Vehicle for long commute

[ray7694]

I drive about 70 miles a day almost all highway. It’s an easy drive but I put high miles on my vehicles. I bought a Nissan Altima and in 5 years have 130,000 miles on it.
We started travel sports so I would love a vehicle with more room. I don’t want to overspend as in 5 years the car needs lots of maintenance and isn’t worth much.

Any suggestions?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I’d get a hybrid of some kind, personally. Your driving style is ideal for one.
A Prius V will give you some more space. My RAV4 Hybrid gets decent gas mileage but nothing like my in laws Prius V. I also don’t find mine any more spacious really.
Stick with a good brand. Subaru, Honda, Toyota.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[robinsmommy]

Hybrids get good mileage, but also are lower maintenance in terms of brakes, engines, etc. I’d look at a Prius V. If you have a lot to spend, consider a Tesla SUV.

[sariana]

If you're interested in a hybrid and need to haul sports equipment too, I'd consider a Highlander or similar. Or the RAV4 mentioned above. Their mileage won't be as good as a Prius, but they will be more versatile. I don't know of any vehicle that is great for both long commutes and sports duty. But a hybrid SUV is a good compromise.

[citymama]

Definitely look into a hybrid or EV!

[almostmom]

My highlander hybrid gets 25-29 mpg and I love it. We were lucky and bought it used.

That said, our prius gets close to 50 mpg and I love that car as well. We've had it for maybe 10 years or so, and my husband commutes in it. It's fine for hauling sports equipment, but my kids are big now, and they find it kind of small for their stuff and their friends when we carpool.

[RedSuedeShoes]

I agree with looking at an EV or hybrid. We got a used 2011 Nissan Leaf a year ago & I love never having to pay for gas or maintenance/repairs! In your case, you'd need something with a bigger range (or a hybrid). Ours goes ~70-75 miles on a full charge.

[heatherlynn]

What travel sport are you doing? If it's hockey, I'd get a much bigger car!

[mom2binsd]

I think the Ford Escape has a hybrid? I have a Ford Edge (slightly smaller), it has done well in the same winter weather as OP. I can fit two hockey bags in the back- one of which is a goalie bag (it's all about how you pack them in there).

[AnnieW625]

I am getting 25-29 with almost all highway miles on my Subaru Outback. The car is very comfortable and holds a ton of stuff and still gets great mileage for a car it’s size; you can also look at the Forrester or CrossTrek (which is smaller, but still a nice car per friends who have them). We drive a lot of miles and if I were to get a hybrid or an electric vehicle I would lease because I would hate to lose the battery before a comparable gas engine gives up. I hate the idea of leasing cars as well so that idea kind of ends there.

If I had my way though I would buy a diesel Mercedes or BMW (because I refuse to buy another VW product....Audi included because the diesel emissions cheating scheme which caused me another 2/1/2 years of car payments and the loss of a truly awesome car because the mileage I got with my Passat was amazing....38-43 mpg and the maintenance was hassle free). The price of the Mercedes and BMW even used was just too much for my car budget even used.

The Escape is smaller than the Edge, but they do make an Escape Hybrid and not an Edge Hybrid.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HannaAddict]

Have they changed hybrids significantly? With highway miles, the car won’t be in electric mode and many gas vehicles will get 30 mpg on the highway without the increased cost of a hybrid. The three people I know who were excited and bought highlander hybrids all said it wasn’t worth it and wouldn’t do it again. They love all electric though and two have Teslas and one a Chevy Volt. I know Teslas are $$$ but very popular here and their owners love them. Not a fan of the Prius but many are. I’d look at safe, decent mileage gas engines too or even diesel. My MB diesel (R class, three rows with Latch and real seats, stadium seating in all 3 rows) got amazing mileage and was great family car. It was a snowmobile in the snow too, no matter how deep, with regular tires. Wish they were making it for the US market. You could get a late model one used for decent price but repairs when needed are pricey. Great car though. Miss it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SnuggleBuggles]

Have they changed hybrids significantly? With highway miles, the car won’t be in electric mode and many gas vehicles will get 30 mpg on the highway without the increased cost of a hybrid. The three people I know who were excited and bought highlander hybrids all said it wasn’t worth it and wouldn’t do it again. They love all electric though and two have Teslas and one a Chevy Volt. I know Teslas are $$$ but very popular here and their owners love them. Not a fan of the Prius but many are. I’d look at safe, decent mileage gas engines too or even diesel. My MB diesel (R class, three rows with Latch and real seats, stadium seating in all 3 rows) got amazing mileage and was great family car. It was a snowmobile in the snow too, no matter how deep, with regular tires. Wish they were making it for the US market. You could get a late model one used for decent price but repairs when needed are pricey. Great car though. Miss it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The hybrid version of my RAV4 was about $700 more than the non-hybrid version. The increased cost is minuscule especially since over the lifetime my brakes will need less maintenance. I do call it my $700 parking pass sometimes as it allows me to use the coveted hybrid only spaces at a popular shopping center- very handy. ;)

I'm waiting on electrics because the range is poor. You live in an area with infrastructure for electrics due to their popularity there but the rest of the country isn't as well equipped. If you knew there weren't charging stations frequently available and you had a long drive with unpredictable weather, I doubt they'd be a good choice just yet.

[zukeypur]

I don’t have a hybrid, but I get at least 27 mpg on the highway, and I have gotten up to 33 mpg on the flat lands of West Texas. I keep it on “Econ” unless I need to quickly speed up.

[american_mama]

Last week, a friend posted on FB about her love for her Nissan Leaf, an electric vehicle. She posted a long, detailed and convincing post or blog entry from someone else outlining how she loved the Leaf and it was really inspiring. I believe you never buy gas. NEVER BUY GAS! Don't know how big the Leaf is or if it meets your need for size.

Consider how many people or how much gear you are hauling for sports - make sure you think about what you really need related to sports. DO you need space just for people, space for gear, cleanability, or just general comfort for travel games? My DD2 plays soccer, but that is not gear intensive, so her sports affects our vehicle only in terms of us needing space for any carpooling of teammates (which we do weekly). But, we'd have that space even in a sedan now that older sibling can stay home with younger sibling during games/practices, which is how our family prefers it, meaning our family of five usually uses only 2-3 seats in the car when driving for sports (parent driver and child plus maybe a carpooling teammate) . If one of us was the coach for soccer, we'd have more need for space for gear in a car. My sister had two kids who played softball/baseball which is more equipment-intensive, plus two other kids, so she needed people space and gear space in a vehicle.

I thought I could find what my friend re-posted about the Leaf and link it, but in the process discovered there are a lot of positive blog entries about Nissan Leaf, so you might browse.

[HannaAddict]

The hybrid version of my RAV4 was about $700 more than the non-hybrid version. The increased cost is minuscule especially since over the lifetime my brakes will need less maintenance. I do call it my $700 parking pass sometimes as it allows me to use the coveted hybrid only spaces at a popular shopping center- very handy. ;)

I'm waiting on electrics because the range is poor. You live in an area with infrastructure for electrics due to their popularity there but the rest of the country isn't as well equipped. If you knew there weren't charging stations frequently available and you had a long drive with unpredictable weather, I doubt they'd be a good choice just yet.

The Tesla has good range but others not so much. We are in an affluent early adopter of tech area that is decently developed for electric but I still wouldn’t use it for super long road trips at this time or freezing temps that drain the battery faster, or with chance of getting stuck with a mountain pass closure. From original posters needs, it seems like a good mileage gas vehicle might work since the hybrid tech doesn’t do anything for you mileage wise on the freeway. I’d rather not pay more for a car if I wasn’t using the hybrid tech regularly. And Highlander premium was much more than $700. Not sure how much gear the OP needs to haul, or where she lives, but I’d look at diesel, gas or pure electric (used tesla S) before a hybrid based on highway driving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kindra178]

If you don’t need a third row, get an Outback. You won’t be sorry!


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87652)

[Green_Tea]

If you don’t need a third row, get an Outback. You won’t be sorry!


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87652)

Agree! I ❤️ my Outback!

[basil]

Hard to say as you don’t list your location, number of people you need to carry, cargo needs, or budget.

My commute is only a bit shorter, about 55 miles round trip. But like HannaAddict said it’s hard to make a hybrid worthwhile on highway driving alone. I currently have an older outback, getting 25-26 mpg, but personally I’m looking for something bigger. I think you could do pretty well with a small SUV like a CRV, RAV4, CX5, etc. Maybe even a little better in gas mileage with something like a Hyundai Kona. Or an Equinox/Terrain diesel.

I think plug in hybrid will be the way to go in like 3 years, but right now range isn’t good enough for longer commutes like ours.

[smiles33]

I know OP said her commute is almost all freeway, so my experience is less helpful, but thought I'd still share it for others following the thread. I have a 60 mile round-trip commute but I take local streets for more than half of that, so my plug-in electric hybrid has helped me significantly cut back on gas expenses. It's particularly helpful in stop-and-go traffic and using the carpool lane as a solo driver (we have special stickers for plug-in electric cars, electric cars, and compressed natural gas cars in CA). Since I'm in the car for about 3 hours every day due to heavy traffic, I opted for a nicer ride. I didn't like the tin can feel of some of the other plug-ins so I upgraded to an Audi A3 e-tron. I've had it almost 2 years now and LOVE it. My boss also has one (she got hers first, which inspired me to take a closer look at it). They're not very common, but I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a plug-in that offers a great driving experience. I wasn't ready to plunk down the cash for a Tesla (or wait for the Tesla 3 model to be released), so this was a great compromise. I get the high quality build and driving experience of an Audi with the benefits of a plug-in.

[AnnieW625]

I know a few people who commute from San Diego to Santa Ana (85 miles each way) and have Chevy Volts and are happy with them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lkoala]

My commute is the same, 70 miles a day mostly highway. I had a Camry hybrid for 10 years and just got a Highlander hybrid. I can use the HOV lane which helps with commute times when the road is really busy. I also like the Highlander for visibility and weather (Snow, etc). I keep my cars for a long time so the additional hybrid cost isn't too bad...