OK, so I'm selling my gas guzzling V8, taking the cash, investing it, and buying an economical car. I want a crap load of miles per gallon, cheap insurance, and reliability. What is in the $20k price range (lower is better), new or used that I will be happy with considering a severe downgrade?

 

Depreciation on a new economy car will generally offset anything in the way of significant fuel savings.

If you want to really save money then get a very used beat up looking (but mechanically sound - check with a mechanic) used car.

 

Corolla or one of the Scions........Personally I would pimp one of those Corolla S's......if I had to

 

Bro, I want to downgrade, not hit the bottom of the bucket. I cant be driving a rust bucket with cloth seats and roll up windows. Besides, whatever I buy will depreiciate something, regardless of beater or not (unless it's like a $2500 car)

The VW's seem to hold their resale pretty well actaully, so do the Mini's.

Corolla S? $15k MSRP, NEW!! 32 mpg city / 41 mpg hwy!! That sounds pretty good. I'm not sure I like the way they look all that much though.

 

toyota Yaris or Honda Fit. I upgraded from the v6 Honda Accord to the GS400 and I get better mileage than I got in my Honda.

 

Get the toyota corola S that car is pimp for its size, has amazing fuel economy and great looks to. Or try the scion tc, amazing looking car to and stay away from minis and wv they have horrible reliability and expansive parts especially the vw's the only reason they hold value is because alot of teens buy them because there fast and have good handling but you will be shocked at how bad there reliablity is especially coming from lexus.

 

Yea, I am afriad of the reliability of the VW, and the Mini, I know I'm asking for trouble. The cool thing is that they have warranty's for about as long as I would want the car. Anyone take a look at the Mazda3? Seems to be a lot of bang for the buck, like the corolla.

 

Sedan, hatch, or coupe?

In the hatch area, I like the Honda Fit. 30+ mpg local and highway with regular gas. The Sport version MSRP at about 16500. They are hot cars right now and will sell at MSRP, maybe with markup.

For a sedan, I like the Yaris. Similar specs to the Fit, although some safety features are options while standard on the Fit.

If you can stand a little less mileage (avg high 20s), I like the Mazda3. You can get it with HIDs, leather, Nav, ... but it will be above 20k. Without these options, you can get the 2.3L S version below that price.

With a coupe, the Scion tC is nice and should be in your price range if you don't load it up. I was not looking at a coupe so I did not research the tC as much.

The new Civics are also pretty nice but the pricing will be higher than the ones above.

There are also US cars like the Dodge Caliber but there is a different look and feel to the US cars.

 

I'm not a big fan of hacth backs, the sedan Yaris seems to be a pretty good deal. And the 34/39 mpg sounds GREAT!

 

LOL. I am the reverse. I love the versatility of these little 4-dr (5-dr) hatchbacks. There is only a 2-dr (3-dr) Yaris in the US so that knocked it out of contention for me.

 

Why not a new Civic? Those seem to be really nice, and you can get one loaded for about 16k. There's also the Mazda 3, which looks great and gets good mileage. If you're gonna downgrade in power, might as well be happy with the exterior of the car is what I say. Personally I'm a big fan of the new civics, maybe even take a look at the Civic Si, i've heard those are pretty peppy.

 

Have you considered a used low mileage Acura TSX, or Honda Accord?

 

I second the new Civics, they look awesome. Also check out a Mazda3 or even a used TSX.

 

or maybe the camry hybrid, about the same size of the GS, i think but you get a ton of miles on the highway and city, and plus i think its a nice car

 

My friend bought a Mazda 3 as his commuter car because his modded Mustang Cobra was too gas-crazy . I'm impressed with it, it is a great value, solidly built, a lot of features, and not embarassing to drive around in. Definitely worth a look.