Daily commuter needed

[JersT4R]

What is your daily driver / commuter? Anything that gets better gas mileage than my 2005 V8 4Runner.

My son is getting ready to get his permit, and I could also use a daily commuter.

Requirements:
Better mpg, 30+ hwy would be nice
Less than 50k miles
Newer than 2017

Have recently test driven these:
2019 Mini Countryman
2021 Subaru Outback
2018 Mazda 3

What else should I consider?

 

[Lazynorse]

Outback is great but you’ll never get 30 mpg. Low 20s in town, short grocery trips. Mid high 20s with reasonable highway speeds.

 

[JersT4R]

Outback is great but you’ll never get 30 mpg. Low 20s in town, short grocery trips. Mid high 20s with reasonable highway speeds.

That’s still better than 14 in my 4Runner, lol

 

[Forte]

I'm a Mazda Stan...

Loved my 2015 CX-5 I bought new when we only had one kid, but traded it in when the used car market was high on a new Explorer. That AWD 2.5 CX-5 crossover would get 31 on the highway if I babied it, the 3 and 6 can definitely do better.

I ended up buying a 2010 Mazda 6 for my newest daily. You can also get a manual transmission in the 3 and 6 if you're into that.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Honda fit, Toyota corolla of ANY year, the outback will be better than low 20s if it's a newer one. The brand new model gets 37 on highway 31-32 in town. My son has a 2007 Toyota corolla and it goes forever on a tank of gas.

 

[Cypress]

My best MPG commuter is a 2014 Mustang V6 with the 6-speed. It gets 20-22 around town and 29-30 on the highway. I don't think I would put a new driver behind the wheel though.

My normal commuter is my H3T. Worse fuel economy but easier to live with in traffic.

Of the cars you posted, I would lean toward the Mazda 3. Good fuel economy, reliable, and is easily repaired when problems do happen. You can also pick them up pretty cheap on the used market.

 

[genera_lee]

I was eying a newer cr-v that fit basically the same criteria, just with an awd option. 31-32 on the highway supposedly. might be worth looking at. hertz sells rental cars for a reasonable price and i've seen some cr-v's on there that are awd.

 

[Ethan N]

Is there a specific reason for 2017 or newer? I just sold a 2013 Hyundai Veloster and it was flawless the whole time I had it. I remember the gas milage being good but you'll have to check. Are you passing the 4Runner down? That's good, I remember my 1st car in high school took premium at over $4 a gallon in 2006-2008. That inflates to over $6 in today's money. Good lesson to learn as a kid.

 

[JersT4R]

Thank you for all the feedback. I ended up getting this Mini Countryman. My son can learn to drive on this and the T4R, and his mom has a Rav 4 he’ll end up with once he gets his license.

 

[Alanymarce]

How far is your commute? We usually walk - anything less than 45 minutes.

 

[tjZ06]

What is your daily driver / commuter? Anything that gets better gas mileage than my 2005 V8 4Runner.

My son is getting ready to get his permit, and I could also use a daily commuter.

Requirements:
Better mpg, 30+ hwy would be nice
Less than 50k miles
Newer than 2017

Have recently test driven these:
2019 Mini Countryman
2021 Subaru Outback
2018 Mazda 3

What else should I consider?

Minis routinely rank as the absolute least reliable vehicles made. An outback will NEVER see 30mpg. So of that list, the Mazda 3 is the only real option for your criteria. What is your budget? What is your commute like? I had a trio of 2020 Honda Civic hatchbacks (2 were EXs, one was a Sport) and they were great cars. They can legit knock down upper 30s MPG freeway and if driven like an adult they'd do 30 mixed use. All Hondas for a few years at that point had "Honda Sense" which includes lane-keep and adaptive cruise, really nice if you have a longer highway commute. The hatch actually had a ton of space too. I used one for a long freeway commute in Bay Area, CA traffic (well, between Lincoln CA, above Sacramento to Palo Alto in the Bay). My ex used hers around-town for a home cleaning business (hatch space was great for all the equipment/products) and the 3rd was for a 16 year old new driver (ex's younger brother we took care of). The vehicles excelled at all 3 tasks. Really, they did everything well besides being interesting or visually appealing.

-TJ