Best ICE/hybrid choice to tide me over

[evnow]

Personally I'd recommend a 2011 or 2012 Hyundai Elantra.

+1 on Elantra.

Difficult to beat that in TCO.

 

[Stoaty]

...as well as an environmental responsibility one, as IMO too much attention is paid to the impact of the car's usage and not enough to what goes into making the car.

Can you elaborate on this? Generally, the energy cost of making a car is about 10% of the energy it will consume over its lifetime. Do cars differ greatly re: the environmental impact of making them?

 

[redLEAF]

Looks like I'll need to acquire another car ASAP for the family "fleet" prior to the Leaf's arrival. Any opinions on ICE/hybrid car choices appreciated for:

- low purchase price (prefer new, it has always worked better for me, but would consider newer used)
- low total cost of ownership
- great fuel economy
- durability/reliability
- something not too boring image-wise would be a plus, but does not need to be fancy, just basic comforts like power windows/locks

Reading through this thread, these are all typical requirements a lot of folks look for, what brand preferences (saw Honda's mentioned), and who will be driving (some cars are simply too small for some people)? I've owned a few Toyota's (although nothing more recent than an '81 Corolla -- didn't even have A/C, no glove box and roll up windows and vinyl seats but tough to kill), a number of VW's (Scirocco, Fox, New Beetle TDI and now a Routan), Mazda's (two Miata's and a Mazda3 GT 5-door), a couple of Dodge Caravan's, Isuzu's and Chevy's as well as a few others --- my best bet after all these would be an '09 or earlier Mazda3 hatch or sedan (before they went to the smiley face grill). Depending on the daily commute you can get decent mileage, the fit and finish is decent (my '06's interior still looks new after 56K miles), it handles quite well, has very low cost to operate and Mazda's are NOT boring to drive (zoom, zoom). Mazda is often overlooked as they are nowhere near as big as Honda and Toyota but they make some real fun cars to drive at a reasonable price. They do hold their value fairly well but I'm sure you would get more car for your money than a comparable used Corolla or Civic (and probably better equipment -- my '06 GT 5-door has heated leather seats, navi, xenon auto lights & wipers and auto A/C --- really appreciated during this hot summer!); don't get me wrong I loved my '98 VW NB TDI but major systems (the A/C compressor was going when I traded it after 8 years) are quite expensive versus the Japanese imports. I personally stick with new cars (despite the depreciation hit) as I typically keep them for a long time but as you never mentioned a budget -- a used Mazda3 would be a good bet for what you've listed.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Thanks redleaf, and to others who have commented. I was thinking mazda 3 should be on the list, as well as the elantra.

Sloaty I didn't know the number was that low. That includes everything that goes into mining and producing the materials?

On a related note, if you're ever vacationing in the West passing through the Salt Lake City area, check out the Bingham Canyon copper mine. When you see the rigamarole they go through to produce a pound of copper, you'll never look at things around you quite the same way. I don't even put so much as an a lamp cord in the trash any more. A windshield wiper motor looks like serious treasure, and an A/C coil? Fuggedaboutit, they'll break into your house to steal those!