OPPO QOTD, Highway commuters edition.

"Stevo777" (Stevo777)
04/25/2016 at 11:30 • Filed to: None

Currently in the process of accepting a new job and I’ve come to the realization that I will be putting near DOUBLE the miles on my precious Bimmerrrrrr...... So I have a question for my fellow opponauts. What would be a reasonably priced (new or used) highway cruiser that I can load the miles on and still get reasonable gas mileage? Not really looking for another luxury car, but I would want a car that can handle 80ish without screaming at 4k rpm. (preferably option for manual)

Thank you!!

DISCUSSION (38)

TheHondaBro > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:35

I’ll sell you my Accord! 35MPH highway, dead-reliable.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:36

What size, what price?

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:37

A prius? Although I don’t see the logic of buying another car to save money.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:38

Corolla.

Montalvo > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:39

You bought a BMW that was designed to do the very thing you don’t want it to do. I have come to terms that I will eat a significant amount of depreciation so I will drive mine until it decides it no longer wishes to go any further. What’s the point of owning one of the most practical fun cars if you don’t use it?

Stevo777 > Montalvo
04/25/2016 at 11:46

You’re definitely right and that’s what I’ll end up doing. I just wanted to entertain the idea.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:46

You can so do that in a Miata! Advantages are: top down all the time (great for the drive home), cheap as hell, will run without having to do much maintenance, great highway mileage (30-32 is easy), and since its a commuter slave, no need for backseats or luggage space. Really I would say get a motorcycle if you can but otherwise a totally stock Miata would make a great commuter. Life is too short to drive boring cars!

Stevo777 > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
04/25/2016 at 11:47

not so much the money, more so the mundane high miles of commuting 100 miles a day...

Stevo777 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2016 at 11:48

Maybe a smaller car, with a price range around $20k(ish) used

Chuckles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/25/2016 at 11:50

While I love my Miata, 80ish mph puts me up over 4,000 rpm in 5th gear. I would not want to do that for 100 miles 5 days a week.

JKER > TheHondaBro
04/25/2016 at 11:50

That’s pretty slow, seems like it would be dangerous on the highway.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:50

Does your BMW really drive at 4000 rpm at 80 mph? Mine is at about 2500 at that speed.

TheHondaBro > JKER
04/25/2016 at 11:51

Does 0-60 in about 6 seconds.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 11:57

What is reasonable gas mileage? mid 20's, 30's high 30's, low 40's? high teens?

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > JKER
04/25/2016 at 11:58

How fast do you need? 0-60 in <3 seconds?

Stevo777 > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
04/25/2016 at 11:58

What? With my 8 spdtrans I’m at about 2300. But with my lead foot I average 23-26 mpg (highway)

JustAnotherG6 > Chuckles
04/25/2016 at 12:00

So change the gearing...

Stevo777 > Future next gen S2000 owner
04/25/2016 at 12:01

Above 30 would be excellent

TylerJ > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
04/25/2016 at 12:03

They were making a joke about the 35MPH in the comment instead of 35MPG.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 12:09

I hear that used VW diesels are cheap these days....

Tom McParland > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 12:28

Here is a post from awhile back. Obviously times have changed for the Passat TDI -

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/whats-the-best…

jminer > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 12:32

I commuted 200 miles round trip for about 4.5 years in a base model first Gen Focus ZX3. Excellent for it, cheap to feed, very low maintenance costs, could be fun when needed.

I averaged about 32 mpg, but if I took it easy could get high 30s. Back when gas was $4 a gallon I would hypermile it, got 47 mpg one tank...

I think your looking for something new though. I have driven a couple of Fiestas and they’re fun, available for less than $15k lightly used and we’ll equipped. It should fit the bill nicely.

marshknute > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 12:34

My vote: Buick Regal GS. 260hp turbo-4 that will break 30 mpg highway and comes with a manual if you’re ok with FWD.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JustAnotherG6
04/25/2016 at 12:38

Then the Miata would go from fun to not fun. The gearing is what makes it fun! That is why I don’t complain about 4k at 80. It just means the car will actually go without downshifting.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chuckles
04/25/2016 at 12:40

Well with a stock muffler its really not bad. I find my Miata to be pretty quiet on the highway even though it is pushing 4k. Some cars get loud at that type of engine speed but my tires are generally louder than the exhaust on the highway for sure. Not to mention the wind noise lol.

Brian, The Life of > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 12:40

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Focus…

Boom!

Stevo777 > Tom McParland
04/25/2016 at 12:43

this is awesome, thank you!!

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 12:44

I know it doesn’t meet either your MPG or non luxury requirement but a LS430/460 would be perfect. I just got out of my LS400 after a 3 hour drive in traffic across half the state. If I was in a manual or some economy car I would probably just give up and take a 0 on the quiz im walking to class to take...

Rico > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
04/25/2016 at 12:50

He’s got a 550i with a V8 which is why he’s looking for something that gets better MPGeez

Chuckles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/25/2016 at 13:09

I’m not concerned about the noise as much as I am the wear on the engine. My car is 22 years old, so keeping the engine revving that high for 100 miles a day, 5 days a week wothout a break isn’t something I’d personally want to do.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 13:15

I would go beige. Midsize sedan all the way. Easy to rack up the miles, pretty comfortable. Used Acura TSX, or something similar. Maybe a TL.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 14:09

BRZ

AM3R shamefully returns > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 15:41

I have 2 other cars but I can't stop commuting in my 6MT sport package E92 335i... So much fun and I get 31mpg cruising at about 75-80. The clutch is a breeze for the rare occasions I get stuck in traffic.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chuckles
04/25/2016 at 15:56

Not to knock your judgement, I am just curious. But why would that be an issue? Just having the engine operating continuously as long as there is adequate oil and proper cooling; wouldn't that mean there is no harm being done? Or at least it would not be any different from another car spinning at a lower RPM. I had thought the only concern would be fuel economy and NVH. Just curious, since I never thought of it that way.

Chuckles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/25/2016 at 16:35

It’s a fair question. Gas mileage is a factor for sure. Around me the highway speed limit is 70. I get far better gas mileage in my 02 civic (under 3k rpm at 75) than I do in my 94 Miata (maybe 4.3k rpm at 75).

I’ve gone through a lot of cars. That’s not bragging; many of them were hand me downs from family or bought off of family friends. I find that how long I can get a car to last is related to how much I beat on it. There’s always something getting close to failure. Maybe a gasket, maybe a hose. Many of my vehicles have either leaked or burned oil towards the end of their life, and going 80mph never seemed to help that. Would you ever drive your car for a hundred miles at redline? I certainly wouldn’t. Driving at 4k rpm for a hundred miles is obviously not as bad as that, but it follows that it probably puts more wear on your engine than a hundred miles at 3k rpm.

Besides, my Miata just feels infinitely more at home on a back road going 55-65 mph than going down an interstate going 80.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chuckles
04/25/2016 at 17:51

Yeah that makes sense! When I think highway, it is somewhere between 55-70 anyways. And often times I'm going much slower than that. And that is definitely more at home for a Miata in general. I still don't think there's a connection between high rpms and beating on the car. Cruising, even at 4k+, is still cruising. Sure, redline would be bad I imagine but in the normal operation range? That would be doubtful. I understand and agree though, a miata would be much better for said commute at about 55-60 instead of 75-85. There are definitely better cars (likely German) for that sort of thing!

E90M3 > Stevo777
04/25/2016 at 17:58

Why not another BMW, my 1997 Explorer was on it’s last legs, and didn’t want to rack up the miles on the M3, so I got myself a 128i, it was only like 16k, plus it still drives really well, gets about 27-31 mpg on the highway and you can get a stick. Mine sadly is an auto (the M3 is a stick though) Obviously, that’s probably not the cheapest route, but hey it’s one option.

Kinja'd!!!

Chuckles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/25/2016 at 18:42

I’ll have to do some more research on that. Maybe I’m just being overly cautious. I’ve driven my Miata up to 700 miles in a day, but I usually look for roads that are more fun than I-95.