[stephent2]

Originally Posted by superchicken_VI

Test drive a Ford Focus. The 4-door we had in Ireland last year was amazing, with excellent fuel economy. I know it won't be as good here, but that was a great city car, and did well on bumpy roads. I'm sure it will eventually start to rattle, though.

I'm completely blown away by my wife's Mini Cooper, also. Great economy, easy to get around crowded cities, and an absolute blast to drive. You're better off buying new, because resale value is amazingly high, and they include your maintenance for 3 years. You can get a new one without a lot of extra toys for under $20k if you want a manual transmission. With her automatic and a mix of driving conditions, she's getting about 36mpg.

Also, the smart4two should be hitting the US now, and it's the minicar from Mercedes. Go to the smart website for more info, but a 40+mpg 5 speed automatic starts at around $11k, and was made for city driving. It's amazing how resilient these cars are in crash tests.

I love the the Minis but they have a very stiff suspension, it is a bone shaker on rough roads and the reviews on the Smart (though I love the design) are pretty medium. In the reviews I've read no one got out of the mid to high 30s in mpg (automatic). I'd want more that that if I was saddled with only 70 HP.