> I'm gonna swallow my pride and get something smaller and more > economical. And even though the Kawasaki Ninja 250R gets 70 mpg, my > wife won't allow it :). So now I'm debating what to get. I drive > around 28k a year pretty much back and forth to work with a commute > time of 2 hours total on a good day. Bad days 3 to 4 hours.
I've driven "econo-boxes" as my commuter cars for the last 6 years. My wife has the van, I have the car. First thing I can say is get something that you feel comfortable in. With the drive times you're talking about, it has to be comfortable. Secondly, if you're going to look at a hybrid you need to look at the system that the hybrid uses. I've got a 55 mile commute but they are all at high speeds. A prius would do me no good because it's electric only under 35 mph or so, after that you're burning battery and gas. Basically if you're in stop-and-go, the hybrid will use less fuel over time. If you're cruising for most of your drive it's not worth it. Google the car you're looking at with the words "real gas mileage". Third, according to http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/119083/article.html - Edmunds most fuel efficient cars of 2007, you're going to be getting an import. My pick - assuming I had the budget would be one of three: 1. Honda Civic Hybrid - Based on Edmonds the price tag would be in the $25k range and according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_Hybrid the 2006 and up models have a technology that allows it to deactivate the gas engine when decelerating and cruising. 2. Toyota Camry Hybrid - It's a full sized sedan and a hybrid. The mileage isn't as high as the civic but this is a larger car as well. Biggest boos for me, the battery has an 8 year warranty. 3. Hyundai Accent or Kia Rio - Again, they're full sized sedans and also won the "Editors' Most Wanted Sedan under $15k" prize. Not a hybrid but still good mileage at 32/35. Comfort on the drive is big for me. Right now I'm dealing with a 2001 Chevy Cavalier. It's getting about 25-28 mpg for me, which is good. I can also fit my family of 4 in it, granted not comfortably. That's my tuppence. I feel your pain and am thankful that I can put my kids in public school without fear. Then again, I also live in a village of 1500 people in farm country, 40 miles north of Buffalo! Hatton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| ColdFusion 8 - Build next generation apps today, with easy PDF and Ajax features - download now http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/coldfusion/cf8_beta_whatsnew_052907.pdf Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:243739 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
