I am interested in buying a car that uses regular unleaded gasoline and gets about or near 40 miles per gallon, a couple I am considering is the Toyota Echo or Corolla, does anyone own one of these and what mileage are you getting with automatic transmission? Could we start a thread or topic where people report what kind of mileage they are getting with their current car, truck, or suv.
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JHZR2
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buy a manual else youll likely not get 40 mpg easily... and the underpowered car will have to do a lot of shifting, effecting life of the trans, etc.
MT is the way to go for a small economical car.
The one option you might have is a Vw diesel - either a golf or jetta. Theyll get over 40 mpg with auto trans...
JMH
MT is the way to go for a small economical car.
The one option you might have is a Vw diesel - either a golf or jetta. Theyll get over 40 mpg with auto trans...
JMH
www.fueleconomy.gov is a good place to start. Real world numbers tend to be slightly less than.
I'll offer a different perspective with the Auto/MT thing. If you are interested in good you 'can' get better with an auto bc you can use less gas and can get a consistant shift at lower rpm than a manual. The key is to get the Torque Converter locked up in a lower RPM. Also some AT's have numerically lower final drives than manuals. Also you tend to go thru the gears less than folks with manual.
I get 27+ mpg and 36mpg hwy. with a 145HP Nissan Sentra. My point was to show that an auto can do the job of a manual in mpg department. I beat sticker by 4mpg city and 6 mpg highway. You can get great milage if you want to.
My next vehicle will be a Corolla.
I get 27+ mpg and 36mpg hwy. with a 145HP Nissan Sentra. My point was to show that an auto can do the job of a manual in mpg department. I beat sticker by 4mpg city and 6 mpg highway. You can get great milage if you want to.
My next vehicle will be a Corolla.
My 02 Corolla auto got 37 mpg mostly highway with about 1/4 in town driving. The other 3/4 of that tank was driving up to the mountains and back. Only time I ever calculated the mileage. On flat land with pure highway I think it would do 40 with ease; it's rated at 39 highway. I agree about the 5 speed part. Only way to fly with an underpowered 4 banger. Al, those Sr20s are in a class of their own as far as 4 cylinders engines. Best 4 banger ever made IMO.
My 2005 Corolla is a Manual and I'm getting 41-43 mpg doing 95% highway and 5% city.
My last tank was 43.34 mpg..
A Little under 42mpg average for the first 27k miles the first year.
I'd say you'd see 35-38 max for a auto Corolla. And if you drive it hard, MUCH less.. Maybe 30mpg.
Take care, Bill
My last tank was 43.34 mpg..
A Little under 42mpg average for the first 27k miles the first year.
I'd say you'd see 35-38 max for a auto Corolla. And if you drive it hard, MUCH less.. Maybe 30mpg.
Take care, Bill
2002 Accent 5-spd with 1.6L.
I have gotten up to 43 mpg on the highway. Normal mix of driving with 60/40 highway/city will give me about 34-36 mpg.
I have gotten up to 43 mpg on the highway. Normal mix of driving with 60/40 highway/city will give me about 34-36 mpg.
The brand new, just-released next generation Honda Civic is being advertised as getting 2 mpg better in automatic configuration than it does in MT config. The new AT is a 5-spd as is the MT. The figures are 38 and 40 mpg, MT and AT respectively. Personally, I suspect that this surprising outcome is the result of gearing shenanigans, but the numbers are what they are. Of course, it remains to be seen how the two configurations work out in real-world use.
Now here's my attempt to win the "Master of Stating the Obvious" award: don't buy a G35 of any description if you're concerned about mpg. Mine is EPA rated at 26 mpg highway, but I'm lucky if I see 22 or 23 and often get 21-ish. A fun car for sure, but fueling it with $3.20/gal premium really, really hurts when you're driving ~800 miles per week. Of course, I have only myself to blame for this choice. . .
If you must have an automatic, consider looking for a car with cruise control installed. Locking the cruise control at the speed limit plus maybe a little fudge factor on long highway trips will really help mileage. Mileage goes down as an engine has to change speed constantly and a transmission has to hunt for gears. As a side benefit, the option really helps prevent premature fatigue on long trips. My stickshift Escort wagon has cruise (now that's a rare combination; never have seen another one like it) and I fully intend for my next vehicle to have it, regardless of type of transmission.
JHZR2
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I have to agree with what everyone on here said... there are a lot of advantages as far as smooth driving go with an auto trans.
My expeience however has been that as soon as the going gets a little hilly in a small engine car with an auto trans, that the transmission has to do a lot of shifting... whereas a MT car can still do it with a smight speed loss and without lugging or getting into an improper operational range... To me, constantly shifting or going in and out of lockup is something that is bad as far as longevity is concerned.
IMO MT=optimal for small engine cars, AT=optimal for larger, more powerful cars. But that is IMO.
JMH
My expeience however has been that as soon as the going gets a little hilly in a small engine car with an auto trans, that the transmission has to do a lot of shifting... whereas a MT car can still do it with a smight speed loss and without lugging or getting into an improper operational range... To me, constantly shifting or going in and out of lockup is something that is bad as far as longevity is concerned.
IMO MT=optimal for small engine cars, AT=optimal for larger, more powerful cars. But that is IMO.
JMH
JHZR2
Staff member
Agreed. My 04 saab has a turbo and 175 hp/195tq, yet I can get 40 MPG doing 55 on US highways, and can easily get 35-37 doing around the speed limit on normal interstates. Hills dont phase this car... I drive for economy and get it because I want to... it really is a KEY thing - so many folks jackrabbit and floor their corollas and civics, etc. I bet many dont ever do better than 22 MPG in their 'economy' cars because of their driving skill and style.
JMH
My wife drives an '03 Corolla LE automatic. Seems to usually get about 36 mpg. Many of her miles aren't pure highway... short trips, suburban driving, highway in rush hour traffic.
I think if I drove it I could coax a few more MPGs out of it with a more economical driving style.
I think if I drove it I could coax a few more MPGs out of it with a more economical driving style.
In a 93 Taurus we're getting about 20 mpg in town, 25 mpg on the highway, but it has almost 200k miles on it. Up to around 100k miles it use to get 28 to 29 mpg on the highway. In a 99 Taurus we're getting about 20 mpg in town (we live on hill so mileage is heavily affected by the number of short trips) and 28 mpg on the highway. I'm getting 17 to 18 mpg in town and 19 to 20 mpg on the road in a 2003 Dodge pickup with a diesel.
I recently purchased an '05 Honda Civic 'value package' coupe (base model DX with automatic transmission and a/c). I have just under 3200 miles, and my lifetime MPG average thus far is 39.8 MPG and climbing
http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/1370.html
http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/1370.html
Sort of off-topic, but:
Nobody in my family except my wife owns a new(er) car, so I don't have much input for MPG except:
1991 Prelude (mine 180k) - currently 28mpg mixed
2005 Accord LX (wife's) - 25mpg city, 32 hwy
2001 Civic LX (wife's, traded for Accord) - 28mpg city, 36-40 hwy
1995 Saab 9000 (parents') - 26mpg city, 33 hwy
1983 Saab 900 3dr Turbo (180k, brother's) - ~28 hwy
1986 Saab 900 sdn (240k+, brother's) - ~30 hwy
My brother commutes 100+ miles/day and does almost no city driving, but it has been a while since he told me anything about his fuel economy. The rest of us are the opposite - mostly short-trip city driving. All cars a MT, we haven't had an automatic in the family since my dad got rid of his 1970 Chrysler 300 over 15 yrs ago.
What's seem rare: cruise with a MT, or cruise in an Escort? Many stickshifts (I would think most these days)have cruise - every car in my family does.
Nobody in my family except my wife owns a new(er) car, so I don't have much input for MPG except:
1991 Prelude (mine 180k) - currently 28mpg mixed
2005 Accord LX (wife's) - 25mpg city, 32 hwy
2001 Civic LX (wife's, traded for Accord) - 28mpg city, 36-40 hwy
1995 Saab 9000 (parents') - 26mpg city, 33 hwy
1983 Saab 900 3dr Turbo (180k, brother's) - ~28 hwy
1986 Saab 900 sdn (240k+, brother's) - ~30 hwy
My brother commutes 100+ miles/day and does almost no city driving, but it has been a while since he told me anything about his fuel economy. The rest of us are the opposite - mostly short-trip city driving. All cars a MT, we haven't had an automatic in the family since my dad got rid of his 1970 Chrysler 300 over 15 yrs ago.
JHZR2
Staff member
I didnt know that this was post your mileage for each and every car... I thought it was only for high mileage econoboxes.
Ill pull the logs, I log every tank of gas... and my grandfather has them going back to at least his 61 beetle!
JMH
Ill pull the logs, I log every tank of gas... and my grandfather has them going back to at least his 61 beetle!
JMH
Just avoid the CVT-equipped Honda CIvic. My brother is on his third transmission in 50k. No, he does not abuse it, just regular commuting in the carpool lane (CNG model). The Hondacare extended warranty paid for the $4500 unit. I'll stick with my manual transmissions in small cars.
I also log every tank of gas since my '67 Beetle. The 325i delivers 24 mpg in city commuting. Not bad for a 3300lb six cylinder car that goes fast almost effortlessly.
I also log every tank of gas since my '67 Beetle. The 325i delivers 24 mpg in city commuting. Not bad for a 3300lb six cylinder car that goes fast almost effortlessly.
Buy a 5 speed Geo Metro, reduce the weight (to the limit you can reduce weight in a 1700 lb car), get the economy cam from 3techperformance and you should easily get 55+ mpg on the highway. Mind you, driving one isn't the most comfortable way to make a daily commute or the fastest way, but with the economy they get you might be able to put up with it.
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