Auto purchase

I drive 90 miles round trip each day. have a 2007 Tacoma and with gas going up need advise as to what to buy. would like a truck, 4 door, 4 wheel, but also would consider an SUV, any size. I need help as to suggestions for what would delive safety and gas mileage.
thanks and this is my first time.
Tim J

May want to look at a santa fe (SUV).

You already drive a midsize PU truck. Not many newer PU that give better mpg than your Tacoma. The new Ford F-150 with EcoBoast might get a bit more mpg but not that much. The Ford Ranger 4 cylinder is something you could buy used, but most 4X4’s come with a V6 and are not great for mpg.

In SUV’s you are looking at the smallest versions, Rav4, CRV, Ford Escape, etc. to get better mpg than what you drive now. You can research vehicles at Edmunds.com and the reviews and specs give the mpg ratings for each vehicle. Since these mpg are for comparison purposes the actual mpg you will get can vary and might or might not be better than your current ride.

For a 90 mile daily commute a truck isn’t a good vehicle unless you are carrying tools and materials to the job with you daily. You might be best keeping the truck, and getting an economy car for all the commuting miles; Honda Civic, Chevy Cruz, Corolla, etc.

Agreed, unless there’s a reason for needing a truck just find a small economy car.

If you need a truck-like vehicle, then I would sell the Tacoma. If you’ve taken good care of it you should get a decent amount for it.

Then take the money to Craigslist. Find one of the many many older small econo-box cars (Prisms, escorts, etc.) for sale there and buy it to use for your daily commute. Then take the rest of the money and buy one of the many older 4WD king cab pickups you can find there. Drive that whenever you need the 4WD or pickup truck capabilities.

These things will be older & high mileage which is not really a big deal if you make sure they’ve been cared for reasonably and get a basic repair manual for each. Keep up with the maintenance and learn to do basic repairs yourself.

If you want a 4WD truck, then stick with what you have. It gets about 20 MPG on the highway, and the F150 with the Ecoboost 6-cyl gets 23. You will only save about $600 per year in gas cost. That’s not worth worrying about. When you factor in the depreciation on a new truck when you drive over 22,000 miles per year, you are much better off driving your Tacoma until it falls apart. If you get an economy car for commuting that gets a least 30 MPG, you will save more than $1500 each year. In 4 years a car that gets 30 MPG would earn you $6000. If you are willing to pay off this small used car with gas savings in 4 or 5 years, you could buy a 4 year old compact. It seems like you really like your truck, so I’d suggest keeping it and looking for an older small car for around $4000. When the car needs repairs, as all older cars will, just drive the truck until it is fixed.

You should find a GM EV1 from the mid-90s just to use for the commute. They had a range of about 120 miles which is perfect for you. 90 miles + a 30 mile cushion.

Oh wait…that’s right! You can’t get one. They shredded them all! So I guess that leaves their latest “hi-tech, brilliantly engineered Volt.” Fifteen years of tech later and they got the range all the way up to 40 miles! (wait, wha?)

GM recently announced they’re closing down the Volt assembly line for a while due to slow sales, although slow sales is not the reason given. Go figure.

It’s also been reported, and denied, that GM dealers have been playing money games with the tax angle of buying a Volt. Dealers are transferring the cars from one to the other and then splitting the incentive between themselves while claiming the cars were rental units and so on. Go figure, again. :slight_smile:

The Chevy dealer here has a few Volts they might deal on. They’ve been sitting there for months on the grass out front and are taking root.

you drive a truck now, and you want a new 4wd truck for better fuel mileage? Good luck with that.

If you can drive stick, and can live with FWD, the new Mazda CX-5 will deliver ~35 mpg on the highway. 32 with auto and 31 with AWD.