Commuter car recommendations, details enclosed

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Martin95037

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I am looking to purchase a commuter car in the future. I am 6 feet 5 inches tall and want something that I can fit in. Something that gets good mileage and is easy to maintain . Looking for something that is used. Maybe the last year of that generation. I dont want a car that shuts off the engine at the stop light.

I currently drive an 05 explorer and get about 18 MPG at 65 MPH. I have done ball joints, intake manifolds, and some other work. I don't go inside engines or transmissions. I dont want a car that shuts off the engine at the stop light.

Any information can help. I can do further informations based on recommendations.

Thanks
 
I don't know a thing about the mechanics of a car, but I recently purchased a 2019 honda CRV; for my 6'3" body, I love it. it gets better gas mileage than my old mercury Montego, and my wife's VW jetta, and while I would usually buy it used, it was cheaper for me to buy this one new. my dealer covers lifetime oil changes too. The whole "I don't want a car that shuts off the engine at the stoplight" makes me think you are either referring to an electric/hybrid car, or a POS you used that really needed some engine repairs.

comfort in cars is often more subjective, especially for larger people. try out all makes and models, take test drives, see what YOU like the best.
 
Yes none of the hybrid crap. Don’t have a whole lot of money to spend. Not going to take a loan out to buy a car.
 
I am 6'3" and I love my Hyundai Elantra's on my 3rd one, average is 35mpg. Depending on speed at 70-75 that is the avg. at 80 it drops a couple mpg.

you can get a used one for $10K or so, but a base new one for $16K or so, with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty.
 
DrParasite said:
I don't know a thing about the mechanics of a car, but I recently purchased a 2019 honda CRV; for my 6'3" body, I love it. it gets better gas mileage than my old mercury Montego, and my wife's VW jetta, and while I would usually buy it used, it was cheaper for me to buy this one new. my dealer covers lifetime oil changes too. The whole "I don't want a car that shuts off the engine at the stoplight" makes me think you are either referring to an electric/hybrid car, or a POS you used that really needed some engine repairs.

comfort in cars is often more subjective, especially for larger people. try out all makes and models, take test drives, see what YOU like the best.
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There’s a fair number of regular gas engines cars on the road that shut off when they idle and then start when you let off the brake. My F150 does, can’t say I really even notice it.
 
Jim37F said:
So you want good gas mileage, but you don't want a feature who's sole purpose is to save you gas when you're otherwise just wasting it?
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Well, that is relatively new technology that relies on sensors that are just one more thing that can go wrong and are probably expensive to replace, and the feature itself probably adds to the up front cost of the vehicle, as well. And how much fuel can it save you, anyway? Modern vehicle burn very little fuel at idle. If fuel economy were one's only concern, then it would probably make sense to consider it. Personally, I'd pass on this feature as well
 
I am not worried about sensors. Oil pressure has been build and maintained for a reason, to keep everything properly lubricated for you to press on the gas when you want. Yes the amount gas used at idle at a stop light is negligible. Now if there was a way that the battery could run the oil pump to maintain pressure, that might make sense in serious stop and go traffic but that’s another thing to break.

Check this video out. It can help you understand why.

 
Several cars do have the idle-stop feature. It might be a good idea to find out if that feature can be turned off. Hybrids aren't a bad option however if you're doing high-mileage, that can get you out of the battery pack warranty period relatively quickly. I used to commute 117 miles each way for work 3x/week and that put a LOT of miles on my car in a short amount of time. I knew that would be the case so that's the #1 reason I specifically chose NOT to get a hybrid vehicle. If I were to replace my car now, given where I work, a hybrid or plug-in hybrid might actually make sense. Now as to comfort, that's just too subjective so you'll have to (literally) sit in quite a few vehicles to feel which ones are comfortable for you.
 
Akulahawk said:
Now as to comfort, that's just too subjective so you'll have to (literally) sit in quite a few vehicles to feel which ones are comfortable for you.
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That's the main thing I don't understand about those fancy new "buy a car from an app on your phone! We'll deliver, never need to go to a dealer!" Like you can do all the online research you want, but how can someone narrow down to a specific model if they've never visited a dealer to actually sit in the dang thing first?
 
I work remotely now, but a day in my office is about a 70-mile round trip. I went three days this week. Luckily, we bought a 2007 Toyota Prius for commuting and it’s a game-changer. My Chevy 2500 would suck gas like a boozer at a bar... but the Prius is usually around 42mpg. It cost 3k for the car and 1500 in new tires, inspection, and a replacement EGR. Runs like brand new and the Toyota dealership sees plenty of these Gen 2 vintage cars with 600,000 plus miles. They’re designed to be commuter cars. I'm 6'1" and it's a very comfortable car to drive and there's no cramped feeling like I had in my wife's old Honda Civic.

Also, to address the battery pack issue, you can fully rebuild a battery pack for far less than Toyota will charge. You just need to do some research. Don't let the price of a battery refurb dissuade you from one of these.
 

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I drive my pick up trucks to work. I alternate between a 08 4.0L tacoma and a 18 Ram 2500 with a 6.7L Cummins. Ironically my diesel gets better mpg’s than my toyota (both are 4x4). I’d recommend getting a beater Toyota Camry or a Honda Civic. My toyota has 210k on the odometer and it’s still going strong.
 
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