New car options?

[aaronc879]

I'm looking for a car that gets at least upper 30's MPG on the highway AND has enough leg room for me at 6'6". The two cars i've come across that will work are the Chevy Cruze and Volkswagen Jetta TDI. In my local area i've found a new Cruze for $20000 and a 2011 Jetta TDI with 60,000 miles for $15000. The Jetta gets 42hyw/30city compared to the Cruze's 38hwy/26 city. Having a hard time deciding which to choose(if either). Anyone have either of these cars and have advice? Any other cars that may fit my criteria?

 

[Big_Hitter]

Have you tried a Fiat 500 - salesman who was 6'6" swore he had no legroom/headroom issues.


Those are inexpensive too.

 

[aaronc879]

Have you tried a Fiat 500 - salesman who was 6'6" swore he had no legroom/headroom issues.


Those are inexpensive too.

I had not considered a Fiat. I haven't even ever seen one on the road but it looks like there is a dealership about 10 miles away so i'll check it out.

 

[Texas Proud]

Have you tried a Fiat 500 - salesman who was 6'6" swore he had no legroom/headroom issues.


Those are inexpensive too.

Not worth the future problems you will have with a Fiat.... one of the lowest rated cars made...

 

[MBAustin]

Not worth the future problems you will have with a Fiat.... one of the lowest rated cars made...

+1

A good friend of mine had a Jetta TDI until it was stolen from an airport parking lot and destroyed earlier this year. He loved it.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Not worth the future problems you will have with a Fiat.... one of the lowest rated cars made...

for $12K (almost out the door) and the standard 4 yr bumper to bumper warranty, I'd take my chances.

 

[REWahoo]

For what it's worth, Consumer Reports isn't a fan of any of the three cars mentioned - the Fiat, the TDI or the Cruze. Odds are any savings in fuel could be offset by repair costs and/or inconvenience.

Might be worthwhile to get to a library and get a look at the April issue of CR. They have a list of recommended used cars for your budget on page 82.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I'm not sure there is enough credible experience to rate the Fiat one way or another.


It's only been out a few years and they keep improving the line.


I take CR with a grain of salt anyway - my parents used to read that like the Bible and always bought lemons.


Library? I thought those got betamaxed.

 

[braumeister]

I'm not sure there is enough credible experience to rate the Fiat one way or another.

It's only been out a few years and they keep improving the line.

I take CR with a grain of salt anyway - my parents used to read that like the Bible and always bought lemons.

The worst car I ever owned (by quite a large margin) was a Fiat ("Fix It Again, Tony").

But that was decades ago, and they may have improved since then.
On the other issue, the reason I bought that Fiat in the first place was because it got rave reviews in CR, and I naively believed their report. Never again!

 

[Big_Hitter]

The new fiats are pretty sweet. I took my SIL to look at them when she was visting last Xmas. They are sooooo inexpensive.

 

[Bamaman]

Gas mileage is not everything. There are a number of cars getting in the 30's mpg, but it's awfully difficult to get to the high 30's or low 40's. Often those cars are so small that they're uncomfortable.


Is the Cruze you're talking about the old body style or the new body style. They're coming out with a completely different model that's very attractive and larger. And it also performs better than the last generation model.


Saying that, the Golf TDI is a great car. I'd buy one new and keep it for the long run, however. I don't want a 60K mile used car, as they could shortly have some problems.


Honda has a brand new model SUV that just came into dealerships 2 weeks ago--$20K price tag. It's Civic based, and is going to tear up the SUV retail market.


Last but not least--choose a Honda Accord or Nissan Altima. They get upper 30's mpg but they both have comfort and a great resale value.

 

[Big_Hitter]

accords and Altimas are much more expensive than a fiat 500 - $10K buys a lot of fuel

 

[REWahoo]

On the other issue, the reason I bought that Fiat in the first place was because it got rave reviews in CR, and I naively believed their report. Never again!

Based on their current review of Fiats, it looks like they - like you - learned their lesson!

 

[aaronc879]

Sometimes I wish there were fewer options. Maybe just small, medium and large.

 

[Nunthewiser]

Sometimes I wish there were fewer options. Maybe just small, medium and large.

That would make too much sense. Then the dealership would have the part on hand instead of having to order it, and everyone would know how to fix it.

No way to make money that way.

Just like the 3 year old Samsung refrigerator we had to repair. The inverter board blew on Saturday. We called Samsung CS (thinking it was the compressor and covered under warranty). The repairman looked at it on Wednesday, determined it was a board, ordered it. He came back Tuesday to pop it in. We were out of the cold (and $300) for 10 days. Do refrigerators need computer boards?

Really? (sorry for my off topic rant)

 

[Big_Hitter]

Do refrigerators need computer boards?

Really? (sorry for my off topic rant)

yep, as do dishwashers, hvac units.....

 

[brewer12345]

I would not buy a Fiat 500. Would most definitely not want to see what happens when they get hit by a minivan, let alone a full sized pickup.

 

[Texas Proud]

for $12K (almost out the door) and the standard 4 yr bumper to bumper warranty, I'd take my chances.

KBB has the lowest priced one (with auto) at over $17K with a $19K sticker..... where do you see $12

 

[38Chevy454]

If you plan on any longer distance driving, a larger car will be much better for the road trips. Small Fiat or similar have short wheelbase and the ride is not as good. Plus bigger car has lot more room for luggage and passengers.

I think I would lean to a mid-size car, and take the slight mileage hit. Possibly a bit smaller if you like that, for example the Cruze vs Malibu for the Chevy choice. Jetta TDI is a good choice, especially for mileage, although depending where you live diesel fuel can be higher or lower cost than gas.

 

[Big_Hitter]

KBB has the lowest priced one (with auto) at over $17K with a $19K sticker..... where do you see $12

New 2015 FIAT 500 Pop For Sale | Boise ID


they have a bunch under $12K

 

[aaronc879]

New 2015 FIAT 500 Pop For Sale | Boise ID


they have a bunch under $12K

For that price it might be worth driving to ID from WI, trade in my car, then drive the new car back.

The same vehicle costs about $18,000 here.

 

[Ready]

My DH is 6 feet tall and has no problems at all driving a Prius.

 

[mpeirce]

I'm looking for a car that gets at least upper 30's MPG on the highway AND has enough leg room for me at 6'6". The two cars i've come across that will work are the Chevy Cruze and Volkswagen Jetta TDI. In my local area i've found a new Cruze for $20000 and a 2011 Jetta TDI with 60,000 miles for $15000. The Jetta gets 42hyw/30city compared to the Cruze's 38hwy/26 city. Having a hard time deciding which to choose(if either). Anyone have either of these cars and have advice? Any other cars that may fit my criteria?

Checkout a VW GTI, though it may be outside your budget (new it's $25K-$30K). Both my son and I are 6'6" and have plenty of room in our new VW GTI - my wife can even sit behind either of us.

I just took a load of stuff down to Florida from Ohio and got real world 36+ mpg on the trip (upper 20's around town).

We got the GTI because it's a combination of a practical hatchback with plenty of legroom AND it's a very fun car to drive!

When my wife test drove it she exclaimed - "hey that was fun!" That sealed the deal for us.

 

[aaronc879]

My DH is 6 feet tall and has no problems at all driving a Prius.

There's a big difference between 6' and 6'6". I never have a problem with head room, i'm all legs. Most cars I can't even get my right leg past the steering wheel to sit down. I tried a Prius and the center console is too big. There's no room for my right leg. Not as bad as some cars but not enough room for me. I also didn't like the lack of rear visibility.

 

[aaronc879]

Checkout a VW GTI, though it may be outside your budget (new it's $25K-$30K). Both my son and I are 6'6" and have plenty of room in our new VW GTI - my wife can even sit behind either of us.

I just took a load of stuff down to Florida from Ohio and got real world 36+ mpg on the trip (upper 20's around town).

We got the GTI because it's a combination of a practical hatchback with plenty of legroom AND it's a very fun car to drive!

When my wife test drove it she exclaimed - "hey that was fun!" That sealed the deal for us.

Definitely looks like a good car but it costs more than I gross in a year so it's not very practical for me.