I am shopping for a good daily driver car(40 miles round trip)...

03 April 2013 | US Navy Vet

[US Navy Vet]

...that gets decent gas milage and is reliable. Any Suggestions?

[Revolting cat!]

The Swiss, who are wealthier than us, love them!

[jjotto]

Skoda Superb is a VW Passat.

[cuban leaf]

It does not get my recommendation as a good commuter car though.

---

Well, I love my Scion xB and actually use it to commute the 122 mile round trip. But when I bought the car I lived in seattle and I said that it was my “50 mile car”. That is, I saw it as an awesome urban commuter and great for my hobby, being in rock and pop bands.

The only two things I didn’t like about it when I bought it was that it is geared kinda low and cruise control was not even available as an option, hence my “50 mile car” description. That’s why I’m looking for something more suited to the long haul, though I will still keep the xb. The new car will probably replace the Chrysler, which is very comfortable but is really on its last legs - And the AC doesn’t work, which will kill you in the 90-100 degree days during summer here.

[Revolting cat!]

Paging Willie Green!

[US Navy Vet]

I buy the BEST vehicle for the money. I DON’T CARE WHO makes it. I just bought a 2013 Subaru Forester for my wife(she works as an RN @ the Omaha VA Hospital). “American” Car “Companies” LOST me when they started MAKING SH!T(around 1970 or so).

[nascarnation]

Interesting.
I had bad luck with a new Honda back in 82 with a transmission problem, the dealer and their service org were arrogant, and I never went back.

They do have a lot of satisfied owners.

[steve8714]

I’m at 282k, on a 2004, so it’ll handle the usage. Two words in addition to all that; timing chain.

[commish]

The Wife drives a Ridgeline, and I drive it whenever we go on trips. We absolutely love the thing. Put some aftermarket nerf bars on it, and we are installing a toneau cover next week as we have a big family trip coming up and the trunk won’t hold all the luggage.

Absolutely the best small pickup we have ever owned. No problems in the two years we have owned and it rides and drives like a car.

Absolute awesome vehicle.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Buick Verano Turbo.

[golux]

Jags are great - the smoothest ride you can imagine, obscenely fast, etc. We’ve had a lot of ‘em in the family and still do. Not so fond of any non-xj6 cars, though. Sounds like you got an absolutely killer deal. And what a sound that car makes! Startup even for the 6 is like a turbine engine. If you need to know the name of the best, most skilled, experienced (time) and honest Jag mechanic in the USA Freepmail me.

[listenhillary]

Maxda CX-5 (w/2.5 liter) and Subaru XV Crosstrek have been on my radar recently.

Both have > 8.5 ground clearance, all wheel drive and over 30 MPG highway. Not sure about the CVT transmissions though on the Crosstrek. No experience with them.

I’m not really in the market for a new car though and both are new models.

[golux]

"Jaguar and Land Rover, by anyone’s measure, are the least reliable vehicles in the USA, year after year."

Not true, but instead of telling you you're stuck in the eighties, I'll just say that I am sad to report that although it may not be true on all models or in the most recent years, Jaguar (I am speaking of the mid-late 90s and 00s) actually surpassed Mercedes' vaunted S Class line in many reliability factors including if I remember correctly the vaunted J D Powers.

But I understand. It's better, and easier, really, for some people to just believe what they want to believe about Jaguars. To me, they're quite possibly the most perfect cars in the world. (pre-1999 or thereabouts.)

[steve8714]

$1500? Yeah, if you include tires. But I only have 280k on my ‘04 Camry 4.

[nascarnation]

10 yr old Jags have STUNNINGLY low resale value.
(Personally I think a lot of them are beautiful cars).

I’ve been told the reliability is so poor and the repair costs so high that they just don’t sell.

[EnquiringMind]

I just bought a Focus because Ford didn’t take the bailout, and I like it.

[listenhillary]

Jaguar mechanics
http://goo.gl/maps/oIaPR

Toyota mechanics
http://goo.gl/maps/Oik1e

[steve8714]

You made me weep remembering my 1997 Town Car, the last real Town Car.

[listenhillary]

My Yaris I think has the same engine as the Xb. My Yaris 5 speed, with cruise, power windows and gets 35 - 39 mpg and it was cheap! It rides better than many other cars I have had in the past. Unless it’s windy, then you have to tack.

[RetSignman]

Geo Metro, I bought my ‘96 Geo in ‘97, still running great and passing gas stations. Oh and don’t worry, people stopped making snide remarks about my car a looooong time ago.

[cuban leaf]

My Yaris I think has the same engine as the Xb. My Yaris 5 speed, with cruise, power windows and gets 35 - 39 mpg and it was cheap! It rides better than many other cars I have had in the past. Unless it’s windy, then you have to tack.

---

I actually considered the Yaris for just that reason. But becuase we do so much high speed driving I wanted a longer wheelbase.