Ask the Car People.SM


Sedans: My Best Choice for Fuel Economy?

51 messages,  Last post on Aug 24, 2006 at 1:03 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Corolla, Toyota ECHO, Honda Civic, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 6

#12 of 51 98 civic 4 door auto mpg by usmcandersen

Sep 21, 2005 (6:40 pm)

i have had a 98 civic 4 dooor auto for about a month now and the best ive got was 37.5 on the highway no ac and the windows cracked the whole time it now has 143566 miles on it and i would drive it too cali if i had too. im from mich. the worst tank so far was 32.33 all city driving. ac half the time.

#13 of 51 I do plan.... by bottgers

Sep 28, 2005 (12:52 pm)

.....to keep the Tercel as long as possible, but within the last year it has started consuming noticeably more oil. It has always used some oil as long as I've owned it, but I'm wondering how quickly the engine will start to deteriorate from this point on. As long as it remains reliable I'll continue to keep it, but I also need to have a plan B in case things with the Tercel start going south.

#14 of 51 Same as You... by mudlump

Sep 28, 2005 (1:36 pm)

I have been looking for about 3 weeks now at the Scion, Echo, Corolla, & Civic.
The Scion felt cheap and the plastic was wobbly on the inside (of course it was cheaper than others). Edmunds didn't have nice things to say about the Echo and I have heard it's being discontinued.
 
Left with the civic & corolla... I really like the look and feel of both of them. I owned a Corolla in the eighties and put 180,000 miles on it before giving it to my brother-in-law. Haven't owned a civic but they have a great record.
 
Bottom line for me.... Price. I live in South East Texas. No dealer in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, or Dallas would go more that $300 below MSRP on the Civic. I have emailed with 14 Toyota dealers and so far my best price is $1200 off MSRP. (The Toyota is cheaper to begin with but adding the options to take it up equivalent with a Civic makes them almost similar in price.)
 
Just my experience... but I don't think you can go wrong with either of them...

#15 of 51 mudlump by bottgers

Sep 29, 2005 (5:18 am)

I don't think you can go wrong with an Echo either. I don't know what bones Edmunds had to pick with this car, but my brother-in-law works for a Toyota dealership. He said everyone he's talked to who owns one has had nothing but good things to say about it. They are very reliable and get over 40 MPG on the highway. My brother-in-law said Toyota decided to discontinue the Echo because of poor sales. They haven't sold like Toyota had hoped, but they may want to reconsider that decision in light of the recent spikes in gas prices.
 
You are right: you can't go wrong with either a Civic or a Corolla, but if price is your bottom line, I would definitely consider the Echo (if you're willing to consider used). It can be had for less than either of those models.

#16 of 51 Re: Same as You... [mudlump] by sr45

Sep 29, 2005 (6:46 am)

Replying to: mudlump (Sep 28, 2005 1:36 pm)
Here in Florida, I got a fully loaded LE Corolla 06, and it was around $ 16,344.00 not including the tax, lic and Doc fee ( $ 499.00 here in Florida ) and all that translate to around $ 17,100.00 out the door. Much better than the Civic. Compared the two, and its somewhere around $ 2,200.00 less than the Civic EX. Even though you might get a better resale on the Civic over the Corolla, it will take you longer to do so, since those that purchase the Civic, pay more from the get go.....
 
Also like the interior on the LE Corolla over the odd looking Civic. The Civic's dash is very cheap looking, and I could not get over that fact, since it now costs more to own, and you would think the manufacture would upgrade the interior material a little bit more.

#17 of 51 mudlump by bottgers

Sep 29, 2005 (11:25 am)

I read through the Edmunds reviews on the Echo and their gripes are basically nit-noid things, unless high speed handling and looks are a big concern of yours. They did say the car should have the typical Toyota bullit-proof reliability. If you really want to know the true colors of the Echo, read the reviews posted by owners. They had very few bad things to say about it. Though I'm not you, I personally wouldn't buy a new car and when buying used the Toyotas can be had at a more reasonable price. Used Civics sell at ridiculously high prices and because of that, I wouldn't touch one. If you're like me, I look for the best car I can get for the money, then I drive the wheels off so I don't care about resale value. For that reason, the Toyotas fill my bill.

#18 of 51 Re: mudlump [bottgers] by mudlump

Sep 30, 2005 (8:33 am)

Replying to: bottgers (Sep 29, 2005 11:25 am)
I agree with you. I love Toyotas, I have a 2005 Sienna and had a 2002 before this one. I only traded my up on my 2002 because I had it for 3 years in Germany running 100 mph consistently and had 65,000 miles on it. (NO problems by the way, routine maintenance only) I wanted a new one to keep forever and I got a really good deal.
I had my first Toyota (corolla) from 1976 to 1987. Great car!
 
And, I agree with you about the Honda, overpriced, no negotiating on price.
 
I don't buy used unless I know the car personally. Bad experiences...
 
I have ordered my Corolla for $1000 under MSRP and I'm happy as a clam..
 
As for the Echo... this page pretty much turned me against it....
 
http://www.edmunds.com/new/research/toyota/echo.html
 
I too keep my cars a long time. I have a 1999 VW Cabrio that has been a total gem and I will keep it forever or until I give it to one of my kids. The Echo just does not sound like a car that would be a keeper for me.

#19 of 51 Re: Looks like finding a replacement econo-box is going to be a tough task [girmann] by mudude26

Nov 12, 2005 (3:49 pm)

Replying to: girmann (Sep 15, 2005 8:58 pm)
As a previous Saturn SL1 owner, I must agree that the gas mileage is very strong in that particular model.
I drove a 2001 sl1 with a manual and often exceeded 36 mpg in city/mixed driving. Highway only would yield approx. 39mpg on regular 87 octane gas.
I did have some reliablity issues with my saturn, including a cracked engine head and many other small issues. Many of those were taken care of under the basic warrarnty.
Overall it is difficult to pick this over a civic even though Iwas able to buy a 18 month old sl for about $7100.
As a commuter I thought, and still believe that the saturn represented a strong value, especially at the gas pump.

#20 of 51 Re: mudlump [bottgers] by claudius753

Nov 13, 2005 (10:56 pm)

Replying to: bottgers (Sep 29, 2005 5:18 am)
My brother-in-law said Toyota decided to discontinue the Echo because of poor sales. They haven't sold like Toyota had hoped, but they may want to reconsider that decision in light of the recent spikes in gas prices.
 
Just a head's up, Toyota hasn't really discontinued the Echo, its just that they decided to use the same name they use elsewhere in the world, Yaris, for the new redesigned model.
 
Also, Honda will have the supposedly $12,000 Fit/Jazz soon.

#21 of 51 so by nippononly

Jan 12, 2006 (7:11 pm)

inquiring minds want to know - what did you buy bottgers? I suspect you bought a Corolla.
 
I recently went on an agonizing search for used Corollas, and came up short. Considering the number they sell each year, there were precious few for sale that were less than about 12 years old. I guess Corolla owners love their cars eh?
 
The couple I came across seemed pricey for what they were, so for a few hundred $$ more, I picked up an '02 Echo. The 40 mpg is a reality, I have got 38 mpg so far in all mixed suburban driving. What Edmunds hated so much about this car, besides the looks and center gauges (which are obvious to the eye as soon as you see the car - you either hate them or you don't) was they thought it was overpriced (I believe it was, a little bit, when new) and the tricky handling at illegally high speeds. Beyond that, it is a really wonderful little car for doing what it is intended to do without feeling as cheap as it is, and owners report that it is extremely reliable, with few to no repairs needed even near six-digit odometer readings.
 
FWIW, I used to have a Saturn SL2, and while it was unacceptably unreliable for me, it did get 35+ mpg in mixed driving, and I know those are inexpensive on the used market, plentiful too.

Messages Page 3 of 6

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement