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Good daily drivers

2K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  AwsmGy 
#1 ·
Coming this January I will be starting classes at the School of Automotive Machinists. It is a 166 mi round trip for me to make every day from college station to Houston. Mostly open highway except about 10 miles of traffic. I need a new car because I don't want to tear up my firebird.

Requirements:
1. MUST be a manual transmission
2. Be under $4000
3. Get as close to 30mpg on 87 octane
4. Be somewhat 'cool' or something clean.

Ideas would be like a 06 Scion tC. Under 5k all day, sporty 4cyl with a 5 speed. 30 hwy mpg. Any other ideas from car guys? I just wanted to find more things to search.
 
#5 ·
Well the best years are 92-00, because so many parts are easy to find interchangeable. 91 and older are also great, but so many parts are discontinued and harder to find. All off those have 4 wheel independent suspension which really helps the handling, but they're not "fast" unless you're willing to put money into it. Plenty peppy though!
The "cool" factor is pretty mixed though. You need to be really careful with your mods if you don't want to be made fun of, but even then people just love to hate for no reason.

Saturns are dirt cheap and reliable, but they're not exactly fun or cool...

I'm personally not a fan of the tc, but it will be crazy reliable with the camry engine.
 
#7 ·
#10 ·
I feel like I wouldn't be happy with a civic that old. I'd want something quiet and comfortable. No rattles! And no geo metro. Somebody in my town has one with 24's and exhaust out the hood. Ruined it.
 
#14 ·
Pretty much, and cheap.

Thanks superman, I forgot you had a tC. Unfortunately I kinda wish I had a stock v6 firebird like I did a few years ago... Oopps. Oh well, looks like I will just make it a race car.
 
#13 ·
My bird gets about the same MPG as my wife's tC. My tank is bigger so I'm not stopping at the pump as often.
I drive her tC alot. It's not comfortable. Visibility sucks. I'm about 6ft and the visor hits my forehead. The rear view mirror literally blocks where a car would be to my right at a 4 way stop. I have to constantly look down and around before turning right to ensure nobody is walking across or that a car isn't parked there.
I'm used to my car with not having rear windows, but the tC's tiny windows make them useless when it comes to anything other than letting sunlight in.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Camaro Zone mobile app
 
#23 ·
How is it in the snow?

I drive a 1996 Civic sedan.
Going to run this ****er into the ground. Really, fairly quiet for 275K miles.
Very slow.
 
#17 ·
I have a 2004 Sentra that I got for $3200. 1.8L manual 5 speed, decent little commuter car. It's not cool, but it reliably gets me to and from work every day. Parts are also very inexpensive, I just bought complete Moog front shock assemblies, <$200 shipped to my door. Uses regular 87, I typically get around 30mpg combined. imo I'd worry more about practicality than looking cool in a daily driver.
 
#19 ·
The third built 4l60e in my car is slipping again. I can't afford to fix it and buy a car. Should I t56 swap my car and tune it for 87? I get 26 mpg on the highway with it as an auto
 
#21 ·
Saturn SL1, SW1, or SC1 manual have the best gear ratios for flat highway driving. 00-02 is best for design issues. A rebuilt engine is preferred, since factory rings were shit and they burn oil like crazy until rebuilt. Still, I recommend a Saturn. I have a 02 SL2 5 speed manual (DOHC engine + more aggressive gearing) and compared to an F-body, it's a shitty car, but perfect for commuting long distances cheaply. I've been getting 34+ MPG lately doing a lot of highway driving. Paid $1400 for it and all it really needed at the time was 2 tires. Look out for rust.
 
#22 ·
You can do a trans swap and keep using that car as a daily. 26+ hwy mpg isn't terrible if you can afford it, but do you want to put that many miles on your car?

Might as well recommend this car too, 98-02 accord, specifically the coupe. I had one and it's an amazing daily. Close to 35 mpg, nice ride quality, luxurious for the price (get the leather seats, huge difference), quiet inside, and sporty looking. Parts for it is cheap, and different wheels helps give it an aggressive look. Plus it's surprisingly quick!
 
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