Best commuter car?

[Turf1600]

So, I just got a pretty nice promotion. I'm putting way too many miles on the audi and e30. With this job I could drive 100+ miles per day - but I get paid $.60 per mile. I want to get a new car for me and my wife to commute in and maybe bench the e30 for a while to do fun things to it. Right now I'm looking at 3 cars:

honda fit
Honda civic coupe
Smart passion coupe

I'm looking to spend 15k on something I can beat up and not have to work on ever.

Requirements:

AC
Good gas mileage

Any other suggestions/opinions?

[Farbin Kaiber]

Yaris.

[Turf1600]

Yaris.

I'll look into it.

[Jon325i]

I'd go with the Honda Fit. It's very practical, gets respectable fuel economy, has Hondas' lengendary reliability and because its not a Civic coupe, you have a good chance of it remaining in your driveway instead of a ricers' hack shop for parts.

Jon

[Farbin Kaiber]

aprox~ the same costs as driving an Prius, without this...

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius_A123_car_fire_investigation_report_2008

[KillaCams]

Yaris, my girlfriend has one, we drive to work everyday the gas mileage kicks ass, plus it doesn't drive as bad as you think it would lol

[Turf1600]

The yaris is actually the cheapest option and gets great mileage. I still like the smart though - I don't need anything more.

[Farbin Kaiber]

I saw a TV peice here in Los Angeles ( whiney commuter capital of the world ) And, they tested a Smart against a Yaris, and found the costs after all was said and done to be a little less with the Yaris. Plus, the Smart looks a bit too tuna can for my tastes.

[Turf1600]

I saw a TV peice here in Los Angeles ( whiney commuter capital of the world ) And, they tested a Smart against a Yaris, and found the costs after all was said and done to be a little less with the Yaris. Plus, the Smart looks a bit too tuna can for my tastes.

If I wanted to be an in your face elitist I'd be dead set on the smart. However, I actually like the look of the yaris. Maybe I'll test drive one soon.

[e30pwr]

yaris - gay fish car, IMO. but to each his own

I'd say the fit, I saw a decent looking one in red with some dark tint. Not bad for a DD.

[Turf1600]

yaris - gay fish car.

I'd say the fit, I saw a decent looking one in red with some dark tint. Not bad for a DD.

Fish car?

I don't care how it looks. I just want it to be reliable and cheap to run.

[jflip2002]

Nissan Versa gets good mileage. The hatch looks 10x less ugly than the sedan also. They get better mileage than the Altima Hybrids even. Theyre definitely not going to get you many style points, but theyre cheap (around $14k) and they get good mileage, I wanna say around 35 mpg.

[e30e]

Nissan Versa gets good mileage. The hatch looks 10x less ugly than the sedan also. They get better mileage than the Altima Hybrids even. Theyre definitely not going to get you many style points, but theyre cheap (around $14k) and they get good mileage, I wanna say around 35 mpg.

My mom's versa has never pulled 35mpg....ever. Best she's gotten is 32mpg and she drives like an old woman, going 1,2,4,6 when shifting. I could only get 27 mpg and I drove it like a sissy. If you get a versa get the cvt. She got hers fully loaded except the cvt with extended warranty for 16k I believe. Yaris and fit drive like small cars, the versa drives like a big car and feels so heavy and dead weight compared them. All three are great value where as when I look at the smart car it just seem's so pointless putting premium in a small car that only gets 32 mpg and does not a have a back seat.

[Turf1600]

Not interested in a versa

[VacMan]

Why buy brand new? The depreciation hit will be painful, doubly so if you put 20k miles a year on it. I'd buy an offlease Civic and put the extra money I saved into my E30 fund. :up: