Commuter Car?

isis said:

I’m looking at a job change that would add a bit of distance to my commute, as well as a couple road trips a month. I was looking at an inexpensive but still fun car to save some mileage and keep a bit of wear and tear off of my 54k-mi Raptor. I’m looking at FiST and FoST cars in the 10-20k range and might push it to a toyobaru in the low 20’s.

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Personally I like the Fiesta ST. Seems like it would fit your budget and car requirements well.

They do well in autocross if you like that kinda racing.

shigman said:

Those are so rare.

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are they? i know they barely made any in 2019.. less than 750, but i thought the 17, and 18 production was higher numbers like in the 20k range, clearly i was wrong...





i think they did a terrible job with the marketing on the car, plus the SHO was about the same price with better performance and other features..

i think its a really cool car, and also much sportier and youthful than the taurus, but totally slept on. it never caught on, and its probably because they didnt use ST badging..

ran 13.8@94 with a K&N drop in..

I went down this rabbit hole recently. I like having a small commuter for city driving and commuting. It never pencils out financially unless you buy a beater Prius and drive a lot. Unfortunately it’s hard to find anything reliable under 10k these days. I ended up getting a new Subaru Crosstrek. Decent mpg and gutless enough to make a great first car for my daughter in a few years.

I’m considering getting an integra A-spec w/ the manual trans as another vehicle, my Raptor has 69k miles & is paid off been putting too much miles on it (hwy mainly) & my weekly commute just burns fuel for no reason. Only thing is I already have a “toy” car in a built C5Z & my wife is closer to “needing” a new DD before me- she has a ‘19 MDX w/ 93k miles…thing is we already put $$$ into both vehicles w/ intention of keeping longer term (the tranny/diff fluid changes, new brakes on both of em, new tires on my truck, her MDX got a new radiator & forward collision camera etc) at that point where you just put a lil more maintenance $$$ here & there on the older paid-for vehicles & enjoy no payment or suck it up & put a down payment along w/ trade on new vehicle w/ warranty & low payment

downforce137 said:

are they? i know they barely made any in 2019.. less than 750, but i thought the 17, and 18 production was higher numbers like in the 20k range, clearly i was wrong...

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i think they did a terrible job with the marketing on the car, plus the SHO was about the same price with better performance and other features..

i think its a really cool car, and also much sportier and youthful than the taurus, but totally slept on. it never caught on, and its probably because they didnt use ST badging..

ran 13.8@94 with a K&N drop in..

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I bet one of those cars goosetuned would be mid to upper 12s easy. If I were a college guy needing a fun reasonable car for relative overall inexpensive used i wouldn't look any further.

Back when I had a 90 mile daily commute and kids in sports every weekend, I purchased a used Ford Fusion hybrid for 16k. I'm 6'4" so needed a decent sized vehicle with good MPG. I put 60k miles on that car in 2 1/2 years and sold it for 10k. Well worth keeping miles off my truck and Vette during that time.

Toplessdriver said:

Back when I had a 90 mile daily commute and kids in sports every weekend, I purchased a used Ford Fusion hybrid for 16k. I'm 6'4" so needed a decent sized vehicle with good MPG. I put 60k miles on that car in 2 1/2 years and sold it for 10k. Well worth keeping miles off my truck and Vette during that time.

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Yeah in that case it starts to pencil out. Was it the plug in hybrid version?

My favorite gas saver commuter car was a Chevy Sonic hatchback with a manual. I was AVERAGING 32-34mpg. Super fun car to drive with a turbo. Didn’t mind it as a beater.

I’d love to get a Focus RS just for the fun of it.

G3Rap said:

My favorite gas saver commuter car was a Chevy Sonic hatchback with a manual. I was AVERAGING 32-34mpg. Super fun car to drive with a turbo. Didn’t mind it as a beater.

I’d love to get a Focus RS just for the fun of it.

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I should also mention, that Sonic is still in the family at around 240k miles on it. No big mechanical changes or needs.

Replaced coolant line due to tree rats chewing them up. Change oil and do all the recommended interval maintenance and it’s been solid.

It was not the plug in hybrid version. I averaged around 38mpg, which I considered great for a decent size 4 door. Don't get me wrong it wouldn't win any races but would still cruise 75 on the interstate all day.