XB...our little square box on wheels that gets 30+ miles to a gallon around town. Lots of head room, easy to park, nice ride. Plenty of room in the trunk area and back seats fold down for even more room.

OOhhh Kat..another Toyota Tercel lover! My little 1983 silver bullet was the car I had coveted ever since they came out..when we bought it in 2001 it only had 80,000 actual miles on it! Then I got T-boned, and totalled the car. Thankfully, no one was injured (seat-belt bruises and broken thumbnail not counted) but I grieved over that car.

Still a Toyota driver. My 1997 Camry gets over 30 mpg in town, and up to 36 on the freeway. Has to be called a mid-size, but I like it.

I got a Toyota Rave 4 last August. I love it. Love the way it looks, love the way it drives. Love it.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I showed your replies to DH and we are considering the Honda or the Toyota right now. We won't make a decision until after we move in 2 weeks.

Really appreciate your input.

SamKaren
your resident DJ