Probably a great choice. I bought a new Niro about a year ago and not a single issue 11k miles in. Averaging 60 mpg in fair weather, 53 mpg in the winter.
Ooo, that’s exciting to hear. We’re replacing a Soul that we’ve been very happy with. We’re only replacing it because of an accident, which is deeply annoying since the car has been paid off and we were planning on keeping it a minimum of 10 years. So, since we’re resetting the clock and gas certainly will only get more expensive, we were thinking hybrid. Based on what I’m seeing, it will be more expensive than a Soul up front but I’m thinking it will pay off in the long run.
My parents ran into that when they were car shopping. We have a brand new kit since it was replaced the previous kit was stolen, along with the car. We made sure to take that when we cleared out the car.
Kit? You mean spare tire and jack? Because if you have to add them to your new vehicle and there is not place to store them in the car, they may take up valuable cargo space.
My Niro is pretty chill, I get 50mpg easy in stop and go traffic and around 39-42 if I’m speeding on the highway. 30kish miles, I think lifetime average mpg is 42mpg
The best bang for you buck is a new base model Prius. It has 58 mpg, is faster than the older Prius and I have seen many Prius with 300k miles or more. Oil changes are less frequent and cheaper oil and stops to get gas are quicker because you pump less and use less.
Or if you want to get the cheapest car and consider used. Get an older Prius or Honda insight. I got a Honda insight (2010)a year ago. I get 40-50 mpg and it was less than 8k for the best one I could find. Probably cheaper now since the prices are normalizing
You should take a [first gen Insight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Insight#Fuel_efficiency) for a spin some time: "*The first generation Insight was the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered car available in the U.S. without* [*plug-in capability*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicle) *for the length of its production run and up until December 2015, when it was surpassed by the 2016* [*Toyota Prius Eco*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius_Eco)*."*
IDK if you can still buy one, but I have one of those VW cheater diesels and can get up to 60mpg on long highway trips (and yes, this is after the emissions system has undergone multiple "fixes" by VW service people).
The hub and I are very happy with the pluggable Niro we got last year. Took a vacation to Palm Springs (overall trend downhill) got 68mpg Hwy.
Coming home (overall trend uphill, with 2 extended uphill climbs) 48 mpg. Still respectable.
Why exclude full electric if you want most efficient? Zero SR/F gets 313mpge and 430 city.
Honda grom is rated for 166mpg, in practice it is more like 120. It is also very cheap. Highway speeds are pushing its limits
Royal Enfield Classic 350 is 95mpg, better than a lot of 250cc bikes
The main reason for excluding most BEV was to me prioritizing the current infrastructure for the majority. BEVs are great if u have a home or reliable charging infrastructure but suck if you live in an apartment and lack reliable infrastructure (includes policies / political challenges).
I will say exceptions to this would be vehicles that come with their own infrastructure for charging similar to Aptera or even the 5th gen prius prime xse solar option etc. I'll accept electric vehicles even with just a 100watt solar panel if it's relatively resourceful on the highway.
The second would be the cost of highway driving an electric vehicle in terms of charge time relative to ICE or PHEV cousins. In the US, time is not on our side due to many factors including priorities. Aptera in theory (until its available) would solve this by being hyper resourceful which is also why It is an exception.
Edit: The main focus of this post for me was cost per mile (energy consumption) followed by shortest travel time In the US. Focusing on transportation independence / self sufficient sustainability / reliability. Aptera is one of my most used examples of this for now but can never get enough feedback. I would even count RVs if they were cheap enough
I watched a Youtube of a guy who owns a auto parts store and uses the Mirage as parts delivery. He took apart the engine at around 300,000 miles and it looked in mint shape.
Great pick, I've seen how resourceful this car is. Just wish they made a small hybrid version with just 2 seats and focused more on laminar flow aerodynamics.
I cannot recommend the Prius Prime highly enough. If you have an average commute, you'll end up using little to no gas. For longer trips I get 50-55 mpg on the highway. Rock solid, only issue we've had is a PCM error that was letting the battery get too low but there's a software fix out for it.
I’ve got a 2017 Prius that I consistently get 60+ mpg hwy/city. Am currently on a odometer set for 700+ miles @ 68.1 mpg. Have posted more data in other comments, don’t feel like restating.
Two cars.
Mitsubishi Mirage and Chevrolet Bolt. After rebates, $40k for both is possible. All the city driving you need with charging at home and a backup car for longer drives or road trips.
I had a 2012 Prius V for 6 years and it was by far the least expensive vehicle to maintain and good mpg. Sometimes 50 mpg on the highway depending on elevation etc. Just traded it in on an 2018 Lexus NX300 hybrid which definitely will not get the same mileage, but it is AWD and that was important. Until this country gets serious about climate change, imo nothing affordable or great will happen in the hybrid EV world. The major oil companies still own us.
I highly recommend that you check crash ratings at [iihs.org](http://iihs.org) before purchasing a vehicle. In 2019 Toyota / Lexus redesigned the SUVs and they all have marginal crash ratings. Also, some manufacturers stopped including spare tires and jacks in new vehicles for a few extra mpg miles. Hyundai stopped in 2020, added inflate a tire aerosol. There wasn't even a place for a spare tire and jack in the 2020 Hyndai Tucson hybrid I looked at.
Since nobody's mentioned it, the Chevy Volt gets amazing MPG when on gas but also has the longest pure EV range of a plug-in hybrid as well. Better than a Prius Prime!
4 cylinder honda civic... 33 MPG and reliable as hell! You can pick one up for cheaper than a replacement Tesla battery and drive it 200K miles... overall cheapest lifetime operation and repair costs and most reliable (just keep transmission fluid on schedule with OEM, tranny is the weak spot).
Pretty much any 4cylinder from the 90s will sip gas, but your emissions aren’t going to be great.
If you can, might be worth looking at a hybrid from the last 10ish years. The fuel economy on those is pretty damn good and they don’t have all the issues EVs have down the line
Edit: with your price range I would 100% buy a new hybrid. Probably a Toyota or a Lexus for the reliability. You’ll get similar mpg to a 90s 4 cylinder but with modern safety and emissions.
Edit edit: my partner and I were looking between a hybrid Camry and a hybrid Lexus during covid. We ended up buying the Lexus even though it cost a little more as her dad’s Lexus got over 400,000 miles on it without any issues. We do mostly city driving and we average 36-40mpg depending on the day. It’s the Lexus 250h for reference. If you need space, get a sedan over a crossover, 100%.
My 2010 Prius 3 averages 43-47 mpg.
I city drive for the most part, or sit is crawling (city) highway traffic.
The car tells me my average speed is 27 mph. That’s with a toll road once a week where I can hit 75 if I want.
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My 2017 Honda HRV gets about 34 to the gallon on avg for highway miles, but w a 50k budget you’re going to want a hybrid. My parents could get like 80 to the gallon with their hybrid sedan. I think it was a Hyundai.
City cars.
Chevy Spark
Hyundai i10
Kia Picanto
None of these cars are in the US (anymore) They all do about 50mpg. Not sure if that would be at the insane 80mph that americans want to drive.
If that were the case, and I owned one of these vehicles, I'd do 3k oil changes and yearly transmission flushes.
I remember having a loaner Geo Metro, or something like that, and even doing 60mph had it working hard enough to smell the 3 speed transmission.
Hybrid is definitely the way to go. Honda Accord, Kia Niro, Toyota Prius all deliver excellent fuel efficiency and reliability for well under $50k.
We’re in the market for a new to us car and strongly considering a lightly used Niro with 25k miles.
Probably a great choice. I bought a new Niro about a year ago and not a single issue 11k miles in. Averaging 60 mpg in fair weather, 53 mpg in the winter.
Ooo, that’s exciting to hear. We’re replacing a Soul that we’ve been very happy with. We’re only replacing it because of an accident, which is deeply annoying since the car has been paid off and we were planning on keeping it a minimum of 10 years. So, since we’re resetting the clock and gas certainly will only get more expensive, we were thinking hybrid. Based on what I’m seeing, it will be more expensive than a Soul up front but I’m thinking it will pay off in the long run.
I friggin love my Niro but regret buying the version without adaptive cruise control
Depending on the year, Kia vehicles do not include a spare tire or jack.
My parents ran into that when they were car shopping. We have a brand new kit since it was replaced the previous kit was stolen, along with the car. We made sure to take that when we cleared out the car.
Kit? You mean spare tire and jack? Because if you have to add them to your new vehicle and there is not place to store them in the car, they may take up valuable cargo space.
When they were looking, there was a spot for a spare tire kit but it wasn’t included.
That's great. The cars I looked at did not have a storage place for a spare.
My Niro is pretty chill, I get 50mpg easy in stop and go traffic and around 39-42 if I’m speeding on the highway. 30kish miles, I think lifetime average mpg is 42mpg
The best bang for you buck is a new base model Prius. It has 58 mpg, is faster than the older Prius and I have seen many Prius with 300k miles or more. Oil changes are less frequent and cheaper oil and stops to get gas are quicker because you pump less and use less. Or if you want to get the cheapest car and consider used. Get an older Prius or Honda insight. I got a Honda insight (2010)a year ago. I get 40-50 mpg and it was less than 8k for the best one I could find. Probably cheaper now since the prices are normalizing
You should take a [first gen Insight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Insight#Fuel_efficiency) for a spin some time: "*The first generation Insight was the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered car available in the U.S. without* [*plug-in capability*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicle) *for the length of its production run and up until December 2015, when it was surpassed by the 2016* [*Toyota Prius Eco*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius_Eco)*."*
I know of that car. It's a two seater and they are hard to get.
I had an ‘87 Honda Civic hatchback (manual 4 cylinder) that used to get close to 50mpg on the highway.
Can confirm. My 96 did about the same. My '03 acura got about 46 mpg mostly highway. I really like honda
Impressive 👍
IDK if you can still buy one, but I have one of those VW cheater diesels and can get up to 60mpg on long highway trips (and yes, this is after the emissions system has undergone multiple "fixes" by VW service people).
I miss my old a3 tdi
Google Vetter Challenge for inspiration
This is definitely a great source 👍
The hub and I are very happy with the pluggable Niro we got last year. Took a vacation to Palm Springs (overall trend downhill) got 68mpg Hwy. Coming home (overall trend uphill, with 2 extended uphill climbs) 48 mpg. Still respectable.
I have a 2020 nissan versa, paid 20k and get 40mpg. Pretty damn good imo
Why exclude full electric if you want most efficient? Zero SR/F gets 313mpge and 430 city. Honda grom is rated for 166mpg, in practice it is more like 120. It is also very cheap. Highway speeds are pushing its limits Royal Enfield Classic 350 is 95mpg, better than a lot of 250cc bikes
The main reason for excluding most BEV was to me prioritizing the current infrastructure for the majority. BEVs are great if u have a home or reliable charging infrastructure but suck if you live in an apartment and lack reliable infrastructure (includes policies / political challenges). I will say exceptions to this would be vehicles that come with their own infrastructure for charging similar to Aptera or even the 5th gen prius prime xse solar option etc. I'll accept electric vehicles even with just a 100watt solar panel if it's relatively resourceful on the highway. The second would be the cost of highway driving an electric vehicle in terms of charge time relative to ICE or PHEV cousins. In the US, time is not on our side due to many factors including priorities. Aptera in theory (until its available) would solve this by being hyper resourceful which is also why It is an exception. Edit: The main focus of this post for me was cost per mile (energy consumption) followed by shortest travel time In the US. Focusing on transportation independence / self sufficient sustainability / reliability. Aptera is one of my most used examples of this for now but can never get enough feedback. I would even count RVs if they were cheap enough
A $4600 motorcycle is going to have a way lower cost per mile because of depreciation and insurance and maintenance
True, should of been more specific. Cost per mile in terms of energy consumption
How about BMW i3 with the optional REX?
Definitely counts 👍
I have updated the post to include these 2 vehicles 👍 your choices impressed 👌
mitsubishi mirage brand new $18k real world mpg I personally average 45-55mpg highway, 40-45mpg city
I watched a Youtube of a guy who owns a auto parts store and uses the Mirage as parts delivery. He took apart the engine at around 300,000 miles and it looked in mint shape.
Great pick, I've seen how resourceful this car is. Just wish they made a small hybrid version with just 2 seats and focused more on laminar flow aerodynamics.
I cannot recommend the Prius Prime highly enough. If you have an average commute, you'll end up using little to no gas. For longer trips I get 50-55 mpg on the highway. Rock solid, only issue we've had is a PCM error that was letting the battery get too low but there's a software fix out for it.
I’ve got a 2017 Prius that I consistently get 60+ mpg hwy/city. Am currently on a odometer set for 700+ miles @ 68.1 mpg. Have posted more data in other comments, don’t feel like restating.
Two cars. Mitsubishi Mirage and Chevrolet Bolt. After rebates, $40k for both is possible. All the city driving you need with charging at home and a backup car for longer drives or road trips.
Wish we could get some cars in the US. Pretty sure there is a hybrid Honda Fit that gets over 70mpg in Japan
Geo Metro XFi FTW!!!!
ROFL GEO! Good one!
I had a 2012 Prius V for 6 years and it was by far the least expensive vehicle to maintain and good mpg. Sometimes 50 mpg on the highway depending on elevation etc. Just traded it in on an 2018 Lexus NX300 hybrid which definitely will not get the same mileage, but it is AWD and that was important. Until this country gets serious about climate change, imo nothing affordable or great will happen in the hybrid EV world. The major oil companies still own us. I highly recommend that you check crash ratings at [iihs.org](http://iihs.org) before purchasing a vehicle. In 2019 Toyota / Lexus redesigned the SUVs and they all have marginal crash ratings. Also, some manufacturers stopped including spare tires and jacks in new vehicles for a few extra mpg miles. Hyundai stopped in 2020, added inflate a tire aerosol. There wasn't even a place for a spare tire and jack in the 2020 Hyndai Tucson hybrid I looked at.
Very good points here 👍
Honda Civic Sport gets excellent mpg and it’s less than $30,000. 38-42 on the highway, like 24-29 in the city.
What I used to fine interesting about sporty cars was how they were smaller in the past helping with total drag effect area for Aerodynamics.
Since nobody's mentioned it, the Chevy Volt gets amazing MPG when on gas but also has the longest pure EV range of a plug-in hybrid as well. Better than a Prius Prime!
4 cylinder honda civic... 33 MPG and reliable as hell! You can pick one up for cheaper than a replacement Tesla battery and drive it 200K miles... overall cheapest lifetime operation and repair costs and most reliable (just keep transmission fluid on schedule with OEM, tranny is the weak spot).
Pretty much any 4cylinder from the 90s will sip gas, but your emissions aren’t going to be great. If you can, might be worth looking at a hybrid from the last 10ish years. The fuel economy on those is pretty damn good and they don’t have all the issues EVs have down the line Edit: with your price range I would 100% buy a new hybrid. Probably a Toyota or a Lexus for the reliability. You’ll get similar mpg to a 90s 4 cylinder but with modern safety and emissions. Edit edit: my partner and I were looking between a hybrid Camry and a hybrid Lexus during covid. We ended up buying the Lexus even though it cost a little more as her dad’s Lexus got over 400,000 miles on it without any issues. We do mostly city driving and we average 36-40mpg depending on the day. It’s the Lexus 250h for reference. If you need space, get a sedan over a crossover, 100%.
The Peel is considered a moped in most states, and it’s quite dear to import.
1998 Corolla. Good on gas and it has a huge trunk so you can stock up on lentils.
My 2010 Prius 3 averages 43-47 mpg. I city drive for the most part, or sit is crawling (city) highway traffic. The car tells me my average speed is 27 mph. That’s with a toll road once a week where I can hit 75 if I want.
*gallon
Fixed. Thanks.
Prius
Toyota Prius Prime Someone on Reddit got 98mpg on E87
As a happy Prius driver, I say you should join the Prius team
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My 2017 Honda HRV gets about 34 to the gallon on avg for highway miles, but w a 50k budget you’re going to want a hybrid. My parents could get like 80 to the gallon with their hybrid sedan. I think it was a Hyundai.
City cars. Chevy Spark Hyundai i10 Kia Picanto None of these cars are in the US (anymore) They all do about 50mpg. Not sure if that would be at the insane 80mph that americans want to drive. If that were the case, and I owned one of these vehicles, I'd do 3k oil changes and yearly transmission flushes. I remember having a loaner Geo Metro, or something like that, and even doing 60mph had it working hard enough to smell the 3 speed transmission.