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What's a fun, quick car that still gets 30+ MPG?

Kestrel said:
Of course, that's a reasonable solution which is precisely why you'll never take it seriously.
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No one will take that all seriously because the very first part of your solution is the dealbreaker....buying an old Volvo.
 
DarthRider said:
I've got a 2010 Mazda 3, 5 door, or hatchback version. Not the Speedthree but same style. The 4 door was crap but the 5 door is a kick in the pants. I commute over Highway 29 everyday and drive aggressively and I am still averaging 25.5 miles per gallon for the 35,000 miles I have put on the car in the 19 or months I've had it. I would definitely recommend this car to others.
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I have the same car in a manny tranny and love it. You really need to get the RPM's up for it to get fairly peppy, but it's a fun car. Pretty good on gas (The Speed3 wasn't too great on gas, plus I already has a few bikes if I needed the for speed). Love the features (Bluetooth, nice sound system, didn't mind the smiley face really).
The only problem is the stock tires which can be a bit slippery if you're cornering too fast.
 
Have you worked out how much 30mpg is worth to you? As an example, I hate that my Subaru gets 25mpg, but I only take it 200 miles a month so even 50mpg would save me like $15/month.

(I'm used to bikes and 35mpg cars)
 
sliverstorm said:
Holy cow.

I have always heard the C6 is the only one worth having handling-wise. What's your take?
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If you saw a rolling chassis of a C5 and C6 side by side, you'd have a hard time picking out the differences.

The C5 Z06 was pretty competent around turns. The limiting factor on the C5 coupe and convertible are the garbage ass run flat tires. Even the base C6 has garbage tires.

C6 Z06 and ZR1 are the best handling because of the super sticky rubber and all the tricks they did to move the center of gravity lower, like mounting the engine lower in the frame with a dry sump setup, aluminum frame, and carbon body parts.
 
TheRobSJ said:
C6 Z06 and ZR1 are the best handling because of the super sticky rubber and all the tricks they did to move the center of gravity lower, like mounting the engine lower in the frame with a dry sump setup, aluminum frame, and carbon body parts.
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Is it a big difference? Worth the money?

(Ignoring the tires. I don't care about factory tires.)
 
sliverstorm said:
Is it a big difference? Worth the money?

(Ignoring the tires. I don't care about factory tires.)
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As far as performance, the difference between a C5 Z06 to a C6 Z06 is pretty big. But the difference between a base C5 to a base C6 is not so much. Couple bolt ons to the C5, and its straight line performance is every bit as good as the C6. Tand a C5 could be had for much less money than a C6. But to get a C5 Z06 to equal a C6 Z06 would take extensive mods and wouldn't be worth the price difference.
 
TheRobSJ said:
As far as performance, the difference between a C5 Z06 to a C6 Z06 is pretty big. But the difference between a base C5 to a base C6 is not so much. Couple bolt ons to the C5, and its straight line performance is every bit as good as the C6. Tand a C5 could be had for much less money than a C6. But to get a C5 Z06 to equal a C6 Z06 would take extensive mods and wouldn't be worth the price difference.
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Is that including the suspension? I'm unconcerned with the engine- it's a Chevy V8 for christsake, it can't help but have 3x as much power as I've ever had :laughing

I care a lot about handling. :teeth
 
sliverstorm said:
Is it a big difference? Worth the money?

(Ignoring the tires. I don't care about factory tires.)
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You can pick up a C5 Z06, 400hp for $22-27K. C6 Z06, 500hp, $42-45K.

The C5 is 90% of the C6 and $20K cheaper. That being said, faced with the same question, I bought the C6 Z06.
 
Whats your price point?

$30K, 2008 BMW 335i coupe. 30+mpg highway all day long.

$25K, 2006 Corvette C6. I got average 29-30MPG driving Walnut Creek to Sac bi-weekly. Ride was fine, car was great..hated the skip shift. Loved the car.
 
If you actually are interested in a Z06, have a minty fresh C5 Z06 w/ low miles for sale. Shoot me a PM
 
My Toyota MR2 Spyder is the most fun car ever made IMO, and I get 28/36 mpg no matter how much I flog it. In pure highway cross country driving, I've gone 400 miles on the 11 gal tank.
 
I love my gti. Handling is amazing with good tires. Not as much power as the Mazda but a much more handsome car, inside and out with better build quality.
 
Never ridden in a GTi, but always heard good things.
 
Doing some research tonight and found this:

2011 Ford Mustang
Brand new Aluminum 3.7L V6 motor putting out 305HP
0-60 5.1 sec
1/4 mile 13.7 sec @ 102 MPH
Fuel Mileage 19/31 EPA
Base price $22,995

Per Motor Trend, "thanks to a newly standard rear limited-slip diff and communicative electric power steering as well as an optional $1995 Performance Package that nets GT suspension and brakes, 19-inch wheels with summer rubber, and a strut-tower brace, our test car recorded maximum lateral acceleration of 0.96 g and 60-to-0 braking in 104 feet. Not even a feathery Mazda MX-5 Miata (0.91, 120) can match those numbers. And for all that, neither can our long-term BMW M3 (0.94, 105)."

It looks like I may need to go check this one out.
 
klx-rider said:
Doing some research tonight and found this:

2011 Ford Mustang
Brand new Aluminum 3.7L V6 motor putting out 305HP
0-60 5.1 sec
1/4 mile 13.7 sec @ 102 MPH
Fuel Mileage 19/31 EPA
Base price $22,995

Per Motor Trend, "thanks to a newly standard rear limited-slip diff and communicative electric power steering as well as an optional $1995 Performance Package that nets GT suspension and brakes, 19-inch wheels with summer rubber, and a strut-tower brace, our test car recorded maximum lateral acceleration of 0.96 g and 60-to-0 braking in 104 feet. Not even a feathery Mazda MX-5 Miata (0.91, 120) can match those numbers. And for all that, neither can our long-term BMW M3 (0.94, 105)."

It looks like I may need to go check this one out.
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Stick with 18 inch wheels... or buy a set for winter.:thumbup

Does it have traction control?:nerd
 
I have a 2004 corvette And would say a vette would meet your needs. If not that I also recommend a mr2, pretty sure they get over 30 mpg and they are fun little cars to drive.

Also consider gm f-body's. Camaro, trans am. They can get close to 30 mpg on the freeway and be fun to drive, just have to live with shitty interior.
 
My '05 Vette convertible would get 28 mpg on the highway. There is always the VW GTI TDI that I think would meet your needs. I had a non-diesel GTI that would get about 27 mpg. It handled great and had pretty respectable acceleration.
 
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