What new car 08-09 has The Best MPG's

[Mike T]

Originally Posted by *************

The only reason why the smartfortwo got here was due to third party dealers bringing the car over here, doing that to the Honda City would be a lot better idea.

Nope, the new one is strictly a factory effort - official smart gmbh/Penske import. You are referring to the G&K conversions.

Mine gets over 60 US MPG (I've driven it 60,000 miles so far) but then I don't try for fuel economy at all. Wide wheels and tires, convertible, cdi diesel.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by Mike T

Nope, the new one is strictly a factory effort - official smart gmbh/Penske import. You are referring to the G&K conversions.

Mine gets over 60 US MPG (I've driven it 60,000 miles so far) but then I don't try for fuel economy at all. Wide wheels and tires, convertible, cdi diesel.

Ok.. Third parties brought the car over here and then the factory decided it was a good idea to try and sell them themselves here. This same thing happened to the land rover back in the 80s which is the reason why Land Rover sells its vehicles here again. (There was a hiatus) Also again, you have a 2 door vehicle with no room, the Kei car I was talking about has room for 4 people and luggage and running A/C. It's just no comparison. Also by the fact you're posting on this sitem "you're not trying for fuel economy" I'm not going to believe that for a second. You may not be trying your absolute best but you're definitely ahead of most people when it comes to maximizing fuel economy.

[Hoopster]

Look at the 2007-2008 Spectra's and Hyundai Elantra's. The Elantra is so roomy it is classified as a mid size car even though it is a compact. Both cars look way better than the dinky Yaris and Fit. I've been AVERAGING 35mpg in my Elantra with an Automatic.

[Lug_Nut]

Originally Posted by *************

Also by the fact you're posting on this site "you're not trying for fuel economy" I'm not going to believe that for a second. You may not be trying your absolute best but you're definitely ahead of most people when it comes to maximizing fuel economy.

And he's ahead of most without even trying. THAT was his point.

[MorningGaser]

Originally Posted by *************

This is a new car, I read from a lot of people that the yaris starts to lose mileage over time, getting into the low 20s..

This is complete BoolSheet!

My 2007 Yaris has 41,000 miles and the MPG keeps inching higher and higher.

I get 36 city, and 46 highway with A/C off, 65 mph...

[GasSavers_roadrunner]

I would suggest you get a Yaris 5 speed. Mine has 23,000 miles, and I still have not had a problem. Also, great car on gas.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by Lug_Nut

And he's ahead of most without even trying. THAT was his point.

It's not trying for him because he doesn't even think about his driving habits, for everybody else, I can assure you that they'll be lucky if they get EPA rating.

[Mike T]

Thanks for trying to interpret my comments....my point is: I could do a lot better, by pumping my (wide) tires up way past 32 PSI, or even changing them back to skinny wheels and tires the car came with, at 38 PSI, driving a little below the speed limit, etc. I did this during a four month long fuel economy derby our smart club had in 2005 and I averaged 71 US MPG during that time.

I didn't have a ScanGauge back then, nor did I draft, do any EOC or pulse and glide or even approach the tires' sidewall pressure rating. With some of the more extreme techniques I could have done more like 80 US MPG in our regular driving cycle.

What I do now is drive only slightly over the speed limit, anticipate traffic and so forth - not overtly wasting fuel - but I do not avoid putting the convertible top down (there is an obvious aerodynamic penalty) or using A/C or the car's heated seats + other electical consumers, I just drive it normally and have averaged 60.1 US MPG over my car's 62,000 miles. Today's fill was a bit better than that, about 60.5.

As for the supposed comparison with other cars, I have to chuckle.

I really wonder if anyone who needs more luggage space than a smart has would seriously consider buying one. I would think that anyone with at least half a functioning brain would figure their needs out before going out and buying something. If one wants a 4 or 5 seater, one buys one, end of story.

Me? I wanted a two seater full convertible car that was fun to drive, had passive safety features like 4 airbags and pretensioning seatbelts with force limiters, active safety features like ESP/ABS, heated seats, heated electric mirrors, A/C, tons of room for two people, excellent seats, rollbar and got excellent fuel economy. That was four years ago. I got the fortwo cdi.

I have not been disappointed!

I also have a Mercedes B 200 for family occasions, such as our recent trip to California, AZ, NV, UT, ID, OR and WA. It too is pretty OK in the fuel efficiency department.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by Mike T

Thanks for trying to interpret my comments....my point is: I could do a lot better, by pumping my (wide) tires up way past 32 PSI, or even changing them back to skinny wheels and tires the car came with, at 38 PSI, driving a little below the speed limit, etc. I did this during a four month long fuel economy derby our smart club had in 2005 and I averaged 71 US MPG during that time.

I didn't have a ScanGauge back then, nor did I draft, do any EOC or pulse and glide or even approach the tires' sidewall pressure rating. With some of the more extreme techniques I could have done more like 80 US MPG in our regular driving cycle.

What I do now is drive only slightly over the speed limit, anticipate traffic and so forth - not overtly wasting fuel - but I do not avoid putting the convertible top down (there is an obvious aerodynamic penalty) or using A/C or the car's heated seats + other electical consumers, I just drive it normally and have averaged 60.1 US MPG over my car's 62,000 miles. Today's fill was a bit better than that, about 60.5.

As for the supposed comparison with other cars, I have to chuckle.

I really wonder if anyone who needs more luggage space than a smart has would seriously consider buying one. I would think that anyone with at least half a functioning brain would figure their needs out before going out and buying something. If one wants a 4 or 5 seater, one buys one, end of story.

Me? I wanted a two seater full convertible car that was fun to drive, had passive safety features like 4 airbags and pretensioning seatbelts with force limiters, active safety features like ESP/ABS, heated seats, heated electric mirrors, A/C, tons of room for two people, excellent seats, rollbar and got excellent fuel economy. That was four years ago. I got the fortwo cdi.

I have not been disappointed!

I also have a Mercedes B 200 for family occasions, such as our recent trip to California, AZ, NV, UT, ID, OR and WA. It too is pretty OK in the fuel efficiency department.

So how many litres per 100km are you getting with that "smart car" anyhow? Do the pumps in canada have a readout for litres?

[GasSavers_Gollum]

Something that's a huge factor on buying a car that many don't take into account, is how long you expect to own the vehicle, and what the resale will be at that time. Buying american just doesn't make sense no matter what the MPG or vehicle cost is, they just depreciate horribly.

Also keep in mind that if gas takes a few more sharp spikes in the next couple years, a car like the yaris might hold it's value very well. Toyota and honda have had really good resale values in the last decade, and are sure bets on getting decent value back out of the vehicle.

But, if gas prices drop, or if lots of states start converting to E20 or higher, everything could change. Who knows what that will due to gas prices in the long run, and manufactures might start making engines with much higher compression, making yesterday's gas sippers obsolete.

The safe bet is to not spend too much money to get good gas mileage, and use the vehicle cost and resale to bring overal cost down. In this light the Yaris looks like a great choice. If you're a bit more daring, the prius might be a better long term option, though I havn't been impressed with the hybrid depreciate I've seen. And the cost of batteries in 8-12 years kind scares me.