How about a Saturn?

[kickflipjr]

You want to avoid 91 to 93? Sx1 because they have throttle body injection. Any Sx1 from 94 on (I don't know the year for sure) would be your best bet.

I have owned 3 saturns I love them because you can buy them cheap and they get decent mpg. I have had problems with the exhaust heat shields coming loose and making annoying rattle sounds on 2 of the cars. There is slightly better handling on the Sx2 because of wider tires and the rear sway bar. Also, a noticeable acceleration increase on the twin cam because of the hp and gearing (both bad for mpg).

[cfg83]

trebuchet03 -

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

I wasn't aware of the good/bad chains... My '93 had the holes originally -- the replacement was solid

I don't know that this is *the* fix, it's just the obvious difference, so it makes sense.

CarloSW2

[DrivenByNothing]

I just filled up after doing 140 miles of city driving. 4 gallons went in. This was after a week or so of driving spiritedly and most of the time the a/c was on. 35 mpg city is pretty impressive.

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

My first car was an SW2 ('93 DOHC). I loved it. We threw all sorts of bad karma, crap etc. at it - and it just wouldn't die.

Really? My brother had a '96 SL1 and it was toast at 85k. A lot of it started when the radio got stolen (somehow this messed up a whole lot of electronics), but the motor started going downhill and the repairs totalled it out. Needless to say, we're not too hot on Saturns anymore. Always got great gas mileage though.